Clever Renovation Ideas That Will Make Your Home Work For You

If you are thinking that moving into a home that will suit your needs better is the right choice, you need to consider these clever renovation ideas before you start packing. About 40 million people move every year, and absorb those moving costs.

Moving is not cheap, and it can be a huge hassle. Clever renovation ideas can help you to fall back in love with your home, and save yourself the stress of a move.

Starting Over

Whether you have been in your home for five years or fifteen years, you are that much closer to paying it off. Most Americans have to take a mortgage to buy their home. Starting over can push you back a few years when it comes to getting close to putting that debt to rest.

Typically, when someone is looking for new a home because their current home no longer fits their needs they are looking to “upgrade” their space. Ultimately, it means spending more money on a bigger home.

You can stay in your home and save money by following some clever renovation ideas to transform your home into the space that you need. Why deal with all the hassle and financial impact if you do not have to.

What Is It About Your Home That You Want to Change?

Home remodeling with a purpose is the best way to invest in your home. Making a list of what it is that you love about your home and what you want to change about your home is a good way to narrow down what changes you want to make.

Most people find that having more space is their number one reason for wanting to move. That is a problem that can easily be addressed with some clever renovation ideas. Another big reason that people feel like moving is the right option is because of the number of repairs that the home needs. The fact is even if you need major repairs, it is very likely that staying in your current home is the cheaper way to go.

Making a list of all the things you want to get out of your home, and all the repairs that you need to make will give you a better idea of where you actually stand. Sometimes we can out of frustration miss all the good things that our homes have to offer. Making a list will help you to get things in order.

Making Repairs Before the Renovation

If your home is feeling less like an ideal sanctuary because you need some repairs, start with the major ones first. For example, solid roofing is a must. If your roof is not performing as it should you want to address that before you consider clever renovation ideas that are going to open up space and give you more elbow room.

Many contractors that offer roof repair services also offer financing options. You may be able to get those repairs or replacements done for an affordable monthly payment. You will feel different about your home once you get rid of the worry about your roof.

HVAC issues are another common problem that you should address before you move on to the clever renovation ideas. Having reliable climate control will make a difference in how you feel about your home.

Once you get the big repairs out of the way then you can take advantage of the clever renovation ideas to improve your space and make it into a space that is more in line with your lifestyle needs. This is where the fun really starts.

How Do You Fund These Clever Renovation Ideas?

Before we get to all the renovation ideas that are going to help improve your home you should consider how you will be paying for it all. Even if you are a DIY expert, you will still need to pay for supplies.

There are ways that you can fund your renovations that can put less of a dent in your wallet. Some of the ways may initially feel a little painful but can be a smart financial move:

• This may sound a little extreme but you could sell your car and buy one of the repairable cars for sale outright. How much is your car payment every month? What could you do with that money if you were free from a car payment? Think about the impact giving up your expense financed car can have on your income.
• Tap into your home’s equity. There is no better time to refinance than right now. If you have built up enough equity in your home, you should think about taking out that equity to finance your renovations.
• Use your savings. When you compare the interest that you are earning on your savings with the interest that you will have to pay on credit card debt, you can see how it may be more lucrative to cash in a few CD’s to raise the funds that you need.

When it comes to renovations doing a little bit at a time is also an option. Instead of knocking out the addition at one time, consider doing it bit by bit as you can afford to pay for the materials. This is the longer version of getting things done, but you may be able to use some of the clever renovation ideas without assuming any debt by taking a slow and steady approach, and doing things as you can afford to do them.

A DIY approach to these ideas can also be a way to save. You do not have to take on the entire project as a DIY project. You can work with the contractor to do part of the work like demolition or finish work to help cut down on costs.

Some things are best left up to the experts, like asphalt paving of your driveway. However, even in that case, you can talk to the contractor and ask about doing part of the prep work yourself. You have to think outside the box to find savings.

Great Ideas To Expand Your Living Space

Some clever renovation ideas are really affordable, especially when it comes to getting more living space out of your home. For example, everyone has beds in their home. You can pull out your old bed, and create a platform bed with hinged doors on top that become a great storage space.

What are you doing with your garage? Is it full of castaways from the house? You can clean it, out get those garage door repairs done, and create an entire living-space out of your garage. It is a lot easier than you think to transform your garage into an extra bedroom, a workspace, a home gym, and more.

Any company that does AC duct repair work can usually install the ductwork that you need to your garage to tie in your home heating and air. You have walls already in place, a ceiling, and a floor. Once you have the HVAC hooked up, and new garage doors in place that will make it look less like a garage and more like part of your home, you just have to do the cosmetic work.

You may be thinking if you create a living space out of your garage where do you put all your items that live in the garage, such as extra wheels and car parts? That is easy. You can invest in a shed or even build one yourself. You can add a carport to keep the car under. There are plenty of solutions that can help you to make better use out of your garage.

Here are some other clever renovation ideas to expand your living space:

• Make two rooms out of one large room. You can divide a room in two by adding rolling bookshelves that double as a room divider. The shelving units are mounted on tracks that allow you to move them out of the way when they are not needed, or to stay in place when some privacy is needed between the two spaces. This is a great way to turn your home office into an office/guest room retreat.
• Bathroom expansion. You may not be able to change the footprint of your bathroom, but you can do some renovations that will make it seem a lot bigger. For example, pull out your old shower stall, lay some tiles up the wall and around the drain, and enclose it with glass blocks. You would be surprised how much larger your bathroom will feel.
• Think outside the box. Hidden storage can be tucked in the most unusual places, like under your steps.

Adding wheels to the bottoms of bookshelves, and other storage systems can help you to find spaces to tuck things away neatly. You can take a cue from tiny home builders that make use of every inch of space.

Some clever renovation ideas for bedrooms include:

• Getting the bed up off the floor. Loft beds help you to get more floor space in any bedroom. That floor space can be used for dressers, desks, play space, and more.
• Window seats in a bedroom are simple boxes built below a window that makes for a great place to read, relax, or take off your shoes.
• Pocket door closets are a great space saver. With only a few inches of space, you can create a pocket door shelving system that will keep the bedroom tidy without taking up square footage of floor space.

There are so many clever renovation ideas that you can tap into that will help you to fall right back in love with your home. If space is what you are after, have you considered an addition?

Home additions can add a great deal of square footage. Of course, if you are moving toward the idea of addition you will need some professional help within if you want it done right. A lot of people build off the back of their houses to create more space. Unfortunately, a lot of people wind up with cuts that require stitches, broken bones, and more when they take on projects that are way beyond their scope. Follow the suggestions above if you want to save on a home addition, ask the contractor what the cost savings would be if you did part of the work yourself.

Clever Renovation Ideas For Your Kitchen

After a need for more space, the next big reason that homeowners want to find a new home is their kitchen. We spend a lot of time in our kitchens. It is more than a place to prepare meals, it is the center of the home for most families. Kitchen renovations are one of the most frequent renovations.

How can you get more space out of your kitchen without knocking down walls and starting from scratch? Try these easy clever renovation ideas:

• Rearrange your kitchen. You may need to hire a plumber to get some help with this idea but it will be well worth it. If your kitchen layout is not working for you, move things around. If you can fit all your appliances on one wall, it can open up a lot of floor space.
• Paint, a backsplash, and cabinet refacing. If your kitchen is just tired looking and you want to give it a facelift, painting, adding a new backsplash, and have your kitchen cabinets refaced can really revitalize things affordably.
• Remove things. If you never use those cabinets over the fridge take them down. If you do not use some of the counter space have it removed. If you find that the cabinet configuration does not work for you change it around. You do not need to buy new cabinets you can use what you have. Paint them buy new hardware then reconfigure them.

Clever renovation ideas can be found all over the internet that fit every budget. Most contractors that specialize in home renovations offer great financing options. There is no reason not to create the sanctuary that you envision your home to be. Sometimes you have to get a little creative to make your space work for you, but in the end, it will all be well worth it.