How to Make a New Home From Your Old One
Are you ready for a fresh start, but don’t have the money to buy a new home (or raze the one you’ve got and start from scratch)?
Fortunately, those aren’t your only options. There are all kinds of less expensive ways to make your old home feel like new.
Change the outside
You might be surprised at the emotional toll it takes on you every time you drive up to a home that looks a bit scruffy from the outside. It might not feel like that big a deal; after all, you spend the vast majority of your time inside. But working on the exterior could change everything about how the house makes you feel. Here are some ways to do that:
Invest in landscaping: Not only can landscaping make you feel better about your home in general, but it can also improve your home’s curb appeal and property value. Adding some properly graded soil, attractive trees which don’t threaten your foundation, and low-maintenance bushes can work wonders.
Make the house look new: Is your siding starting to look a bit old? Maybe pressure washing just isn’t cleaning as thoroughly as it used to, or it’s even harming your older siding. Companies like Vulcan Cladding Systems have a virtually limitless array of affordable siding options in every color and design you could want, and a cladding change can make you happy to come home every day.
Keep the top in good shape: Clogged gutter systems are liable to crack and look unsightly, while a rotting roof looks awful and provokes endless anxiety over possible water damage and mold. New gutters with good guards and an Everlast II roofing system will assure you years of healthy, beautiful protection.
Keep up with the windows: New windows don’t just give your home a fresh look — they’re also going to be more energy efficient. That means you’re cooler in summer and warmer in winter. It also means lower energy bills and less UV damage to flooring, walls, and furniture.
Change the inside
Your home’s interior is where you spend most of your time. You still might be surprised to learn how simple it is to freshen things up without spending too much money.
Work with your carpets: Carpets are some of the first things to show signs of age in a home. This is especially a problem if you have pets and small children. If your carpets are starting to look (or smell) past their prime, consider having them changed or deeply cleaned.
Update the peripherals: Other signs of aging show up in those items that get touched all the time: faucet handles, cabinet knobs, light switches, outlet plates, and doorknobs. All these are liable to get grimy, have stains that won’t come off, or come loose. Just replacing all these can do wonders for your interior.
Brighten things up: Bright places look fresh and young; dark places look old and stale. New light fixtures can completely transform a room; but that’s not the only way to get more light. You can also get lighter window treatments that let in more light, re-paint walls in softer colors, or even add some mirrors to reflect more of the light you have.
Bring it all together: If you’ve lived in a home for years, you know what happens. The detritus of years of family life starts building up. You can’t find a home for everything, so piles arise like so many domestic stalagmites. Nothing matches, and the whole home feels chaotic. Go through your rooms and decide how each should look, and how you can use your belongings to define the look you want for each area.
Keep each room unified, and your entire home will get a new sense of polish and life.
