Remodeling a home is an exciting endeavor that a lot of people enjoy, and for a lot of homeowners, it is also a necessary task.
This is because more than 50% of houses in the US were built before the 1980s, and without regular upkeep and remodeling, these houses can pose serious safety concerns.
However, remodeling your house does not necessarily have to be about repairs.
Making a few small changes can help to make your home feel more comfortable and spacious for you and your family. It does not have to be costly and difficult either.
Here are some simple tips to make your house look and feel bigger than it actually is.
Improve Ventilation
A house that isn’t well-ventilated, no matter how big it actually is, can feel stuffy and cramped.
Moreover, it can pose serious health risks because poor indoor air quality can lead to respiratory issues.
Unfortunately, this is quite common – over 40% of Americans live in homes with unhealthy levels of indoor air pollution.
This is particularly true for older houses that were built before safety standards were in place, and most of them are constructed with potentially harmful materials, such as asbestos.
One good way to avoid this issue is to ventilate and illuminate your home. Crack open a window, and make sure that these windows are clean so that they also let the sunshine in.
This simple trick goes a long way in letting natural air circulate in your house, making it less stuffy. The combination of natural air and sunlight will make your home feel comfortable and spacious.
You can also put a skylight on the roof or increase the size of your windows if your home needs more light and air.
Do Away with Clutter
Marie Kondo made waves a few years ago for her simple organizing rule that things should only be kept if they spark joy. It is understandable that such an idea resonated with a lot of people since it is easy to accumulate stuff.
Before you know it, you and your home are overwhelmed with things that you do not necessarily need.
Clutter not only takes up physical space, but studies also found that a cluttered home can increase your stress levels and reduce your focus.
As such, to free up space in your home and improve your state of mind, complement your regular cleaning with decluttering, too.
Discard things that you do not need, or even better, you can donate those that are still in good condition to charities or NGOs near you.
As well, to avoid accumulating clutter in the first place, make sure that you only keep things that you truly need.
Smart Storage
Typically, we use storage containers to try to compartmentalize our things, and to some extent, they do give us a semblance of an organized home.
However, they can also take up so much space that sometimes, they end up being counterproductive. As well, they are also enabling additional things to accumulate.
A rule of thumb is that your storage space in your house should only take up around 10% of your home, and for small spaces, this can pose a challenge.
One way to go around this is to use multi-functional storage spaces. For example, free up space in your workspace by using a desk that also doubles as a bookshelf.
There are also flip-top coffee tables that may be used as storage containers. Using multi-functional storage allows you to still tidy up your things while freeing up your space.
Small spaces can be just as comfortable as large spaces.
Following these simple tips as you remodel or reorganize your home. By doing so, you not only free up space in your house, but you also make it more comfortable for you and your family.