Sunday, 22 December 2013

Fine Tuning The Layout Of Your Home

By Vickie Daeley


If you don't use a room for its original intention, why not consider recreating it to serve a better purpose? This new concept is catching on more and more and has become a very popular and affordable idea! The formal dining room or even a small sized family room can easily be converted into just about any type of space your family may need. In some cases, this room can be used to make your kitchen or living area a larger, more usable space for your entire family.

Consider your home for a minute. Do you use that formal dining room more than two or three times each year? Is your living room a larger size than your family room? What if you made your kitchen larger by utilizing the space in the dining room? What if you transformed your living room into a great room or family room? While it might be hard to wrap your head around these changes, they can truly allow you to maximize the use of your home. While the builder might have created your home a certain way, you are free to change things around according to your needs and wants.

In our experience, the family and dining rooms are the areas most frequently used for a different purpose than originally intended. These spaces often are used as offices or perhaps a library or even a playroom or another living area. If you don't actually use a room frequently, it might be nice to change it and make it a space that you will use often. However, you want the changes to look as though the room always was intended for the new purpose and to achieve that goal, consider the following steps.

1. Create a Purpose For the Room

Consider your lifestyle and how you currently use the rooms of your home. Is your home missing a much-need home office? Do you own hundreds of books and really have no place to store them properly? Perhaps you would love to buy that piano you always wanted, but felt as though your home just didn't have a space for it. Take a long look at the room in your house that rarely is used. Maybe this space could be transformed into the room you need. It is a great idea to set up a design consultation with a trusted interior design firm and get a professional opinion about the change you wish to make.

2. Considering the Essential Changes

Now that you have decided the purpose of the room, how will you transform the space? Do you need storage? Are you considering new cabinetry? What type of flooring will suit your needs? You also need to think about lighting and electricity. Consider the layout of the new room and ensure that you have the proper type of lighting and access to power outlets in the right locations. And of course privacy is an important factor. If you're creating a home office for your business, do you need doors for additional privacy?

While you certainly have your own ideas, consulting a trusted interior designer is always a wise idea. Designers work with teams of specialists and contractors who understand exactly how to make any type of structural change. Your designer is also thinking about the long-term use of the room and addressing all of the elements, including wall decor, flooring, cabinetry, lighting, ceilings and many other design elements. Using a designer can be the best way to make sure that the end result is exactly what you want.

3. Layering The Decorative Elements

While the construction and electrical work is important, the fun part of the design process is getting an opportunity to truly infuse your personality into this update space. Your designer can help you layer all of the important elements of design. This includes helping you choose furniture, wall treatments, window treatments and decorative types of lighting that all function together beautifully.

Another reason designers are needed is because they can help make the new room flow well into the nearby rooms in your home. With careful choices in regards to color and fabric designs, your room can enhance the overall design of your home.




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