Top Tips For Making Your New House a Home
Owning a new home is exciting and, honestly, quite a dream come true for most people. It’s a chance to finally have your own space, make your own rules, and, most importantly, turn it into a place you can truly call home. While the idea of a fresh start in a new house is thrilling, it soon feels disappointing once you step into the empty space.
The bare walls, empty rooms, and lack of personal touch can make it feel cold and unwelcoming. However, you can quickly transform your new house into a cozy and inviting home with the right approach and a little investment. Here is the ultimate home makeover guide with top tips for making your new house a home.
Create A Home Library
Your ultimate home makeover list should have a home library somewhere at the top. It’s easy to forget how a fabulous book collection can transform an ordinary-looking room into a cozy and sophisticated one. It serves as a decorative piece and an invitation to spend lazy evenings getting lost in your favorite books.
If you have a family, having a designated library space is even more critical for kids to do their assignments and study. While you might have enrolled them in the best schools money can afford, reading at home never hurts. Plus, it can be the perfect place for your loved ones to bond over reads.
When you think about bookshelves, large, sturdy, and long traditional wooden structures come to mind. However, you can create small, budget-friendly bookshelves that align with your home décor. According to Angie’s List, built-in bookshelves cost as little as $400 to around $1,200 per linear foot. That’s not too expensive for something that can transform your house into an attractive home space.
After you’ve installed your shelves, scatter a few decorative objects such as a vintage rug, pillows, a comfortable chair, and a fluffy blanket. You can also customize the wall color with curtains or home wallpaper to match the bookshelves. Adding a few indoor plants can also brighten up the space.
Change The Roofing Material
It might seem like a stretch, but changing the roofing material is the ultimate home makeover tip. It’s especially true when you buy a previously owned house with an old roof. Roofing materials have varying lifespans, depending on their type. For instance, according to Forbes, asphalt shingles can last 15 to 30 years.
Even if longevity is not your concern, you care about your home’s appearance. You want something more attractive, which an old roof might not be. A shiny new roof can completely change the exterior of your home and give it a facelift. Plus, upgrading to a new roof has benefits like better protection from weather elements and improved energy efficiency.
Old roofs are prone to damage, especially during extreme weather conditions. You can find flying debris during hurricanes or hail storms crashing through your roof. If yours is near the final years of its lifespan, you can expect severe water damage, mold growth, and leaks. It doesn’t have to be this way. An experienced roofer can replace that old, weak roof with a new, sturdier one.
Trim and Prune Your Trees
America is home to about 8% of all trees in the world, according to Statista. A good percentage of them grow in residential areas. They are beautiful, yes! They create a serene atmosphere with lots of shade.
However, overgrown ones make your home look unkempt and even abandoned. Other than appearances, unkempt trees are a hazard to you, your loved ones, and your property. For example, overgrown branches can snap off and fall on your roof or your car. They may also interfere with electricity lines, causing power outages, or the roots may damage your driveway and plumbing pipes. All these make your home look unattractive, and you don’t want that.
The best way to transform that shoddy-looking house into an attractive home is to add trimming and pruning to your ultimate home makeover list. If you have trees with branches overhanging the house, a nice trim will let in more sunlight and give your home a brighter look. If it has dead or huge branches that would fall during storms, prune them. Schedule tree service with a local tree business so an arborist can take a look before the bad weather sets in.
Install New Windows To Match Your Taste
Windows can make or break the outside aesthetic of your home. If your new house has outdated windows, it gives off a dull and unappealing vibe. It’s time for an upgrade as part of your ultimate home makeover plan.
Worn-out windows are a problem. They make your entire home look old or abandoned, primarily because they are among the first things one sees when looking at your house. People will notice those dirty and battered windows even if everything else is in order.
Apart from aesthetic value, they also affect energy efficiency. With time, windows lose seals that hold the panes in place. Naturally, there will be air and water leakages. It’s not the air you want or the water you would like in your house. These are drafts that create cold and hot spots inside your living space.
The Department of Energy estimates that the average American home loses 25% to 30% of its cooling and heating energy to inefficient windows. If you have worn-out windows, you miss out on making your home cozy. It doesn’t have to be that way. A window and siding company can help you find new functional window frames and panes that match your preferred style.
Install A Tankless Water Heater
Cold baths are another reason your house does not feel like a home, especially in winter. And it’s not just baths; even washing clothes and utensils during the cold months is a hustle. Think about installing a tankless water heater as part of your ultimate home makeover.
If you already have a tank water heater in a large household, running out of hot water mid-shower is frustrating! The long waits for enough water to heat up are even more annoying. It worsens when multiple family members want to use it in the morning when there is no time to waste. Living in such conditions makes your house less of a home and more of a college dorm.
Luckily, you can change that. A tankless water heater also called an instant water heater, heats as you run the tap. These on-demand units supply hot water only when you need it. No more waiting for hot water or fighting over who will use the shower first.
Upgrading to a tankless heater also saves on energy. Unlike traditional water heaters, they do not store hot water, so there is no heat loss. The Department of Energy approximates about 8%–14% energy efficiency for large households using around 86 gallons per day. The only downside to these instant heating systems is that they require experienced plumbers to install.
Re-Paint The Rooms
Color preferences vary significantly from one person to another. What you like is different from what the previous homeowner loved. Like fashion, paint colors are a form of self-expression and significantly affect the mood in your home.
Repainting your house is the ultimate home makeover. It’s the only way to personalize your home and make it feel like yours. Therefore, choose hues that align with your tastes and bring positive feelings when you enter the house. The paint doesn’t have to be one uniform color for all the rooms, no. Depending on the room’s purpose, you can get creative and experiment with different ones.
For example, you can experiment with subtle shades of blue and green for your bedroom or home library. Brilliant white complemented with sky blue would work best as a bathroom décor. You can add a pop of color coupled with an accent wall or trim to make a statement in the living room.
Apart from aesthetics, re-painting your house also has practical benefits. A fresh coat of paint covers any damage to the walls and even hides unsightly stains. It also helps protect your walls from moisture and humidity, preventing mold growth. The best part is painting your home can be a do-it-yourself (DIY) project. However, if you are not great with color combinations or don’t have time, you can hire professional interior painting services.
Install A Picket Fence
A picket fence is a small touch that makes a significant difference in giving your home curb appeal. It is a classic addition to any house that has existed for centuries. If you are to remove that plain look for something that stands out, adding this kind of fence is the ultimate home makeover.
A picket fence has a quaint and charming design that gives off a cozy and inviting vibe. When painted white, it even adds a touch of elegance to your property. Place some pot flowers behind it, and you will have a picturesque scene that will make any passerby stop and admire your home.
Apart from adding charm to your property, picket fences have practical benefits. They define your property boundaries and keep pets and children safe within the yard. It also adds an extra level of security to your home by acting as a deterrent to trespassers and unwanted visitors. While it might not completely seal off your home, it will prevent someone from just walking by and picking up something.
Usually, it will cost you about $8 to $23 per linear foot of material, according to Forbes. That’s about $3,000 on average. However, fence installers charge differently, with most of the cost, about 50%, being the service fee.
Build a Back and a Front Porch Deck
Another great addition to your ultimate home makeover is a deck. You have most likely seen custom homes with a back or front porch deck, and you loved it. Those kinds of houses look exceptionally beautiful and homely. You, too, can have something similar.
The beauty of a deck is that it acts like an extension of your indoor living space, but now, it is outside. You now don’t have to step on standing water when it rains when standing outside in front of your door. Not to mention how incredible it looks when painted a nice fresh color.
A back porch deck offers a serene place to unwind as you enjoy evenings with family and friends. You can have a BBQ or outdoor dinner parties there. On the other hand, a front porch deck provides the perfect evening spot to relax and enjoy a cup of tea. It’s beautiful and makes your home stand out.
You can even get more creative and add a pergola or outdoor furniture to make it more functional and cozy. Couple it with a few pot plants or hanging baskets, and you have a mini garden on your porch. Add some lighting to the steps or edges to create a warm and even more inviting ambiance.
According to Forbes estimates, such a deck will cost you an average of $7,500. However, as with any construction project, the cost breaks down to materials and the labor of the deck builders. Depending on your desired outcome, you can make it as low as $4,000 or as high as $45,000.
Plant A Garden
Plants add life to any space, and a garden is the ultimate home makeover to bring nature closer to you. You don’t need a large yard or expensive plants to have a beautiful garden. Just start small.
You can start by planting easy-to-grow flowers like marigolds, petunias, or pansies in containers or pots. You can even grow vegetables and herbs if you want edibles. Nothing speaks home like picking spinach or kale leaves from your own garden for evening salad.
You can design a landscape with different plants and flowers if you have a larger yard. The color scheme will create a beautiful display all year round. You can also add a birdbath or bird feeder to attract birds, bringing your garden even more life and joy.
However, remember maintaining such a garden can rack up your water bill. The water needed to keep your plants flourishing and green can be massive. According to research figures from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American household uses 320 gallons of water daily, with 30% devoted to outdoor activities. Therefore, talk to a mulch expert to save water.
Install Beautiful and Functional Countertops
One critical aspect of a home that can significantly impact its homely appeal is the kitchen and bathroom. An element that can make or break this feel is the countertops. A beautiful countertop can elevate even the most ordinary space to feel more luxurious than it actually is.
Kitchen and bath countertops are more than just a surface to work on. They add character and personality to the room. Marble countertops, for example, give off an elegant and luxurious vibe, while granite countertops exude a more natural and earthy feel. Quartz is dynamic and versatile, with various colors to fit any design theme.
These natural stones can serve you for a long time. Some are resistant to heat, while others are resistant to scratches and stains. They can even add value to your property. Nothing takes down the feeling of being in a home, like old or outdated countertops.
The ultimate home makeover requires a balance between practicality and aesthetics. Yes, you must satisfy a need, but you also want beauty and comfort. Have a budget and a list of what you want to achieve with the makeover. After that, go ahead and be as creative as you like and enjoy your new cozy, charming, and homely space.
