A new year brings new opportunities and although we are halfway through 2021, many people have probably been saving their dollars towards something big — a mid-year treat for yourself. Something that makes you feel a little better about all the chaos of the world at the moment. This could be a new car, a new bike, a new pair of those shoes you’ve always wanted.
If you choose to spend your money in-house, on the other hand, perhaps you’ve decided to remodel the kitchen or re-do the bathroom, perhaps add on that gazebo, or transform your outdoor space into something special and enjoyable.
If renovations are on your to-do list in 2021, here are some of the best home renovations to suit all types of budgets and styles.
1. Zonal kitchens
One of the biggest pet peeves that anyone who shares a space with anyone else has is that there isn’t enough space. One of the fixes for this problem, short of expanding the space, is to create a ‘zonal’ kitchen. This will require a near-total reorganisation of your kitchen space. This means taking everything out of the cupboards and clearing off the countertops.
Start with a blank canvas. Now, think about how you want to lay out the space, based on the positioning of the oven, microwave, sink, countertop spaces that you use the most and then reorganise based on that.
Have definite zones for cooking, where all your cooking supplies – pots, pans, and so on, are in one place near that ‘zone’. Then another ‘zone’ for cleaning, probably near the sink. Breaking up your kitchen into these zones will ensure there aren’t too many cooks spoiling the broth.
2. Create a home office
It’s amazing how much life has changed in the past year. If you’re not already working from home as a result of the pandemic, you’re one of the lucky ones.
With little end in sight to COVID-19, many people have to shift their entire working life to an online platform. While many of those who have ended up working from home have become quite organised in the home-office department, others have been holding out waiting for things to return to normal.
And unfortunately, there is little end in sight to COVID-19 so the reality of having to shift work to home is finally hitting home. If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to get your home office sorted.
The bed, lounge or kitchen bench isn’t enough anymore. You could be here for a while. Creating your home office may require an extension onto your existing home, or you can simply revamp that spare room you’ve not been using, for instance.
3. A new-look outdoor space
One of the best things you can do for your home is to look outside of it. To do that, make your outdoor space a joy to be in. Put up a gazebo, build yourself a deck, or plant that new garden you’ve always wanted.
Set up outside so it’s an extension of indoors, that way you can enjoy the outdoors, all year round. And given most of us were cooped up inside in 2020, there’s never been a better time to get outside.
4. ‘Smartify’ your home
One of the newest, scariest and coolest trends taking the housing market by storm is the advent of ‘smart’ technology. This newest integration of smart technology into the home is making everyone’s lives easier.
“Alexa, turn off the light.”, and if you have a smart light bulb, Alexa will automatically turn it off for you. There are other smart home fixtures, like smart showers, mirrors, plugs and more.
Mirror, mirror, in the wall…
Given that most of our time this year is likely to be spent indoors, one of the best things you can do for your mental health if you have the money to remodel in this way is to replace some of the home’s windows.
Say, for example, that you live in an older home where the style is a lot of relatively small windows — one of the renovations that you might want to consider is installing a larger front room window and larger windows in the bedrooms.
This will allow for more natural light to penetrate, lighting up the room better and giving you a sense of calm and peacefulness, as well as vitamin D. Whatever your home renovation project, 2021 is going to be a great year to get it done. Take your time, think about it properly, plan it out and then execute.
