Sometimes a house becomes too big or small for the inhabitants. This is time for a home remodeler to be brought in.
Moving to a larger or smaller home isn't always the answer when a home remodeler can alter an existing abode to create a better fit. A homeowner's needs change over time. Babies are born; children grow up into teens who need more privacy; kids go away to college and elderly parents move in. Unless a family wants to move repeatedly,
sometimes it just makes sense to alter their current address's usability. This is especially true if they are in a nice location, close to friends, neighbors, doctors, dentists and more. Unless you're ready for a new neighborhood, moving can be an expensive and stressful way to gain square footage or specific spaces. In today's housing market, it's difficult to sell a place and get enough cash back for the next one anyway. Here are some things to think about in planning this change:
- Take An Inventory: It's helpful to take a look at all the rooms in your current floor plan to see if there might be some hidden space lurking there.
o Dining room: Do you dine there very often during the year or do you eat in the kitchen? Could this room be converted into a home office of guest room?
o Guest room: If you have a guest room, do enough guests visit to warrant it being a designated B&B? Perhaps this could be turned into a master suite for your aging parents. Perhaps that tiny bathroom could bump out into the guest quarters to offer a more luxurious bathroom for empty nesters.
o Entire house: Walk through every room and consider which spaces are comfortable, useful and which ones aren't.
- Dream spaces for empty nesters: What have you always wanted but didn't have time/space for when the kids were little?
o Art studio: Transforming one of the bedrooms into an art studio can make weaving, painting and collage a reality.
o Music room: Never had room for musical instruments before? Now you do.
o Exercise space: If you'd rather work out at home than the gym, a bedroom can be outfitted with an exercise bike, weights, treadmill, sound system and even a mirrored wall with a ballet bar.
- More space for young families: During the stage of new babies and growing children, nooks and crannies for nurseries and bunk beds will be needed.
o Basement conversion: If a house has a basement, it can be converted into one or more bedrooms. A family room may fit down there, as well.
o Garage conversion: Using part of the double or triple garage is another way to gain space that's already under roof.
o Above and beyond: Instead of building outward which requires more land, how about building a second story on a ranch house?
Homeowners who need more or less space don't necessarily have to put up the "for sale" sign. All they have to do is take a look at their existing home with fresh eyes, contact a home remodeler and get going on creating the right sized abode for their current needs.
