Settling down and living in their dream home is a major life goal for most people. If you find yourself in the coveted position of living in your forever home, then you should be thankful. However, your job is not done yet. Since you plan to stay long-term in your current house, you should start investing in your home and making it better. Transforming an entire house seems like an incredible feat, but don’t worry. It will be much more manageable if you break it down.
Clear Choice Exteriors Findlay is a leading roofing company in Fostoria, OH and today we will discuss the essential areas of your home you need to focus your home upgrades on. If you plan to stay in your home for a long time, then you should focus on improving its appearance, making it energy-efficient and incorporating universal design elements.
1. Beauty
It goes without saying but your home is special. That’s why it should look special, as well. Making your home more beautiful can give you a lot of joy. Waking up in a house that’s beautiful is one of the best feelings in the world. Fortunately, the right home improvement projects can transform your home and make it look more appealing. We’ll first discuss exterior upgrades and then give advice on improving the interior.
We recommend starting with home improvement projects that will improve your home’s appeal while also providing a lot of great benefits. For instance, consider replacing your roof. A new roof can greatly improve your home’s curb appeal while also improving your home’s weather resistance. When choosing your roof color and design, you need to pay attention to these factors.
- Other Elements of Your Exterior – Certain parts of your exterior are more or less permanent. This includes any bricks, masonry and other prominent stone features. Your new roof must not clash with these exterior elements.
- Your Siding – Your siding and roof together form the majority of your home’s appearance. You should make sure that your roof color complements your siding. You shouldn’t choose a roof color that contrasts too heavily with your siding color but you shouldn’t choose a color that’s exactly the same shade as your siding either.
- Your Neighborhood – Take a drive around your neighborhood and look at the homes near you and at the homes that look similar to your own. Your goal is to choose a beautiful roof color that reflects your taste while making sure that your home won’t look out of place.
After replacing your roof, you can also upgrade your home’s siding, windows or doors. A complete exterior home upgrade like this can make your home look brand new and make you fall in love with it all over again. Next, it’s time to focus on your interiors. Answer this question. What’s the one thing you won’t find in the interior of a beautiful home? Clutter. A clean and organized home is beautiful, no matter it’s interior design.
Focus on eliminating the clutter inside your home and improving its storage and organization before anything else. Once you do, you can start interior remodeling projects to change your home’s decor and design to better fit your sense of style and your needs.
2. Energy Efficiency
Improving their homes’ energy efficiency should be a top priority for most homeowners because these upgrades eventually end up paying for themselves. If you plan on staying in your house for decades, then you’ll surely notice how much money you’ll save on your energy bills. Energy efficiency upgrades can also improve your home’s indoor comfort as well.
To improve your home’s energy efficiency, we recommend focusing on the largest openings in your home’s exterior: your windows and doors. Inspect your doors and windows for cracks and gaps that can cause air leaks and drafts. You can seal and caulk these gaps, but for best results we recommend replacing old, drafty and damaged windows and doors. As the leading door replacement service in Fostoria, OH, we can remove your old windows and doors for you and install energy-efficient replacements.
Our replacement windows and doors will not only prevent drafts and air leaks, but they can also improve your home’s energy efficiency. They have energy-efficient glass that reflects heat and prevents unwanted heat transfer. In other words, they can keep heat out during summer and keep heat in during winter. In addition to upgrading your windows and doors, you can also upgrade your HVAC system to a more energy-efficient model, add insulation to your home and improve its ventilation.
3. Universal Design
Universal design refers to the design and arrangement of something so that it can be used and accessed to the greatest extent possible by all kinds of people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. You will make your home safer and more accessible by applying universal design features to your interior. This is important if you plan on staying in your current home. Older people have different needs and requirements.
For instance, the bathroom can be risky for seniors because of its slippery surface. Reduce the risk of falls by installing non-skid mats in the tub or shower. You can also install grab bars near the bathtub or shower to make sitting down, standing up and moving easier. Your goal is to make your bathroom as convenient and as safe as possible, no matter the age of the person using it.
Consider eliminating the steps and thresholds at the entrances and exits of your home to reduce the risk of tripping and to make it easier for wheelchairs to move around. As a bonus, this will also make your interior feel more seamless and connected to the outdoors. As the leading expert in home door and home window installation in Fostoria, OH, we can install new doors in your home to make it easier for people to move around.
Next, make sure that your home has adequate lighting and place flashlights in multiple rooms in case there is a power outage. Toggle light switches are easier to use so replace your rocker-style switches if possible. Make your kitchen easier to use by installing pull-down or adjustable shelving and replace the knobs on your drawers and cabinets with D-shaped handles. When remodeling your interior, don’t just focus on beauty. Work with your designer so that the layout doesn’t obstruct foot traffic.
The right home upgrades can greatly improve your home’s appearance and make it better fit your lifestyle and needs. You don’t have to pack up, leave the neighborhood and buy or build a new house to get the home of your dreams. For best results you will need to plan your home improvement projects carefully and work with a reliable and experienced contractor like Clear Choice Exteriors Findlay. We’ve completed countless successful projects through the years and we’re excited to help you.
We’ve been in the home improvement industry for many years and we’ll use this experience to make your home improvement projects as easy and convenient for you as possible. We’re here to inform and educate so we can give you plenty of advice on your roof, window or door replacement project. As a locally-owned and operated business, we are part of the community. You can count on us to do our best and make your home improvement project a success.