Once you’ve bought a home and moved into it, either alone or with your family, it’s only natural after a while for your thoughts to turn towards improvements. Every home owner starts thinking about it at some stage, whether they intend merely a little DIY or full scale alterations requiring planning permission and builders.
If you’re feeling the itch to fix up your home and make it more your own, we have some tips to help you pick a project and complete it successfully and safely!
Value
One of the first things you need to at least consider is the effect this project is going to have on the value of your home. You can make some alterations to your house that will have huge benefits when you come to sell, and if you can incorporate them into your plans you stand to benefit whether you’re thinking of selling in the near future or not for years!
Some of most important things you can do are converting a loft or garage into more living space, or refurnishing your bathroom. Click to find out more about modern bathroom furnishings!
If you’re just changing the purpose of a room – say, decorating a spare bedroom into a study – or redecorating for style alone rather than making structural changes, it’s unlikely to effect the value of your house, though it may help to interest buyers when it is actually on the market.
Budget
The first important decision you to do make is setting a budget. This will inform the scope of the rest of the project: your heart may be set on the perfect home office with an antique desk, ergonomic office chair and a new window installed overlooking your garden, but if you can barely afford enough paint to cover the walls you’ll have to reign in your ideas.
Specialist Help
If you’re just doing a bit of painting, you don’t likely need any specialist help. Doing the job with your partner or a friend will give you help enough, and likely supply some funny stories to tell in years to come.
If you’re making more dramatic changes, you may wish to consult a builder, to make sure you’re not interfering with load bearing walls, or trying to push ahead with something that would actually require planning permission.
It’s even worth double checking before you hang a picture: if you don’t check where the wires and pipes are in your wall before you start drilling, your project could come to an unceremonious end!