AD | How to improve your family home

The quality of your home can make a big difference to your quality of life. A little bit of renovation, or a major extension, can often provide you and your family with the space you need to thrive. But if you’re thinking about investing in changes, it’s worth thinking about which are going to offer the greatest value. Let’s consider some popular modifications...

Embracing Open-Plan Living

For several decades, open-plan has been the default option for those wishing to create a sense of space and freedom. This has been the case for a simple reason: open plan is very effective. When you remove unnecessary dividing walls, you can see further, which is fantastic for driving out claustrophobia. It also becomes easier to adapt a given space for several purposes and create a sense of community among family members who might be occupying different parts of the space. In a kitchen diner, for example, you might have one person cooking while another does their homework at the dining table.

Enhancing Energy Efficiency

If your home is more energy efficient, then it will also be cheaper to run in the long term. New-built homes often come equipped with the latest energy-efficient technologies, setting a benchmark for sustainability. But you can bring existing homes up to standard by making the right investments.

Photo by Raul Petri

Upgrading a boiler is an obvious example. But you can also find savings by making small investments, here and there. Loft insulation, LED bulbs, and the adoption of simple energy-saving habits, like not overfilling the kettle, can make a big cumulative difference in the long run.

Creating Multi-Functional Spaces

If you want to get the most out of the space available to you, then having different spaces serve multiple purposes can be extremely powerful. If your home office can double as a guest room, and your living room can double as a gym, then you might get much better use from the space available to you. This is great when you’re catering to a growing family.

Incorporating Outdoor Living Areas

Gardens, patios and balconies are a great way to extend your indoor living space. During summer, they can be particularly powerful. You might use a well-developed patio, for example, to host family gatherings – or to host parties for children and their friends.

Photo by Vlad Bucur

Prioritising Safety and Accessibility 

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, most accidents occur in the home. This is unsurprising, since the home is where most of us spend most of our time. But it does follow that, if you want to reduce the risk for yourself and your family members, you’ll make a few choice upgrades. The installation of the right lighting, child-proofing measures like locks on cupboard doors, and stairgates, can all be effective.

Making your home family-safe is so important, and so is fun! Check out how we've made our house a bit more baby-friendly since the arrival of my niece...