Improve, Don’t Move

With growing families comes change and big decisions. House refurbishments, such as home renovations often prove to be a popular solution for families that have outgrown their homes or living space, and this is what we opted for rather than going through the financial and emotional stresses of upping sticks and relocating.

Initially, you might consider moving home; from a three bedroomed house that provides enough room for two kids to grow up in may suddenly seem small and cramped. However, a valuation from a local estate agent may often indicate that moving isn’t the best or most viable option, as the price of your home may have fallen since the time you moved in. Moving to a different area probably isn’t the best option either, especially if you love where you live, and didn’t want the kids to have to move schools.

Research into the most effective ways to renovate your home isn’t always easy and professional advice can come at a cost. The most important consideration into the transformation of your home may be to make the current space more liveable, and to potentially build an extension once there was enough money in the bank. So, after scouring the internet for hints and tips, you may have landed here we’re the UK Home Improvement team have compiled the most effective ways to breathe life back into your home, as well as making space for any new arrivals.

Renovate the Conservatory

If you have a conservatory, excellent. It’s even better if it’s largely unused; it may have been there when you bought the house and you might never have sought to utilise it. It might not be a liveable space, and certainly not suitable for young children as conservatories tended to overheat in summer and be too cold in winter.

However, you may be surprised to know that the possible inconsistent room temperatures may most likely be the result of the polycarbonate roof, which is renowned for being very poor at regulating heat. If this is the case consider upgrading to a minimum spec such as 6mm polycarbonate sheets.

One solution you can consider looking into is to fit an insulated roof system, but choosing this option is not ideal and comes with a cost. Depending on your conservatory you might have to opt for a tiled roof therefore loosing the benefit of abundant light.

An alternative solution is to simply fit a new glass roof on the conservatory. Glass roofs for conservatories, can actively reflects heat in the summer and prevents heat escaping in the winter.

A new glass conservatory roof can be the perfect solution to creating extra living space, without the costs of having to extend. The kids could then use this area as a play room all year round and with their toys all stored in that one room, the rest of the home is then much freer for other living arrangements.

Creating an open plan kitchen-diner

Another room that you may not really use could be the dining room. Generally most people only use this room when they have guests came over for dinner; You may rarely eat in there and usually find yourself squeezed onto a tiny table in the kitchen or eat in front of the TV.

If understandable if you’re worried that you won’t be able to keep an eye on the kids when they were eating especially if you’re also looking after a baby. A simple solution can be to knock down the wall between the kitchen and the diner to create a large, open family space. Professional builders can make light work of this creating brilliant and immediate results. It’s also the perfect time to take advantage of this renovation and go a little further by getting a new kitchen, this way you’ll be able to reconfigure layout, thus maximising the space you have whilst also creating the perfect family hub.

Decorating and additional storage

Whilst this seems like an obvious one; a lick of paint can work wonders. A couple of weekends to repaint the downstairs living areas and fit storage units is a small price to pay especially if it returns years of easier living. Repainting tends to breath new life into any home, whilst additional storage means space in the house is more practical, making each area more enjoyable to us by anyone.

If you’re looking to relocate or are facing a growing family, we recommend considering renovation as a strong alternative to moving home. If however it eventually proves not to be case you can always invite your local estate agent back to the house for a revaluation. Depending on what renovations you’ve done, your local area and the house itself you might be surprised as some properties can easily increase by 15%.