You have purchased a new house. How do you make it your home? Colors, paintings, decorative pillows, plants, and display pieces can all convey a piece of your personality. The Internet is full of ideas for beautiful spaces, but would you feel special in an exact replica of someone else’s home?
Storage Space in Unique Spaces
Grandma’s farmhouse contained far more storage than homes built in recent decades. Fortunately, builders and home decorators are beginning to gravitate toward not only more storage space, but unique storage solutions. The real beauty of today’s decorative storage ideas is they not only add extra room to hide clutter, but they add to the character of your home.
Source: Mira Vista Storage Units in Fort Worth, TX | All Storage Online
What do you do when there isn’t much floor space for cube storage or bookcases? In bedrooms, craft rooms, and laundry spaces, traditional shelves may be used to store items off the floor. Add a touch of creativity by using brightly colored hexagon-shaped boxes, wire baskets, or cylinder-shaped containers mounted with the bottom against the wall instead.
Source: 30 Unique Storage Ideas for Small Spaces | DIY Cozy Home
The next place to look for unused space is down and under. The area under the bed can collect dust, or it can store seasonal items. Plastic underbed tubs are readily available for purchase, but why not reuse the drawers from an old dresser instead. Add casters to the drawers and roll them in and out as needed.
Pantry space is often lacking in modern homes. Move the refrigerator over a little bit and add a roll-in pantry beside it. These thin rolling shelf units are perfect for canned goods and boxed dry goods, freeing up valuable cabinet space for pans and dishes. Smaller roll-in shelf units fit neatly beside bathroom cabinets or between the washer and dryer and are perfectly sized for shampoos and cleaners.
It seems that little people have the most things to store in their rooms; yet, they have the smallest rooms in the house. Sometimes you are hard pressed to fit anything larger than a toddler bed or crib in them. Where are the toys, books, computers, and sports equipment all supposed to go? Again, let’s move things up. The bed does not have to be on the floor. Build a huge drawer unit the size of a twin-sized bed and place the mattress on top. Or raise the bed with a platform of dresser drawers on one end and an L-shaped desk and bookcase around the back on the other end.
Backup Generator
Although it may not seem like a necessary or helpful purchase at first, a backup generator can be indispensable. Power can go out for any reason, fires, electric storms, states of emergency, faulty circuit breakers, floods, overloaded power boards, and more can cause electric stations and equipment to malfunction and even if you’re hundreds or thousands of miles away it could affect you. If you live in an area where heavy rain, snow or other extreme weather occurs, it would be wise to invest in a backup generator seeing as those areas are the ones most frequently affected by power outages. Cold weather is also extremely dangerous because for some areas if the power goes it, then it could also affect the heating as well.
In situations where medical equipment is running in the home for ailing members of the family, or even for simple things like a sleep breathing machine, having a backup generator could be the difference between life and death.
Source: What To Do When the Power Goes Out | Rental Power
Sunrooms
There is nothing more inviting than a room filled with light. Today’s sunrooms offer choices like double-paned, polarized, and glazed windows to maintain consistent room temperatures. Inviting light in no longer has to mean sacrificing comfort. Sunrooms provide comfortable seating with a view in natural light without the discomfort of outdoor elements and critters.
Source: Sunrooms | Solar Innovations
For a long time sunrooms were seen as only something the wealthy or well off could afford, or maybe if you moved into an older home that had one already installed. That isn’t the case anymore. Sunrooms are cropping up more and more as society begins to realize the importance of sunlight and UV rays in our lives. Relaxing in a sunroom can help your body be physically and mentally well. That alone is worth any costs for this wonderful addition.
Gardens
Now that you’ve added a beautiful sunroom, a spectacular view is a must-have. Can’t afford a piece of paradise? Create your own. A custom stone patio, outdoor kitchen, and complimentary outdoor living furniture combined with an exciting assortment of shrubs, colorful local plants, stone or mulched flower beds neatly lined with decorative bed liners will leave you with only one decision: Do you want to be outside looking in or inside looking out?
Gardens are also coming into fashion as a unique and helpful way to get exercise. It may not seem like it but gardening can be quite physically strenuous. You work a lot of your upper body and core with many common gardening tasks. Not only that, but being out in the sun, as talked about above, is good for your health.
Gardening has also been shown to help with mental health. There’s a deep sense of satisfaction to bringing something to life. There’s also something special about getting your hands into the earth and soil. The best way to describe it is that it’s grounding.
Source: Designing Outdoor Living | Creative Garden Spaces
If you or someone you know are planning on buying or selling their home, keep us in mind! We have a great reputation in the Puget Sound, and we will do everything we can to help you in whatever way you need!