How To Upgrade Your Living Room Into a Family-Friendly Space

Living rooms are the center hubs of homes. They’re spaces for your household and guests to gather, create, and relax. Since living rooms are places that greet and hosts visitors, many people style their living spaces with extra flair. However, creating a luxurious space doesn’t always pair well with kids and a full household. With families, living spaces endure a lot of wear and tear, and they require added durability, functionality, and safety features. Here are some tips on upgrading your living room into a family-friendly space.

Create a Mini Play Nook

Children’s attention spans and imaginations require a little extra love and nurturing. Family households often accumulate a range of toys and entertainment sources for the kids. Creating a mini play nook within your living room can provide a designated space to contain the toys and a common area for your kids and their playdates to enjoy. Plus, it will transform your living room into a multi-inclusive room that caters to adults and children alike.

Install Durable Design Features

Family homes endure a lot of consistent wear, from increased foot traffic to toys scraping across every surface. There are many reasons why hardwood makes the best flooring for family rooms, but its durability takes the lead. Installing durable design features will increase the longevity of your living space, minimizing future maintenance costs. Other durable design features to consider upgrading to include wear-proof couch coverings, rugs, and coffee tables.

Secure Tall and Heavy Objects

Kids like to push and climb various obstacles within their reach. Securing tall and heavy objects susceptible to tipping over ensures a safer, family-friendlier space. Make sure to properly secure bookshelves, TVs, and any low shelves to the wall to keep them from falling and hurting any adventurous little ones.

Switch to Family-Sized Furnishings

Switching your furniture for family-sized furnishings creates room for each member and provides plenty of accommodations for your family and guests. Sectional couches offer plenty of seating options, and large, round coffee tables provide extra surface space for drinks and TV dinners. And large TV screens ensure that everyone gets a clear view of the movie.

Transforming your living room into a family-friendly space with a couple of upgrades prepares your home for a transformed life with kids. As your family grows, late-night binge-watching transitions into family game nights, and how you use each room within the home will change drastically. To create fond family memories and a safe, nurturing space within your home, upgrade your living room into the perfect family-friendly hangout.

Home Projects That Will Help You Sell Your Home Quickly

Have you just listed your home? If you’re hoping for a quick sale, consider doing a few small home renovation projects. Home projects can improve your home, and there are a few easy projects you can do that will help you sell your home quickly. House to Home Organizing presents some ideas that you should definitely consider.

Basement Renovation 

If you have a basement you rarely use, featuring a family room with an ancient couch, a basement renovation can help your home stand out and lead to a quick sale. Focus on making the space as functional as possible; turn the basement into an entertainment room with recessed lighting or a bright home office with built-in bookshelves. Do a small basement bathroom renovation to update the counters or put in a new sink to modernize the space.

Landscaping

When enhancing curb appeal and creating a great first impression for potential buyers, spend some time landscaping your yard. This will increase the value of your home and get you a quick sale. Your local garden center can give you tips on which plants grow well in your area. Also, be sure to ask about a plant that can add a pop of color in front of the house. Consider adding a unique sidewalk to the house, and look for bricks or tiles that will enhance your yard.

If you have any trees or bushes that need trimming, do that before you list your home. Overgrown shrubs look messy, can block sunlight from entering the house, and will create a negative first impression, so make sure your yard is neat and clean.

Add a Patio

Another great project to enhance your home is to add a patio to the backyard and boost the appeal of your yard. Potential buyers will have no trouble picturing themselves relaxing on the patio after a long day of work, or sitting comfortably on the patio with a book while keeping an eye on the children playing in the backyard. This isn’t a complicated project, but make sure you calculate the cost before you start.

Replace the Windows

To increase the value of your home and make a quick sale, Consumer Reports suggests upgrading the home security system in your home. Feeling safe is very important for many home buyers, and things like video doorbells and smart smoke detectors can make people feel at ease. So, considering adding elements such as smart lighting, cameras, or other home security measures to draw in these potential buyers.

Updating the Bedroom

If you’ve been living in your current home for a number of years, there’s a good chance that parts of your home are a bit out of date. This is especially noticeable in the bedrooms. If you still have a carpeted floor in some of your bedrooms, do a small renovation and remove the old carpets. You’ll completely change the ambiance of your home with hardwood or laminate flooring, and potential buyers will be impressed by the modern and beautiful touch. After you’ve changed the flooring, update the light fixtures with a soft chandelier or pendant lighting.

Are you ready to sell your home? Do a few home projects to make your house more appealing to potential buyers and increase the value of your home. Focus on creating modern, functional spaces buyers will love, and you’ll sell your home in no time.

If you want to create a space that’s healthy, comforting, and inviting for your whole family, House to Home Organizing can help. Call us today at 203-571-9412.

Guest Post - The Best Home Projects to Begin in the Summer

Depending on your home’s location, the summer may be an ideal time to get involved in outdoor activities. On the other hand, dangerously high temperatures leave southern residents housebound. Each region of the world has its summer renovation perks.

You may begin to evaluate some portions of your property that need sprucing up. Performing summertime home improvements can increase the value of your home, increase its efficiency, and elevate residential comfort.

Decorate Your Patio

Last summer, the government persuaded individuals to bring their gatherings outdoors. The uncertainty of this season’s recommendations leads society to upgrade backyard hosting regions just in case. If you live in northern areas, patio upgrades can open a world of opportunities for summertime fun.

Homeowners can transform unused patios into the ultimate lounge space. Hanging up sheer curtains can add a level of privacy while increasing the deck’s aesthetic appeal. Residents may also add outdoor chandeliers and string lights, adding versatility to the region.

You can host morning brunches or evening cocktail hours in your illuminated space. Including an outdoor rug, couches, and floor seats may create an inviting atmosphere. If you value social time, this is the optimal summer project for you.

Replace Your Roof

The fall and winter present challenging weather patterns that place wear on a home. High hurricane winds, fallen branches, rain, hail, and snow can cause significant damage to roofs. Repairing leaks and displaced shingles can offer temporary relief.

Over time, the cost of small patch-ups adds up, and your roof’s security drops. The summer is a good time to replace your roof to protect your house and your wallet. Longer days and moderate temperatures allow professionals to complete this project quickly and effectively.

Install Smart Devices

In warmer regions, high summer temperatures increase residents’ utility bills. You can limit your home’s energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by installing smart appliances.

Smart thermostats may significantly reduce one’s electricity costs by maintaining an energy-efficient home temperature. The system turns off and on depending on the occupancy of a house. Smart shades also reduce electricity costs by automatically shielding your home from excessive sun exposure in the summer.

Renovate Your Basement

Many homeowners use their basement as a residential storage unit. As outdoor temperatures rise, the warm air in your home expands. The air becomes less dense and travels upwards, increasing the temperature of your attic and cooling your basement.

You can conserve your air conditioning energy by creating a basement den. Consider adding a wall or shelving unit to divide the room into storage and living space. Homeowners may add a little paint, furniture, lighting, and entertainment devices to transform their basement completely.

Where to Start?

Whether you are replacing your roof or adding fresh paint, it may help to consult a professional first. You may feel ambitious and wish to start your home improvements right away, but remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s essential to optimize your summer projects to ensure their longevity and your satisfaction.

Author bio: Rose Morrison is the managing editor of Renovated, where she offers advice on home renovation, maintenance, and organization.

DIY Home Improvement Ideas for Beginners

We partnered with a home improvement company for this post. The opinions in the post are honest. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on our personal views. We are excited because we know you will love it.

The more a home is lived in, the more likely it is that it needs a makeover. We get used to having a home just how we first set it up. However, shuffling furniture and reimagining a space is an amazing way to give a home a new burst of vitality. Makeovers are expensive, though, so many people split the difference with DIY projects. For anyone new to this, worry not. There are many DIY home improvement ideas for beginners that help build skills and are also affordable and fast.

Practical Home Management

Home maintenance goes beyond decor and repairs; it includes practical tasks that keep everything running smoothly. For example, someone looking to replicate a key can ensure that all family members have easy access to the home. This small but important task enhances convenience and security, making it an essential part of home management.

Swap Out Fixtures and Hardware

There are places in every house that are touched and handled more than we realize, particularly light switch plates, doorknobs, handles, railings, and similar assistive fixtures. After a few years of constant use, hardware starts to show its age. Alloys especially become stained and worn by the oils and acids on the many hands that interact with them daily. Replacing these items is very simple and typically doesn’t require much besides a basic electric drill.

Refresh the Look With Paint

Aside from replacing stained and aged hardware, giving old furnishings new life is a worthwhile project. Look at the shelves and storage spaces around your home. These features are easy to remove, replace, or restore as desired. Wooden shelves especially are an ideal project for beginners, as this material is very forgiving. Wood can be painted, sanded, beveled, stained, and so on—all useful skills for a burgeoning DIY pro.

Furniture upgrades are enjoyable DIY projects too. In addition to reupholstering chairs and couches, most furniture will readily take a coat of paint. Explore refreshing your household items and revitalize them with colors and textures of paint.

Reimagine Décor With Adhesives

Gone are the days when the only options for home improvement required precision and years of experience. Nowadays, homeowners divide DIY home improvement projects from the costly and permanent investment of a full remodel. Vinyl has made flooring, tiling, and redecorating a cinch, letting people release their creative side without the huge time and money sink.

Some easy and affordable DIY improvement ideas for beginners to make everyday life cozier are scented drawer liners. Adding them to a dresser, cabinet, or shelves that see frequent use brightens up a space. They’re easy to install and are designed to help protect furniture. As mentioned, flooring is also available in inexpensive vinyl tiles. Simply peel the back and arrange. They are an ideal way to reimagine a space or build a design into an existing floor.