Dare we say that Christmas is just around the corner? October is now upon us and before we know it, we’ll be bustling from store to store trying to get the gifts that everyone wants for Christmas. During the festive season, people generally like to get together and spend their time with those closest to them, and if you’re hosting this year for your family and friends, it’s understandable that you want your home in tip-top shape ready for your guests. Take a look at these quick home improvement tips just in time for the festive period.

Photo by Emily Rudolph on Unsplash

Decorate the outside of your home

It’s unlikely that you’ll be spending long periods of time outside during the winter season. However, giving your home a cozier look and more curb appeal will give your guests the warm greeting that you’re after. Fairy lights are perfect for lighting up walkways to your home, and having a welcoming entrance area to your home will make the world of difference. Thick and heavy curtains with cozy lighting are the perfect way of telling your guests that they can relax in your home!

Spruce up your kitchen

The kitchen is often the center of a home when it comes to entertaining guests. Whether you’re cooking a sit-down meal or simply offering nibbles for your guests, it’s likely that they are going to be spending a significant amount of time in your kitchen. That’s why now is the time to spruce up your kitchen so that you can show off your home to your friends and family. Whether your kitchen is in need of a large renovation, or simply a few improvements, you should check out https://kitchensacramento.com/remodeling/ for some ideas on renovation projects for your kitchen!

Add warmth to your home

We know you’ll have the heating on and the fire lit this winter, but you can add warmth to your home in other ways. Draping fleecy throws over your couches and scattering cushions will make your home much more welcoming, as well as giving people the option to cover up and snuggle up. Think about the colors you’re using too. Warmer colors such as red, orange, purple, and anything in between can really help make a room feel and look warmer.

Set the ambiance

Finally, the type of lighting that you’re using around your home can make the world of difference too. Harsh main lights are great for seeing things, but in the festive period, it’s likely that you want to snuggle down with those closest to you and enjoy some good company, good food, and good entertainment. Dot some laps around your home to create a softer and more homely light! Plus, isn’t everyone usually sleepy after a long day in the winter time?

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As soon as we say goodbye to summer and welcome in the autumn and winter seasons, there is a huge shift in our moods and the way we want to live our lives. Autumn and winter might be the coldest seasons of the year but they are also the most celebratory, and over the next few months people will be having celebrations for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and a whole lot more. So, now that we have hit the official party season of the year, here are some of the things you can do to prepare your home for it.

 

1. Be welcoming

 

The first and most important thing you want to do with the house during this season when preparing for celebration is to make it feel welcoming and homely. The first way you can do this is by setting up the entryway to make it feel ultra cozy and magical as soon as people walk in through the door. You can decorate the stairs with leaf garlands and fairy lights, bring a candle into the foyer of the home for light and smell, and make sure that the whole entry area is free of clutter and mess.

 

2. Make a wreath

 

Making a wreath for the front door of the house for both autumn and Christmas can be a fun crafting activity for you to do at the weekend with the kids or even just by yourself as you watch your favorite movie. Depending on the season you are making a wreath for you can choose slightly different items to go on them:

 

Autumn: leaves, pine cones, nuts, lights, pumpkins

Christmas: ribbon bows, holly, lights, winter berries, pine cones

 

Have some fun and look for inspiration on Pinterest to help you find the ideal design to make for your festive wreath.

 

3. Tidy up the front garden

 

The first garden is the first thing people will see when they look to approach the house and therefore it is the first impression that people will have of your home. Because of this, it is important to make sure space is tidy, has some color and is festive for the season. You can buy candy cane solar lights to place in the lawn on the way up to the house, you can plant winterberry bushes for color, and you can place a hanging basket by the door for a little extra something.

 

4. Update the exterior

 

The exterior of the house is something we rarely look at because we are usually inside the house most of the time, but it is incredibly important for us to keep the exterior looking great. You can replace broken roof tiles, look at a top rated replacement window installer for the front windows and even get a new front door if you are getting a little tired of the one you have got. All of these things will have a huge impact on the house and how it welcomes its guests.

 

5. Light scented candles (or bake cookies)

 

If you want to make your house smell great in time for people visiting you this autumn and winter, there are two things that you can do. First of all, you could simply light a few scented candles which have warming spices like cinnamon and ginger which will fit the tone of the house and make it feel amazing. The other thing you can do is bake a batch of cookies. They could be chocolate, ginger or something else but the smell will immediately permeate the house and make it smell fabulous, and the plus side to this is you have cookies to eat for yourself and for the guests later!

 

6. Create garlands

 

Garlands are a really simple way to bring a sense of style to the house and they are often the ideal thing to add to a room which has a blank wall space or needs something adorning the fireplace. You can have fun making a few different types of garland such as an autumn leaf garland, a pine cone garland and even a winter berry one. There are lots of ideas so have a look and see which ones you fancy creating this week.

 

7. Make it magical

 

The magic of a home is the idea of having lots of light and character all over the space, and when it comes to magic for the winter there is nothing better than twinkling fairy lights. You can buy battery powered fairy lights almost anywhere these days and you can find loads of different styles and shapes to fit the season and the occasion. If you hang a few sets around the house this will be ideal and it will give you and your guests a feeling of being somewhere other than your plane home.

 

8. Use warm colors

 

If you fancy redecorating for the colder seasons of the year and you are looking forward to bringing a new color scheme into the house, you can opt for a deep warm color on the wall to make everyone in the house feel warm and cozy all month long. Colors such as orange, red and purple are ideal for this time of the year and they will compliment all of the other decors you have in and around the house too.

 

9. Add a personal touch

 

Every home needs a touch of personality and you can really let it out during the party season to make conversation starters with your guests. One of the things to can do is change the artwork you have on the wall and make it feel more Christmas and autumn oriented. If you have picture frames on the wall simply place a festive image in front and you can swap it back after the new year. It will make the whole house feel as if it is the one-bit festive ball and it will give the illusion of magic to everyone who comes to visit you.

 

10. Make it cozy

 

Cosiness is the most important part of winter and now is the ideal time for you to make the house feel as warm, cozy and snuggly as possible. Think about changing the sheets on your bed for thicker ones, placing big cushions on the sofa downstairs along with blankets, and lighting candles in the evening for when you and your family are sitting together watching TV or playing games.

 

11. Welcome the seasons

 

As we mentioned above, these next few months are a partying season and they also have some of the most wonderful events of the year all in a short space of time. Now that you have got your home pretty much ready, you can add some extra festive items for each event such as Halloween decoraThanksgivingsgiving decor and a Christmas tree at the start of December. Bringing these next two seasons into the home is without a doubt the most fun of all and you can play around and make it your own.

 

12. Keep on top of cleaning

 

If you are planning on hosting a few parties for your friends and family this season you need to make sure that you keep on top of the cleaning and make the house feel spotless as much as you can. Even though your guests might not notice a bit of dust here and there, as a host you will notice everything and it is best for you to keep on top of it all so that it doesn’t all pile up over time.

The house that you live in should always feel like a home. It should be comfortable, functional and beautiful no matter what you do in terms of décor and design. A home is about far more than just bricks and mortar; that’s what makes a house. What makes a home, though, is entirely different and it should be the place that you want to turn to at the end of a very long day. The biggest question is how you plan to do this.

A home is supposed to make you feel wanted and loved. It’s supposed to make you feel secure inside, so the word ‘sparse’ should not be a word used when you think of your house. You’ve got to do everything that you can to make your house as homely as possible, and we’ve got six ways to do that below:

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1. Colors. Your color palette is really important for the décor of your home. Soft palette colors in stone, biscuit and natural earthy tones can make your choices from home furniture stores really pop. You need to make your home look as welcoming as possible – but this means welcoming for you, not just guests. Natural colors make the light look fantastic, so stick with light and soft for maximum impact.
2. Organic. The materials that you choose for your home need to be natural so that you can warm up the space that you’re in. If you have rather a concrete look, then organic materials are always going to win.
3. Layer Up. Your home needs oomph. This means layering your rugs, your throws, your cushions and anything fabric as much as possible. It immediately looks cozy and warm when you do this.
4. Picture Day. Plain walls are boring. Utterly boring. There’s nothing worse than big expanses of nothingness to look at. The best thing that you can do to make your home inviting is to add artwork, canvases, and photos to the walls so that you are closing up those blank spaces and making your home look like it has a life.
5. Nature. No matter how many vases of flowers you have dotted around the house, it’s not enough. Think tall, leafy indoor plants and greenery. Nature from the outside can make your house instantly into a home.
6. Lighting. Ceiling lights are all lovely, but lamps and dimmed spotlights can really set the mood of your home into calm and peaceful. Lighting plays a big part in the way that we feel about where we live. We need to be investing in the right light for each room, so what works for one space won’t for another. Be smart in your lighting choices, and you will always feel satisfied when you walk into your home.

Your house should be more than just bricks and cement. It has to be somewhere that you feel at peace in, so choose your colors wisely and make sure that you think of textures when you buy new fabrics. Your home is going to be a place you never want to leave when you’re done with it!

Unless you’re lucky enough to have an array of bathroom spaces in your home for your family to use; you’ll probably have a master bathroom space that the whole family has to share. If you’ve got a partner and kids; they can seem to take over the whole house with all of their stuff, and your bathroom will be no different. However, it’s important that you feel that you have somewhere you feel you can escape so that once you need to unwind, you can enjoy a bit of relaxation time. A long soak in a hot bath will ease the stresses of the week and give you some quiet time before you have to prepare lunch boxes and put a load of laundry on for the next day.

 

However, if you’re surrounded by sports kits on the floor, random bottles of toiletries, and even the odd book or magazine; your pamper session might not be the serene experience you needed it to be. Therefore, you’ll need to ensure that you strike a balance in your bathroom, and have an interior with the adults in mind, that can accommodate busy family life. The following are some ideas and inspiration for those who need to share their bathroom with family members of all ages but don’t want to compromise on style.

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/architecture-bathroom-contemporary-faucet-280209/

 

The Getting Clean Side

 

It doesn’t matter who uses your bathroom the most; you’ll need the essentials, like a shower, tub (if one fits), sink, and fixtures and fittings. Therefore, it’s worth investing in quality items that can withstand the wear and tear of family life, yet still remain chic and stylish. Luxurious and functional additions are always a great investment, so it’s worth looking into a variety of options, and ensuring that everyone can enjoy hot showers and baths.

 

A heated towel rail will ensure that you can dry the towels quickly so that they’ll be ready for the next person to use after their soak in the suds. Make sure you call in a reputable plumber like

https://www.mrrooter.ca/ so that your new bathroom items will stand the test (and wear and tear) of time. Consider decorating with darker tiles or using a dark colored grout; this will help to hide the everyday dirt that family life can bring, before you have the chance to clean so that your bathroom will feel fresher for longer, and you won’t be staring at marks or smudges when you’re trying to relax.

 

The Layout And Storage Side

 

Just like in the rest of your home; bathroom storage solutions can provide the perfect way to clear up clutter (and all those toiletries previously mentioned) quickly and with ease. Wicker baskets and melamine boxes are great for placing under the sink or on the shelves of your bathroom cabinets and cupboards. Waterproof containers mean that you can tidy bath toys away in a flash, and swap them for a lavender scented candle to enjoy as you bathe. Perhaps invest in some towels for the adults, so you still feel that you have those luxury touches that will ensure your bath time experience is a treat. Ensuring that you have a haven to escape to after a busy day as a mom will ensure that you’re ready to take on that early morning tomorrow, and you’ll feel well rested and relaxed. Enjoy!

 

August is here, and with it comes the last few weeks of summer before autumn leaves start to fall and everything smells like pumpkin spice. If you are starting to feel more of a chill in your house in the last few days, it might be time to start taking precautions and preparing your home for the colder months. Here are some of the ways you can make sure that your home stays toasty and warm in the winter.

 

Wrap those pipes

 

Before you do anything else, you might want to buy yourself the best Heat tape for pipes with thermostat and wrap up the pipes to your home. This is a job which many of us don’t even consider when warming up the house but it is an essential job which can make a big difference to your home overall. By wrapping your pipes you will prevent them freezing over in colder climates and this will ensure your home stays running smoothly all winter.

 

Make an atmosphere

 

Staying warm and toasty is partly about the atmosphere you bring into your home as well as the heating you switch on. Swap out the thin sheets for thick, winter ones. Break out your blankets for the living room again and light lots of candles in the evening to keep the home toasty and warm. You can think about also painting the walls a darker or warmer color because these colors keep in the heat more than lighter ones.

 

Stay cozy

 

If you want to be warm and cosy throughout the winter time you will want to make sure that you wrap up yourself as well as doing things in the house. A lot of the time you will find that putting the heating on all day is costing you a huge amount of money over the colder months and this can be avoided if you simply wrap up in a warm hoodie and deal with the chill in your home. It’s a great excuse for you to go out shopping if you need to stock up on warmer clothes!

 

Insulate, insulate, insulate

 

The easiest and most cost-effective way that you can keep your home warm throughout the winter is your insulation. In the home, you have several ways you can insulate the space. You can insulate the floors, the walls, and the roof. If you are able to do all three of these things you will see a huge difference in the warmth of your home throughout the year and you won’t need to use your heating as much as you used to. It can be a big task to get done, but once the insulation is there it will save a lot of time and money.

 

Break out the slow cooker

 

One great way that you can warm up the whole house on a cold day is to make a warming stew which can cook in the house for the entire day. When you start making warming recipes like this you will be bringing more heat into the house and this can be a brilliant way of taking the chill off the space and allowing you to feel nice and toasty once more.

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It’s something that the vast majority of estate agents use as the major selling point. The kitchen is taking over the living room as the hub of the home. But if you are not using it to the best of your ability, and you have taken the approach to eat your meals in front of the television, or you are one part of a dislocated family that spends their time in different rooms, it might be time to revitalize the kitchen and make it the big draw of your home. What are the ways you can refocus the attention back onto the kitchen, and how can you do this?

Eat As A Family

First things first, if you are eating around the television, albeit at the same time, are you really communicating as a family. Not to go all Godfather on you, but the best ideas can be made around the dinner table, over food. And the great thing about eating as a family is that you can learn to savor, not just the more vibrant discussions about what you’ve all done with your day, but also the quiet times. Some people feel very uncomfortable if there’s an extended period of silence, and, as a family, it’s something you should all be so relaxed in each other’s company, that you don’t even notice the silence. The fact is, get the family together, actually, ask questions to each other, and you’ve got a dialog going. Granted, it’s not always this easy, especially if you’ve got reticent teenagers, but the fact that you are all in the same vicinity together is probably one of the simplest ways to spend quality time together as a family in the modern age.

Make It Debate Central!

And to follow on from the discussion aspect, if you are working your hardest to raise children who are thoughtful, independent, and question every little thing, you might be doing something right! One way to help encourage this further is to spark debate. It’s something that we see in movies a lot, which can spiral out of control into arguments, but it’s important to remember that debate is very healthy. Having a big table, and not just getting the family to sit around it, but also bringing guests in to have meals, and social gatherings, will make the kitchen the hub of the home. Of course, as we all know, when there are parties, the action is always in the kitchen. Take this as inspiration!

Shake Up The Style

But what if you have no idea how to maximize the space? You may have a small kitchen, or it’s impractical for everybody to gather there. Because the kitchen is one of the main rooms in the house that can impact the value positively, if you are ever considering moving on, or downsizing later in life, and your kitchen feels underwhelming, the chances are that a lot of other people will feel the same way. There are so many different styles you can implement, but also, the modern kitchen is the very trendy style at the moment. Kitchen islands, galley lighting and the various marble countertop options available to buyers make it a space for you to unleash your creativity. But likewise, you need to consider the practicalities of the space. If you have a small kitchen space, is this because you’ve got an island in the middle of the kitchen? And if you’ve been looking to fit a dining table in the space, but this isn’t feasible, you either remove the island and put the countertops around the edges of the room, or you transform the island into a breakfast bar. A breakfast bar is one of the biggest draws in modern homes because it’s usually the one space where families can physically congregate. So even if you feel that you’ve not got many options to get the family together, this is why the kitchen needs to be top of your priority list.

Use It As An Opportunity To School Your Kids On The Essentials In Life

If you have young kids, and they’re just getting to the point where they are figuring out who they are, their inquisitive minds need nourishing. If you are someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, either baking or cooking, it’s now time to bring your children into the sacred area and let them get their hands dirty. As parents, we can all feel that we’re doing a lot in terms of cleaning the house, and we wish that the children would lend a hand once in a while, and it’s at a young age, that you should instill this habit. Not just for the fact that it will make life easier for you, but it will encourage them to be more independent. Doing the dishes, drying them, cooking, or even very minimal meal preparation, is all something that we can introduce our kids to, so they can feel part of the process. It’s just good parenting to let your kids help out. Gradually, as they become more skilled, you can let them take over a little bit more, and as they get older, you may put your feet up and relax while food is being done for you! Granted, this is in an ideal world. But, if you have kids that want to go to college one day, you’re not going to be there to clean up after them, and so, the kitchen space is the ideal place to school your kids in the essentials in life.

There was a time that the living room was the hub of the home, and we would all sit around, mouths agog, staring at the television. Thankfully, it’s getting to the point where the family is naturally congregating to the kitchen area. So if you are concerned that your family spends too much time apart, or you are trying to inject a bit of pizzazz into your home for the benefits of guests, or even just to raise the value of the house, the kitchen has it all!

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When you buy a home you will likely not have that much furniture to your name. As a first time buyer you might have been lucky enough to get some hand me downs from family and friends, but now the rest is up to you. Buying furniture for your first home can be a struggle and here are some helpful tips to make it easier for you.

 

Think budget

 

First of all, you have likely just spend your life savings on a home, and you might be dreaming up ways to increase credit score to make sure you don’t have to get into debt. Don’t spend a huge amount of money on furniture! Even if you want to buy the best furniture straight away you need to consider the price you can afford right now. Stick to charity shops, online auctions and second-hand stores for the time being, and even if you decide to replace the furniture in a few years at least you have had some use out of it now!

 

Start neutral

 

When it comes to choosing furniture for your Home you are always better off going for the most neutral tones that you can. When you first move into a house you have no way of knowing what colors you will paint the rooms, and this means that you don’t want to be buying lots of bold coloured furniture right away. Stick to simple colors so that when you do decorate it doesn’t matter!

 

Make a list

 

When you come to buy your new furniture for the home, make sure you write a definitive list of what you need and when you need it. Don’t just buy random pieces of furniture for the sake of it, make sure that you buy things you genuinely need in the home and make sure that it has a place in your home.

 

Measure the rooms

 

If you are to be buying something large for the home such as a bed or a sofa suite, you need to think about the size of the room and where it will fit. Always make sure that you bring measurements with you when you go shopping for furniture and bring a tape measure with you so that you can test the size of the things you are buying. The last thing you want is to be struggling with fitting your new sofa into the lounge and having to create an obstacle course to walk around the room!

 

Good bedding

 

If there is anything you should invest in for a new home, it’s the bedding. Bedding is incredibly important because it will determine your quality of sleep each and every night. Make sure that you invest in a good duvet, pillows, and sheets so that even if your bed frame isn’t the best, you can still have a great night’s sleep. You can also invest in a good mattress if you have the money to, and they always have offers on them in places such as Costco.

Do you have a never-ending list of jobs to do around the home? Summer can be an excellent time to tackle them. The summer months offer better weather, more daylight hours and plenty of sunshine to help make home improvement tasks easier than at other times of the year.

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If you’ve got a home bucket list you’d like to achieve, then make a plan to tick some things off during before summer’s out. Here are some great ideas for home improvement projects to carry out during the summer.

Transform your backyard

Getting your backyard into shape becomes much more important during the summer. If you want to be able to relax and enjoy your backyard space, now is a great time to do something about it. Talk to a landscaper about the possibilities or take it on yourself as a fun project for evening and weekends. Take a look at some beautiful garden trends to give you inspiration.

Renovate your roof

Is your roof looking a bit tired and in need of a refresh? Summer conditions make it an ideal time to tackle the task. Upgrading your roofing and guttering can change the appearance of your home and make it look modern and refreshed, and it’s the perfect investment if you’re hoping to sell your house in one day. Siding expert the Siding King has some amazing home transformations to show you that can help you discover the possibilities for your own home.

Paint your doors and windows

A refreshed front door and window frames can transform the exterior of your home, and summer is certainly the time to do it. Set aside some time one evening or weekend morning to carry out those much-needed paint jobs – the coats will dry quicker, making it a simpler job that won’t take up too much time.

Clean the floors

You haven’t lived until you’ve tried a power washer on your drive, decking and front porch. Power washers are great for giving your home a much neater, fresher appearance, and you’ll be done in no time if you head out during the summer months. Pressure washers are a worthwhile investment, so take a look at what’s available in the summer sales to grab a bargain that will transform the outside of your home.

Install air conditioning

Summer is a good reminder of how hot your home can get and why some air conditioning could be useful. When you’re feeling the cold in winter time, air con will be the last thing on your mind, so don’t put it off any longer and get it installed. You’ll be glad you did during those unpredictable summer heatwaves.

 

Carrying out home improvements during the summer can feel much less of a chore than at other times of the year. If you’re hiring contractors, you’ll have more excuses to be out of the house during the day – meaning you’ll be affected much less by noise and disturbances. What will you do to your home this summer? Start planning your next home improvement project now!

Are you tired of being in the dark when you’re in your home? There’s nothing worse than a dim home, especially when it doesn’t have to be that way at all. Even if it means doing some work and making some big changes in your home, it’ll be worth it if you manage to make your home a lighter and brighter environment for yourself and your family. The point is that you don’t have to settle for a dark and dull home.

 

So which changes do you need to make in your home for you to make those interiors lighter? That’s a question with so many different answers, and we’re going to talk about them today. Some of these tweaks are very minor and can be carried out in any home almost immediately. And others are a little bigger and take more effort and implementation. Read on to find out about all of them.

 

Replace Heavy Curtains

 

First of all, you should try to take the heavy curtains out of your home. These only end up blocking light from entering your home, even when they’re open. That’s because they block light at the sides. It’s a much better idea to replace these heavy curtains with lighter curtains or, ideally, blinds. It’s a simple thing to do but it will immediately help the amount of natural light flowing into your home during the day. So start out by making this change.

 

Use Numerous Light Sources

 

Of course, natural light is the most ideal form of light and this is what you should be looking to make the most of in your home. But it’s far from the only type of natural light that you should be making use of. By using natural sources of light, you can make sure that every area of your home is given the light it needs. Small lamps and spotlights can add something new to the lighting setup in your home, so these options should be considered.

 

Let the Space Flow

 

By opening up the space in your home and helping each room flow into the next, you will make the whole place seem lighter and generally more welcoming, which has to be a good thing. When you have each room flowing into this next, you will also find that you can share the light between the rooms, preventing anyone room from feeling too dark. It’s something that you should start to work on an experiment within your home as soon as possible.

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Don’t Obstruct the Natural Light With Storage

 

One of the big problems that people have in their homes is that they want the natural light and then they design their room layouts in ways that directly get in the way of that light. So you should be particularly careful with any storage furniture you have in your home. It will become more of a hindrance than a help if it’s stopping the natural light from getting around the spaces in your home adequately.

 

Have Light-Blocking Trees Removed

 

If you have trees outside your windows, it’s possible that they’re blocking sunlight that would otherwise enter your home. You can get these trimmed or even removed from outside your windows. Companies like ABC Home & Commercial will be able to help you with that, so don’t be put off by the prospect of getting this kind of work done. It could be one of the best changes you make regarding the natural light entering your home each and every day of the week.

 

Be Careful When Choosing Artwork

 

Choosing art for your home’s walls can be tricky because you don’t want to choose the kind of art that’s going to make the room feel dark. That’s why you should probably reject works of art that have deep and dark colors dominating them and find artworks that are generally lighter and brighter in tone. You’re sure to find something that’ll be suitable for your home. You just need to think practically when buying art, which is admittedly not always easy to do.

 

Choose Light Furniture and Decor

 

The furniture you choose in your home is obviously going to have an impact on how light or dark the place feels, so try to choose light-colored furniture if you possibly can. This will help you to make sure your furniture and decor don’t drag down the overall aesthetic of the rooms and make them darker than they need to be. It’s a simple shift, but you’ll be surprised by how much of an impact it can have on your home’s appearance.

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Keep Your Windows Clean

 

This is another very simple and basic ideas, but it’s one that will certainly have an impact on how much natural light is able to get through the windows. You should ensure both the inside and the outside of the windows are cleaned regularly. This will prevent the sunlight from being blocked. Two layers of dirt really can prevent a significant amount of light getting into your spaces, so don’t let that happen. There are not many simpler jobs to do in the home than this one, so start doing this ASAP

 

Hang Mirrors

 

Hanging mirrors is a good way to make space feel better than it really is. And it can also be great when you want to reflect a limited amount of light around the spade. So if you’re struggling to find sources of light, creating more of them is rarely as doable as having more mirrors hanging on the walls of your home, so go or it.

 

No one wants to spend their time in a home that feels like it’s always darker and duller than it should be. If this is something that’s becoming a problem for you in your home, you need to take action as soon as you can. All of the ideas that we’ve talked about here will help you to make your home lighter and brighter, so put them to work in your home.

Pexels

 

Moving out can be an emotional time, especially if you’ve lived in your current residence for an impressive amount of years. Leaving your home with goodwill can be the best way to cap off the end of living in a property you care about. While the act of moving from one property to another can be very stressful, you should also try and make some time to remember your property and celebrate the time you spent there. There are many methods of doing this, and most are pretty fun, and help you remember the property in a positive light.

 

It will take a little effort, but it’s absolutely worth doing. The best things are.

 

We’d absolutely suggest:

 

Throwing A Leaving Party

 

What better way to remember leaving your property than dancing all night long? Sometimes this can be one of the best ways to say goodbye for good, and it can provide closer. Invite neighbors that you have made friends with, friends who visit you often and even family members. If you have spent years at this property it’s likely you’ve made installations with your own investment, such as building an outside deck or installing stacking windows. Why not celebrate with these, as through your effort they are here to help you entertain? Have fun, because this will likely be the last truly lasting memory of your property. There’s no reason for this to be a massive or reckless affair. Just bring people you love, share wine and good food, and cap off the whole experience with beaming smiles.

 

Donating Unwanted Goods

 

A great way of leaving your home well is to donate all of the unwanted goods you have to a service like Habitat for Humanity, as they will recycle, upcycle, and help those proceeds go towards stellar efforts, such as building homes for low-income families. This can not only help you achieve some social good, but free you of unwanted baggage when paying the removal men, or save you space in your new property. It very much seems that with this option, everyone wins. You can’t argue with results.

 

Leave It How You’d Like To Find It

 

Of course you are under no absolute requirement to deeply clean the property before you leave, unless otherwise stated in your selling contract. However, it’s a nice thing to do, and helps your last memories of the property stay in its best state. Remember too that this is a new home for someone else, or even a family. They have their own memories to form here. Allowing them to feel extremely excited when moving in too is the essence of goodwill, even if you’re not around to see their smiles.

 

Inscribe Your Name

 

Inscribe your names somewhere in the property, but nowhere that will cause damage. It might be in one of the hidden wooden beams of the attic. It might be under plaster or under a floorboard. Writing all the names of your family members, the date and a nice message can perhaps provide someone with a smile years from now, or simply mark the property with your appreciation forever. This doesn’t net you anything tangible or financial, but it’s a nice way to always show your appreciation for a property, and it can serve as a small secret you and your family share.

 

Leaving your home with goodwill is a nice manner of conducting your affairs. With these tips, you’ll have no problem doing so.

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It is only natural that we want to have the best home imaginable. Our home is where we hide from the world; our retreat that is always welcoming. It’s also space where we can be ourselves and invite the people we care about to share; an entertainment venue all of our own making.

 

The desire to create the perfect home is therefore understandable. We all rely on decor and design to achieve this. Get these aspects right, and it’s possible to transform an empty space with a few pieces of furniture in it to an actual home. We use renovations, updates, and decorative touches to achieve this, often constantly updating our homes to reflect the latest interior design trends or adapt the available space to more suit our needs.

 

Unfortunately, there is one potential side effect of all these adaptations, modifications, and home decor perfections: they’re expensive. From renovating an entire floor of your home to just adding a few decorative touches, there’s no denying the fact that a beautiful home can be extremely costly.

 

However, the key word here is “can”. Yes, a beautiful home can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. If you want to achieve the perfect look without spending a fortune, then here are a few tips you’re going to want to keep in mind…

 

1) Focus on improving your DIY skills

 

There are thousands of renovation tasks that can improve your home no end, from installing new flooring to fitting an entirely new set of kitchen cupboards. These kinds of changes can make your home look as good as new— but you tend to need to hire a professional to do them.

 

However, it’s worth running the math the next time you hire a professional to perform work on your home. Let’s say you took the funds you’d pay to a pro, and used that money to attend training courses that could teach you basic-to-medium renovation skills. You’d actually get far better value for money from the latter because your newly-learned skills can be used again and again, whereas paying a tradesman to do a single job means the money only lasts for that job.

 

Of course, there will always be some renovation tasks you should never attempt to DIY; there’s a useful list of these at architecturaldigest.com, so take note. However, for flooring and other medium-skill tasks, attending a course and learning how to DIY safely and effectively is a great financial investment.

 

2) Shop at the right stores

 

As with most things, where you shop for home decor and DIY equipment will govern how much you pay for it. It’s vital that you find stores that are looking to sell items at a reasonable price, rather than charge a huge markup.

 

For DIY supplies, it’s usually more affordable to shop at stores that are targeted towards tradesmen and high-skilled DIYers. These stores tend to forgo the expensive advertising and jargon in favor of just providing the best deals for people in the know about the items they need. In terms of home decor, that means focusing on the likes of Deconovo.com; places where you can buy great soft furnishings without the extortionate markup of some stores. By ensuring that you always shop at stores who focus on value rather than extreme profit margins, your budget for all home renovation and decoration will go much further, which should mean that your home looks nicer as a result.

 

3) Look for inspiration from blogs, and social networks— but never purchase directly

 

If you head to sites like Pinterest or home design and decor blogs, you’re going to be encouraged towards high purchase prices. While there’s the occasional bargain-focused account or blog out there, most focus on high-end items. Often, these items are provided to the person making the post for free, as part of an influencer arrangement. That’s fine of course — provided the relationship is disclosed — but it does tend to mean that the items featured on top blogs aren’t exactly accessible in terms of price. Only high-end brands can afford to partner with the most popular influencers, so the price of the items featured tends to be in the high-end bracket too.

 

It’s nice to see social media and blogs as inspiration for your own home design, but you should never see them as purchasing guides. If you see a look you like on a blog or social network account, then use it as inspiration to create the same thing yourself from more affordable stores. Clicking through to buy the exact items featured in these kinds of posts is almost certainly the most expensive option. Take the inspiration, but don’t be tempted to buy the exact same items— you’ll almost certainly be overpaying if you do.

In conclusion

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By following the above, you should be able to achieve the home aesthetic of your dreams— but without breaking your budget to make it happen. Enjoy!