5 Essential Tips To Help Renovate Your Home

Home renovations are an exciting project to take on. However, while the end product brings us immense amounts of joy and satisfaction, the road towards achieving that final, finished job can be anything but joyful.

Without the right mindset and preparations, the excitement a homeowner feels towards their renovations can quickly deescalate to the point of a total nightmare.

The 5 tips included in this guide are aimed at better guaranteeing that your home renovation project goes smoothly and with fewer bumps in the road that detract from the experience and the end result.

Research, Research, Research, Research… Research

The best thing that you can do to ensure renovating your home is a successful endeavor is to commit ample time towards research. What exactly do you need to research? Almost everything!:

• Prices: Renovations cost a lot, so make sure that you’re shopping around for the best prices on furniture, building materials, etc.
• Contractors: You also need to shop around for different contractors and research what they offer, what projects they’ve worked on in the past that are similar to yours, what do past customers have to say, etc.
• Permits & Paperwork: Do you need to acquire any permits or submit paperwork with the town for your renovations to be legal and up to code?
• Value: How will your renovations add to the value of the property?
• Styles & Trends: Consider the styles and trends that potential home buyers are looking for. You may not be ready to sell now, but who knows what will happen in the future!

Have A Budget In Mind

Now that you’ve done some research, you have a much clearer idea of the process and what your project may cost. With this information in hand, sit down and develop a realistic budget for your home renovation. Your budget will largely depend on how much money you have and how much you’re willing to spend on the project.

While you don't want to overspend on a renovation project, especially if your budget is tight, it is essential to remember that there may be unexpected obstacles that arise. That's why a lot of home renovation experts suggest that your budget should have some sort of plan in place to handle these potential surprise costs.

When creating a realistic budget, it is wise to put aside more than what you calculate out on paper as the cost of your home renovation. This will give you some reserve funds that can be used to handle any complications that may arise.

Interview Many Different Contractors

As you begin hiring help for your renovation project, it is crucial that you spend extra time interviewing and talking with many different professionals. You don't want to jump right at the first person you speak to.

Some key questions to ask are:

• What are the costs of your services, and how does this match up with competitors? How is this price justified in the work you do?
• What other projects have you worked on that are similar to mine, and what was the end result for those renovations?
• Do you have any testimonials or customer references that I can see?
• What sort of timeline do you propose for my project?
• Who will be working on the project?
• What are my rights when I hire you? For instance, what if I don’t like one of your workers or want to make changes to the project?

These questions will help you understand what to expect when working with each contractor. Ultimately, it is best to choose the contractors that give you the best feeling. While pricing is always a concern, a cheaper contractor rarely guarantees a better experience!

Prepare Yourself For The Stress And Fast-Paced Decisions

Think you are done making preparations? Not quite. We’ve focused a lot on what you can do to ensure you get the right help and at the right price, but you also need to prepare yourself. During the length of your renovation, your home will be in complete chaos. There will be a stream of contractors and workers in your house at all times, debris everywhere, noise, unexpected issues, and so much more.

If possible, ask friends, family members, or neighbors if you can stay with them for small stints throughout the process. Even taking a night or two away from the mess of your home renovation can be rejuvenating. Also, choose contractors that make cleaning up after themselves a priority. You shouldn't have debris, dust, dirt, and other harmful stuff knocking around at the end of each day. Finally, have backup ideas for all of the fixtures and furniture you're planning to add to the renovation, even down to things as simple as cabinet knobs. A supplier may fall through, or the stock may run out, and you don't want to be left making quick, uncertain choices that you'll have to live with after the renovation is completed.

Invest In A Home Warranty

Your home renovation may require you to buy new appliances and other equipment for your home. You don’t want to be blindsided by unexpected repairs to these machines in a few months or years. A home warranty can help. What is a home warranty? Home warranties cover the cost of replacing and repairing appliances and other home systems that may unexpectedly fail from everyday use. This is different from homeowners insurance, which protects you from severe, structural damage to the building itself.

Conclusions

These 5 steps will help give you better peace of mind throughout your home renovation process. After all, you don’t want to reach that end product so battered and bruised from the nightmarish weeks prior that you can’t enjoy your newly renovated home!

Fab Furniture Pieces: Strategies to Arrange Them Like A Pro in Any Room

Arranging furniture pieces, no matter how much space you have, can be really challenging. Here are some ideas on how you can arrange yours just like a pro.

So, you've browsed through interior design magazines and online furniture shops, like https://www.roomstogo.com/, and have picked the pieces you want for your space. But, are you sure that cabinet will truly complement your bed? Will it even fit in your door?

There's something enjoyable about arranging furniture; after all, interior design will always be a fun home project. However, it can also be challenging, whether it's your first time creating a layout for your home or are simply rearranging a room. Thankfully, there are a few tricks you can incorporate to make your arrangement work without compromising a lot of things. Here are some ideas on how to arrange your furniture at home like a seasoned pro:

Work your Pieces Around a Focal Point

The easiest yet most effective way to create a solid layout for your room is by arranging all your furniture pieces around your chosen focal point. A “focal point” refers to a certain element that draws a person's eyes as soon as they walk into a room. It's better and easier if your chosen focal point is something that already exists in a room, but if you don't have one, say, a window that highlights a stunning view of your backyard, you can work with window companies to make the arrangements. If you have an old fireplace, a huge television, or a built-in shelving for books, it could also work. You can also hang some interesting photos or an artwork with bold patterns on your wall or choose one statement furniture. Once you've decided on a focal point, arrange all your furniture pieces in a way to put the focus on that feature. Create visual clues with your furniture oriented towards the focal point.

Move Away from the Walls

The most common design mistake homeowners commit is lining up all of their seating against the walls. This isn't exactly an illogical choice, as many people think doing so will open up the space and make it look brighter. However, this could actually backfire. When you choose to follow this trick when it comes to arranging furniture, what happens is you create some dead space in the middle of the room. This, in turn, makes the area look incomplete. So, move things away from the walls. Instead of spreading your furniture pieces in every corner of the room, make an intimate grouping to make the area look more professionally staged. This could also encourage more interactions with your guests and family members.

Keep the Traffic Flow in Mind

When arranging your furniture pieces, never forget about the “traffic flow” – the way people move throughout the living space. The ideal scenario is to have all your pieces arranged in such a way that people can move freely and go about their routine without bumping into them. To identify the traffic pattern in a room, make a quick floor plan and draw some arrows to show all the pathways available. Then, place the furniture around them.

When you've finally found the right combination, start rearranging the furniture properly.