Everyone has an idea of what their dream house should look like. Whether this involves a sweeping living room that makes you feel like you’ve bought a home in the Hollywood Hills, a classic conservatory to enjoy some traditional English summer fun or a state-of-the-art kitchen in which to whip up some tasty delights, there’s no reason not to dream big.
Home improvements are an excellent way to help you fall in love with your home all over again. Whether you’ve been meaning to make some updates for a while or you’ve recently decided that you need a little more luxury within your four walls, the best way to breathe new life into your home is to create a bit of extra space for yourself.
As well as providing you with a more modern and comfortable living space, this is a great way to add some value to your home in case you decide to sell in future.
Starting point – finding the best professionals
Once you’ve gathered your ideas and have a rough plan in mind it will be time to call in the professionals. It’s always important to discuss your dream improvements with the people in the know as they will be able to tell you what is possible and will give you an idea of cost and a time frame for completion. With this in mind you’ll need to do your research and seek out a reliable construction company to provide the best advice and guidance, and ensure the job is completed to the highest standard.
When searching for a trusted and dependable company, use a fully accredited and respected building firm, it’s recommended you find one that is affiliated with well-respected bodies in the construction industry. These bodies can include the National House Building Council, Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme and Construction Line.
Working with companies affiliated with these organisations will ensure your additional living space is completed to the best level, giving you a home that boasts luxury, from the basement to the loft.
Now your grand ideas can be put into action, but there are various ways in which you can add space to your home, we’ve picked our favourite four home improvements to open up your space and breathe a little luxury into it.
Home extensions
An obvious way to add space is, of course, to extend. This may mean creating a home extension to your property or taking down some internal walls in order to extend particular rooms. Careful planning is involved if you’re looking to rework the interior as you want to add value by creating space but not reduce value by taking away rooms.
From the kitchen to the bathroom to the bedroom, you can’t go wrong however you decide to extend these spaces. Kitchen extensions can give your 20th century house a 21st century feel, made possible by including additional surfaces, an island in the centre of the room or by opening up the window area to create floor to ceiling windows or doors to your garden. Likewise, bathroom extensions will allow you to add a stand-alone bath and separate walk-in shower, a double sink feature as well as a separate area for the toilet to reside.
Bedroom extensions may not be of much use to guests or the rest of the family but a walk-in wardrobe or an en-suite will provide you with some added luxuries and may free up space elsewhere. These additions won’t take up too much extra room but can certainly make your space feel more utilised, certainly adding value.
Open-plan living area
A clever way to create a more spacious feel downstairs is to open up your living area. Transform dark and stuffy corners by removing them! Knock down the walls and create one big open plan space that will instantly turn your boxed in rooms to a modern, airy and inviting area to enjoy with guests, family or for a quiet moment by yourself.
This is a fantastic way to let the natural light in too as you’ll have no walls blocking the sun, meaning you can create a double or triple aspect room that you’ll never want to leave. You can opt to paint the walls a pale colour to give the illusion of an even bigger space, just remember to work in some storage so that the area doesn’t get too cluttered.
Conservatories
There’s something quintessentially British about the conservatory, evoking memories of a quaint summer’s day with lawn games and good conversation. Conservatories are a fantastic home improvement addition, especially for when the summer rolls around and, much like open plan areas, they can make the home feel more breathable.
A classic glass conservatory will make the area feel more traditional, and it offers an entirely new living place to enjoy the sun and those garden views. Just like extensions, you will lose some outdoor space, but it will certainly be a worthy addition as a conservatory can additionally be used as a dining area, a reading or music room or as a place to entertain.
Transforming a tired space
If you’re lucky enough to have a basement, even if it’s just one you use to store non-perishables and old bike frames, you can find a solution to give your home the luxury feel you’ve been searching for.
Transforming basements into entertainment rooms or additional living areas, especially for the kids, will immediately make your home feel larger and will give purpose to an otherwise overlooked space. Unlike an extension you can do all of this is without needing to lose existing space at the back or side of the house.
If you do have the option to remodel your basement, you want to take the next luxury step, and are struggling for space above ground, the answer is to look below. The basement will give you much scope for improvement, but factor in any additional structuring this may require as, according to QuoteCheck contractors, “working on a basement conversion will need to support any building structure that exists with temporary supports. These can be costly, especially when you’re dealing with a lot of square metres.”
As long as you hire the best professionals who make all costs clear from the start, while keeping you well informed about any potential additional costs throughout, you have already made the best decision for yourself. Now all that’s left to do is start planning your dream extensions.
