It’s totally normal to want to feel pride in your home, especially when you’ve worked hard on home improvements over the last few years. It’s also understandable that even though you love your home, you’re always looking for ideas on how you could improve it further. Like many other homeowners, you might already be considering improvements you could make to get your home ready for the summer season. If you’re the type that loves having family and friends over for BBQs and social gatherings, now is the perfect time to get started. With that in mind, here’s some inspiration on how to make your home even better.
Upgrade your patio
If your patio is a space that’s regularly used, why not take the time to upgrade it a little? If you, your family and guests enjoy using your patio throughout the year, then it’s definitely worth putting a bit of time and money into it. Perhaps some potted plants could brighten up the space, if you're on a budget, or some new patio furniture? You don’t have to spend loads to make your patio a great asset either! Simple upgrades will make spending time in that space even more enjoyable, so get creative and think about the things your family would enjoy the most!
Install outdoor lighting
Outdoor lighting is useful for so many reasons. Not only can you provide ample lighting for those occasions where you’re still sitting outside in the evening, but it adds an extra layer of security to your home too. If potential intruders think someone is home or that outdoor lights could expose their identity, they’re more likely to leave your home alone. There’s lots of different outdoor lighting you could choose from too, such as solar panelled lighting for a cosy ambience, right through to motion detecting lights.
Jet wash your outdoor area
It doesn’t matter how clean and tidy you keep your home and garden, there will always be some sort of dirt and grime that builds up - especially outside. Over the winter, there’s a good chance any decking or patio areas, and even the exterior of your home will have built up a layer of dirt just through poor weather conditions. Now’s the perfect time to dig out your jet washer and give everything a good clean down. Not only will cleaning these areas be another job ticked off your list, but colours will appear brighter and generally make your house look much better overall.
Upcycle some old furniture
If you’ve got some old furniture lying around your home, don’t throw it away just yet! Instead, why not consider upcycling it into something else? As an example, if you’ve got an old wooden ladder that can’t be used anymore, why not paint it and use it as a display stand for potted plants around your home? Or, perhaps you’ve got an old cot you want to get rid of? You could remove the mattress from the base and turn it into an arts and crafts desk for your children to enjoy. It doesn’t have to cost much to upcycle furniture either. You can use any paint you have lying around in your shed and just let your creative juices run! Pinterest is a great place to look for upcycling ideas, so why not have a look to see what you could turn your old furniture into?
Dress your windows
One of the first things people will notice about your home is your windows, and if they’re plain or bare, it’s not going to look very inviting. And, if you are planning on hosting get togethers in your home this year, you’ll naturally want your home to look as homely and inviting as possible. Dress your windows with curtains, blinds, and even fairy lights to give a warm and welcoming feeling as people approach your home. You could also add ornaments and pots of flowers on your window sills to brighten up the space even more. If you have window canopies outside of your windows, give them a clean and use them to make your home look as great as possible.
Give your home a lick of paint
Pretty much all kinds of decorations fade or wear down over time, and if the interior and exterior walls of your home are looking a bit dull and tired, now’s the time to give them a lick of paint! Now, you might want to get some professional home painters in for the exterior to avoid having to climb any ladders, but painting the inside of your home should be easy enough. Why not add an exciting new pop of colour into your home? Even if you only focus on feature walls or stencilling pops of colour, it’ll give a whole new look and feel to your home that you and your guests will enjoy.
Replace doors and fixtures
Much like walls, doors and fixtures can also look tired over time. However, if they work just fine, what’s the point in replacing them? While that’s a valid point, it could completely transform the way your home looks and feels. You don’t have to spend much here either. If you can’t afford to completely replace your doors, why not upcycle them too? You can easily do this by taking doors off their hinges, sanding them down and giving them a fresh coat of paint. While you’re at it, why not add new door handles and a house number (if it’s your front door) to make it look like you’ve got completely new doors?
If you can afford to splash out a little on replacing doors, consider looking into PVC doors. Not only are they really easy to maintain, they look great and they can help keep the warmth inside of your home - which is essential at this time of the year.
Treat your lawn
There’s a good chance that over the winter period that your lawn may have suffered a little. Wet and stormy weather is like a welcome breeding ground for weeds, so the first thing you can do is tackle any weeds that have popped up around your lawn. There are lots of weed killers that you can buy, but it’s important to be careful not to damage your lawn. It might be worth looking into alternative ways of getting rid of weeds on your lawn.
Now is also a good time to get hold of some lawn feed to help give your lawn the nutrients it needs to look luscious and green in a few months time. It’s pretty inexpensive, and doesn’t take much to help transform your lawn into a beautiful space ready for when it’s warm enough to enjoy your garden again!
Create a cosy seating area
If you love to spend time in your garden no matter what the season, then why not make a cosy seating area? You can buy awnings that will cover your patio or decking so that even if it’s raining, you’re able to enjoy spending time outside. There are so many things you can do to create a cosy space outside, such as: installing a firepit in your decking to keep everyone warm and cosy, investing in an outdoor heater, upcycling old chairs and sofas to withstand being outside, layer rugs for a softer feel or install an outdoor kitchen to enjoy dining in the fresh air.
While you might not want to use this space when it’s really cold or really wet, having a space that’s sheltered will allow you to enjoy being outside any time of the year!
Add a driveway
If you don't already have a garage or a driveway on your property, then there’s a good chance you’ve been thinking about getting one, so you can always have a parking space. . You’ll probably need to get planning permission from your local council, and you may even need to pay to have the curb lowered outside of your home, but it’s a great solution if you're fighting with neighbours over a parking space!
Convert your attic space
Finally, if you’re looking for a project that’s going to create a space that’s useful to you, why not convert your attic space? It’s often a space that goes to waste in lots of homes, but it could be turned into another bedroom, office space, or even a playroom for the kids.. And adding another functional room to your home will increase the value of it should you ever choose to sell.
As you can see, there are lots of things to consider when thinking about home improvements. This list only scratches the surface, but it’s a great place to start!
