Hello World! Welcome Friends! So you’ve just purchased a new house… congratulations! Chances are it’s been quite a journey to reach this point. From arranging your mortgage with a broker like Altrua Financial to liaising with solicitors, arranging moving vans, making all kinds of phone calls to change your address and much more. But now, you have the keys in your hand, and it all feels like it was worth it. Your next step is transforming an empty shell into a place that truly feels like home, and this really is the fun part. Here’s how you can go about it.
Clear Out the Old
If you’re moving into an older property, you might need to start by removing things like old carpets and flooring, even ripping out kitchens and bathrooms if you’re going to renovate. If you’re able to do this before you move in it can be much easier as you won’t need to work around boxes and the rest of your stuff. Older houses can have things like ceiling tiles, old fashioned fireplaces and other things that you don’t plan on keeping. Get rid of these things, have a professional come in to add things like extra sockets, repair plasterwork and fix any minor issues. Give everywhere a deep clean, don’t forget on top of doors and things like skirting boards which can easily be overlooked. That way you have a nice blank canvas to start off with. If you’re moving into a new build or newer home, you might not have to do anything at all and can get straight on with the next step.
Figure out the Layout
The layout is so important in the home, you want everything to flow nicely and to have enough space to move around. If you’re bringing furniture from your old home, it can be a little tricky to make everything fit, especially if the rooms are different shapes and sizes. You could use an online room planner to figure things out ahead of time if you don’t want to be moving furniture about unnecessarily. You may need to sell some pieces or buy some other to get each room looking the way you want them. For example, a super king size bed might dominate your new bedroom if it’s a little smaller and you might want to switch to a king or double. But a smaller bed might look a little lost in a bigger space and give you the ability to upgrade.
Decorate
Decorating is a fantastic way to put your own stamp on a property. Carefully consider colors, it can be worth painting walls in a light neutral shade throughout to make the home look spacious and ‘flow’. The same is true of flooring, a good choice is hard wearing flooring downstairs that’s easy to clean, and a soft carpet with the same color throughout upstairs. You can still add color and personality- use wallpaper on one feature wall in the living room and bedrooms, then match accessories to this. Lamps, rugs, curtains, cushions- they’re all ways you can bring in color while still keeping the home looking airy and not too fussy.
Personal Touches
Adding personal touches is what will really bring your home to life and make it feel like yours. Purchase a book shelf, and display all of your favorite novels along with travel souvenirs, family photos and more. Add candles in a scent you love (scents are linked with memories and nostalgia meaning they’re great for creating a homely atmosphere) plus plants and ornaments that you find interesting. Find artwork that catches your eye and evokes emotion or some kind of mood in you and hang this on the walls. Along with your regular pieces of furniture, you could choose some pieces that really stand out- accent chairs in crazy patterns, quirky coffee tables or lamps, or statement light fittings. If you choose one or two pieces per room it can add a lot of interest, especially if you’ve kept everything else quite neutral.
What sort of things did you do/ do you plan to do to make your home feel like your own when you first move in?
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Toodles,
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