Have some time on your hands because it gets dark at 4:30 pm? Why not rethink your living space?
With a few tips, it’s possible to reimagine how your house is laid out and make tons of positive changes without spending a penny.
When you first purchase a new home, one of the first things that most people do is figure out how they’re going to layout each room. When you’re in the living room or kitchen standing in a sea of boxes, it’s a fun challenge to move furniture and décor around until you’ve found the perfect fit.
However, add in some pets, maybe a few kids, and watch several years go by. You may find that the layout of your home, unchanged all that time, doesn’t really work for your needs anymore. Even worse, it can make your home feel like a place of unchanging monotony.
How to Creatively Rethink Your Living Space
Some people try and fix their discontent with their home by spending money on new furniture and decorations, then throwing out or donating their old ones. Not only does this cost a lot of money, it means that your beloved items will most likely be headed to a landfill, creating unnecessary environmental waste.
Instead, creatively rethink your living space with some of these easy tips.
- Move Furniture Around
If you’re looking to change up your home, start by making a list of every large item you have. Instead of dividing it by room, organize your list by type. Start with larger items like couches, armchairs, and beds, and move down the list until you’ve catalogued every lamp, side table, and blanket. Once you’ve got a comprehensive list, let your imagination run wild and see what you can do with what you’ve got.
Change up the seating in your living room by spinning everything to face the opposite window, or go wild and experiment with swapping out entire rooms. See what it’s like to move your dining room into the space where your living room just was. You may be surprised at how well your new layout works.
- Swap Out Drapery and Soft Goods
If the thought of moving furniture around is too daunting, you can create an entirely new look for every room in your house by swapping out drapery and soft goods. Move your bedroom curtains to the living room, and vice-versa, and see what it’s like for a day or two. Even something as simple as throwing a new blanket over your couch can make a huge impact.
- Reupholster Select Furniture Pieces
If your furniture is in good shape, you can make it look brand-new by reupholstering it in a new fabric or colour. There are lots of cheaper ways to DIY this, but if you want to get it right, it’s best to bring in an expert.
You’d be surprised how quickly a couch or dining room chair looks chic when you replace the dated fabric with a sleek, modern alternative. Plus, these days you can find fabrics that repel water and stains, making them much more long-lasting than before.
- Edit Your Belongings
You don’t necessarily need to add items to give yourself a fresh start in your living space. Editing works just as well.
There are many different methods for purging old belongings. The KonMari method is extremely popular but requires that organizers organize their items in one large effort, rather than little by little. If you’re short on time, you can simplify things by going room by room.
One key piece of advice: be ruthless. Don’t keep things around that you won’t use, don’t like, or are only keeping out of obligation. Sentimentality is ok, but in small doses.
- Reclaim Underused Rooms
Do you have certain rooms that you only use occasionally? A great example would be an underused guest room or a basement that’s only used on game nights. Instead of letting these rooms sit empty 90% of the time, reclaim them by using them for more than one purpose.
A guest room can easily become an office if you take away the bed and add a sleeper sofa or Murphy bed. An underutilized basement can be a million different things: a playroom for kids, a wine cellar, or even an exercise space. Don’t let the past dictate how you use this space in the future.
- Rethink Small Spaces
If you’ve been using a few different small spaces for storage because you can’t think of an alternative, now’s the time to get creative. A closet previously used for storage or even a staircase landing can easily become a reading nook, a miniature office, or a place for you to enjoy your hobbies. All it takes is a bit of creative thinking and some organizational materials to make it work.
Make Your Home Your Own
Have you thought through all these options and realized that your home just isn’t working for your needs anymore? It may be time to think about putting your current house up for sale.
If you’ve grown beyond your current needs, we can help. The Dan Gemus Real Estate Team are dedicated, local Windsor and Essex County, ON real estate agents who have been working together to find the right homes for our friends and neighbours since 2013. We can help you scour listings for public and private house sales until you find what you need. Get in touch today to learn more about our team of professional agents, and how we can help find you the right home.
