RE-APPRECIATING YOUR HOME

JUST when you’re looking around your home and considering moving or drastic renovation a visitor praises your property and forces you to re-consider your views.

Every now and then, it’s a good idea to re-appreciate your home and remember just what attracted you to it in the first place. This may have been its location, its sunny outlook, airy rooms, its living flowthrough or simply its potential.

It’s good to recall what drew you to it and remember those feelings.

It also helps that re-appreciation to take a quick sensory tour of your home and recall the pleasures – your cosy couch, the warmth of the sun coming through your lounge windows or the feel of a fluffy rug under your feet.

Have you got lovely neighbours? Is the area pleasant and convenient for your lifestyle, your work and your social life? Can you live in that property comfortably within your means?

If you listen to your visitors’ opinions, you may well see your home through a fresh pair of eyes and be pleasantly surprised.

However, if you find that you’re still not 100 per cent happy with where you are, consider using all those pluses you’ve re-recognised and improving them.

Those lovely WINDOWS that let in the light so well may need enhancing or even changing, perhaps to double-glazed windows that help keep insulation costs down.

Or, you may need to re-think the current curtains. Are they too dark and don’t enhance the sunny rays that light up your room? New curtains don’t have to cost a fortune and opting for full-length ones can make your room look much larger. Blinds today come in all kinds of styles and patterns so pop along to your local store or go online to see how they can enhance any window. You’ll be amazed at the latest styles – everything from vertical blinds to roller blinds and from Roman to Venetian, vision blinds and pleated.

Take an honest re-appraisal of the OUTSIDE of your house and see if that smart exterior you originally bought into is long gone and might need a fresh coat of paint or new fascia boards.

Is it still the welcoming place you remember or does your FRONT DOOR need painting or replacing with something more modern and brighter?

A front door that allows in plenty of light can transform a HALL so it’s well worth the investment and taking a look around local suppliers. And while we’re in the hall, does it give a positive first impression of who you are?

If not, it may be that you need to de-clutter it – move all those coats and shoes into a cupboard or shoe-racks, decorate in bright colours and add a large mirror to reflect light and give an illusion of space if it needs it.

A change of FLOORING can make a huge difference to any area of the house but especially in the popular areas like the lounge and kitchen where family members tend to gather.

Whether it’s carpet, wood, eco-friendly bamboo or tiles, new or different flooring can make you take that fresh look at your home and learn to re-love it.

Wooden flooring with attractive rugs can be particularly effective in a lounge, especially with a log-burning fire or open fireplace. The glow just seems to start there and emanate around the room

so if you always liked the cosiness of your lounge, here’s a chance to enjoy it once more.

As we go into the chillier months, it’s worth ensuring your CENTRAL HEATING is working properly. You can’t re-appreciate your home if you’re shivering!

Do you need a new boiler? Bring in a qualified Gas Safe engineer near you - to find them go to https://www. gassaferegister.co.uk/ or try British Gas at https:// www.britishgas.co.uk/home-services/boilers-andheating/guides/trusted-gas-engineer.html

Check on DRAUGHTS in your home for the same reason and take a special look around doors and windows. This is going to be a particularly energyconscious Winter and draught-proofing is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to save energy and save money.

Uncontrolled draughts just blow money out of the door or window. The Energy Saving Trust states you could probably save around £45 a year by draught-proofing doors and windows and, if you have an open chimney, when you’re not using it draughtproofing could save around £65 a year.

Just remember that your property still needs ventilation with air flowing in and out of your home to stay fresh, dry and healthy. So make sure you don’t block or seal any intentional ventilation like extractor fans, underfloor grilles or airbricks, wall vents or trickle vents on modern windows.

KITCHENS can look outdated and unloved but you don’t have to make a big investment to change your mind on yours. New doors or worktops can make a real difference and just changing the colour scheme and adding updated modern taps, for example, can make you love it again.

The same is true of BEDROOMS where units may just need updating. Call in a local bedroom furniture supplier that has either done work for someone you know who can recommend them or has positive reviews posted online.

A change of relaxing colour scheme here can also soon make you re-appreciate this important room. Even something much cheaper like changing the colour of the bedding and curtains can make a dramatic difference.

When thinking of a new BATHROOM. The same idea of changing accessories can help you re-like your bathroom. Change the shower curtain and add matching bathroom accessories or bring in plants in matching pots.

If you are improving your home, it’s worth keeping in mind as a homeowner that you might be able to get help towards interest payments on your mortgage and/or loans you’ve taken out for certain repairs and improvements.

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