Keep It Clear

This is a great first step, and something that is really going to help a lot with making your home a lot more enjoyable. If you are trying to do this, there are a few main ways to keep your home clear. First of all, you’ll want to declutter it occasionally, when you start to pile up on new belongings that you don’t really need. Beyond that, you’ll then want to think about some of the ways in which you can use storage to hold that stuff, or get rid of it. Then it’s about keeping it clear for the future.

Make It Personal

It’s great if your home feels like it’s genuinely yours, that it’s as personal to you as possible. If you are able to do this, then you’re going to find that you are so much more likely to enjoy being at home. There are a lot of ways to make it more personal, from having photos of your friends and family up to making sure that the place is simply decorated how you would like it to be. These are the kinds of things that are really going to help a great deal, and it will really make a world of difference.

Control The Temperature

If you want to enjoy your home as much as possible, you need to be comfortable – and to be truly comfortable, you will need to make sure that you are able to control the temperature as well as possible. So take a look at your heating and any cooling systems you might have in place, and ensure that they are working as well as possible. This is going to help you to have a much more enjoyable home on the whole, and it’s something that you will really be glad for in no time.

Spending Quality Time

Finally, there is something to be said for making sure that you are spending some quality time at home with whoever you live with. If you are doing this, you’ll find that you are going to enjoy it so much more, and it’s really amazing what this can do for you. Because of that, it’s a simple thing that you should definitely bear in mind. As long as you are spending plenty of quality time at home, you’ll find that this makes it so much more enjoyable to live in.

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Consider A Remodel 

Although a remodel isn’t always necessary, it can help you find more space to accommodate your growing family. This can include a bedroom remodel where you renovate your existing space or focus on another part of the house, such as the attic or basement, and transform it into a liveable area. You’ll need to budget for a comprehensive remodel but it can add plenty of value to your property if you plan to sell in a few years. 

To get the most out of your home home remodeling, it’s often worth bringing in professionals. Designers, architects, and experienced contractors can offer insights you might not have considered, from maximizing space to choosing materials that suit both your style and budget. Their expertise can help streamline the process, avoid costly mistakes, and ensure the finished result adds real value to your home.

Reorganize and Declutter 

However, you don’t need to impact your budget for a remodel. Instead, you can simply try to reorganize and declutter. If you have a room where you keep everything without a home, it’s time to go through it and see what you can throw out or donate. It could also be worth rearranging your furniture so that it’s easier to get through the house, especially if your family members experience mobility issues and need as much space as possible to get around. 

Install Extra Space 

It’s also possible to install extra space inside and outside. This approach is different from a remodel as you are;t using space you already have. You can include an extension to add to the back of the house or even try portable building styles that can give your teenager more privacy and their own space independent from the house. They are still under your roof, but they get a good dose of freedom and the chance to prove they are as responsible as they claim. 

Before committing to an extension, consult with designers and licensed contractors to assess structural constraints, drainage, and local permit needs so you avoid costly surprises. A practical review will indicate whether a rear addition, bump-out, or an accessory structure best fits your lot and budget. Local specialists who handle room additions can also advise on integrating the new space with your home’s architecture and coordinating inspections. That planning helps the project run smoother and ensures the extra space truly adds value and function.

Move Items Into Storage 

Another solution is to move items into storage. This can free up space and keep items safe until you decide what to do with them, and it’s a useful solution if you only need short-term space for visitors or while your child is back from school over the summer. Besides this, donating items to friends and family can also help you get rid of things permanently without sending them to the dump.

Repurpose Rooms 

If you live in a large home, you can repurpose rooms you aren’t using into something else. Your storage room could become a bedroom, while you could transform your home office into a playroom for your kids or grandkids. Don’t forget about updating door styles to match your new room functions. For example, floating doors can give converted spaces a fresh, modern look, while swing doors might make a room seem bigger if there isn’t much space. The right door design helps the room feel intentional rather than makeshift. Again, these solutions don’t need to be permanent, but you can still make sacrifices around the house to ensure you have enough space for everyone.

Space to Breathe

Everyone needs their space at home. It’s the chance to unwind and get some much-needed privacy. These tips can help you evaluate the best options to make more space in your home to accommodate your growing family and ensure everyone feels secure, safe, and comfortable. 

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But if you’re not getting the privacy you deserve, then can you actually do all of these things? Just think about it: if people can look into your windows, hear your footsteps, know what you’re talking about, and so on, it’s like you’re on exhibit, and nobody likes that in the slightest! So, how can you get more privacy in your own home?

Start Off with Your Window Treatments

So this is a pretty good question: do you have window treatments? Are your current window treatments actually getting the job done? If not, then it might be a good idea to get some window blind installers for your home, room, or whatever space you feel like you’re not getting the privacy you need. Of course, you should choose something that reflects your style as well, but for the most part, it’s going to be highly encouraged to go for something that simply reflects your taste and just gets the job done. So make sure, above all things, this is your priority! 

Look Into Room Dividers

If you have roommates or even just live in a studio, this is something you’ll especially want to pay close attention to. You might want to consider using folding screens, bookshelves, or decorative panels to partition off specific areas and create intimate zones within larger rooms. For centuries, they were used for changing clothes, so that’s still something you could do if you wanted to. But overall, room dividers not only add visual interest to your space but also provide a sense of separation and privacy without the need for permanent walls.

Are You Able to Soundproof?

So this is something else you’ll want to think about. For the most part, you might be limited in what you can actually do for this. If you’re in an apartment, then it might be obvious that you can’t control too much of how or what people hear of you. If the walls and floors are too thin, then you’ll sadly need to accept that you can’t get nearly as much privacy as you’d like. But, with that said, there are still some small soundproofing solutions you can try. 

You could try to install acoustic panels or sound-absorbing materials to dampen noise. There are other options, like using heavy curtains for the walls and having large and thick rugs all over the floor. Technically, even upholstered furniture can help absorb sound and reduce echoes. All of these aren’t entirely going to fix the situation, but they can help. 

Can You Upgrade Your Home’s Exterior?

If you can do this, then this will hands-down be a surefire way to fix the entire situation! It’s a bit expensive, but if you can look into upgrading exterior features such as fences, gates, and landscaping, then any and all of these can really get the job done. Of course, not everyone has the luxury of having a lawn or outdoor space to do this, but if you do, try to utilize these. 

The post What You Can Do to Create More Privacy Within Your Home appeared first on InstantELLA.

Many people are either renting their apartment or home nowadays, meaning they might not necessarily own they space they live in.

This can sometimes make it feel like their rental isn’t exactly their forever home, and therefore it can be hard to make it feel comfortable and homey.

But just because you aren’t going to be there forever doesn’t mean you can’t add your own personal touch to where you live and really make it feel like your home while you are there.

Here are the top five ways to make a rental feel like you own the place and leave your mark, without actually leaving any trace at all (because we all want our deposits back at the end of our stay!)

1. Put things on the wall

Creative Examples of Nature Wall Stickers

It might seem like a hassle to put anything up on the walls in the home or apartment you are renting and just one more thing you have to take down when you move, but putting up art or pictures of you and your family is a great way to make it feel like home.

You can get creative and put up a gallery wall or classic by putting up a couple of beautiful paintings in all the rooms.

But it will pleasantly surprise you the difference between a blank wall and a wall with something on it.

2. Add shelves

Your Living Room Walls Deserve A Makeover! Tips On How To Get It Right.

Shelves are a great way to customize a space and make it looked lived-in in a good way in your rental home.

You can customize it even more by re-arranging what you have on the shelf with cute knick-knacks and some more nice pictures or paintings.

Shelves also make for great extra storage, especially if your rental apartment or home lacks for storage space.

Just make sure you ask your rental manager to make sure you can put holes into the wall or if your shelving units need to be unattached.

3. Add some light

Whether it’s a light fixture or some nice looking lamps, adding light to any of the rooms in your living space not only brightens it but adding light adds warmth and comfort as well.

The nice thing is that if you replace any of the light fixtures while you are living there you can keep the originals and just replace them when you need to move out.

4. Add some life

Things like plants and flowers are a great way to make space more personal and homey, plus fresh flowers can make it smell great as well.

If you want to save some money and are worried you don’t have enough of a green thumb, you can also have the look of plants and flowers but without the responsibility by buying fake ones.

5. Create interest with rugs

Tips for Decorating with Rugs

Rugs are a great way to cover some not-so-nice-looking floors as well as make a rental home or apartment more inviting.

You can find some beautiful rugs that can become a focal point for each of your rooms.

The great thing as well is when you decide to move you can just roll them up and take them to your next place.

The post Top 5 Ways to Make a Rental Feel like Your Forever Home appeared first on InstantELLA.

Construction

This is one sturdy storage ottoman. For starters, it was delivered as one piece, no assembly required! Hinges attach the lid to the rest of the rectangular frame. The entire ottoman – body and lid – is made of a solid yet lightweight material, making it easy to transport and carry around. The body is not collapsible and can take the weight of 2 full grown adults. The lid is tufted and lightly padded making it comfy to sit on.

Aesthetics

The storage ottoman fits neatly at the foot of my bed, adding character to the bedroom

I purchased the ottoman in slate grey, a color that blends and easily matches with any room décor. This contemporary piece can be used in your living room as well as the bedroom. After much deliberation, I placed it at the foot of my bed in the bedroom. It is amazing how little space the ottoman takes up, while at the same time having the storage capacity to fit a ton (its interior is spacious, deep and wide enough)! It fits just right with the setting of the room, adding elegance and utility.

Value for Money

Simpli Home Hamilton Rectangular Storage Ottoman Bench, Large, Slate Grey

I bagged my ottoman online at amazon shortly after black Friday sales. The ottoman was listed at half its price then and while it did take a while for the company to fulfill my order, it was more than worth the wait. That said, having purchased this ottoman and reviewing its quality and usage, I’d be happy to have purchased it at the regular marked price.

This is one of the best pieces of furniture I’ve brought and I can tell we’re going to have quite a long happy relationship together

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For folks like us, workspace becomes critical to our productivity. Both my husband and are very ordered and organized. We cannot work in clutter and need our space to be creative. More importantly our space has to bear our personality whether it be artsy, elegant yet minimalistic like me or hardcore, reflective and precise like him.

Keeping all of this in mind. We decided we needed to re-decorate the office. The clincher was to do it on a low budget, making use of what was already in the house as much as possible.  And that’s where creativity, resourcefulness and confidence comes in. Here are a few ideas we put into reality and which we hope will inspire you when you decide to re-decorate and re-organize your workspace. Remember to get all your electrical grounding checked if doing any proper DIY to prevent house fires and stop electrical faults happening. 

Utility is key!

Get rid of the clutter. Make sure you only have what you absolutely need taking up space in your home office. Utility means functionality to me, and that’s where I think a lot of us make trade-offs, having to sacrifice creativity and art to functionality. But I didn’t and here’s how:

• • Desk: For us, this meant having just one desk instead of 2. The way to get around seating issues is to find a desk that allows for leg space on at least 2 sides if not all the way around. (aha! Now you get it.)
  • Calendars: The world may have gone digital, but I still use the traditional calendar. It’s convenient and taking up wall space is always better than taking up desk space when you already have a small desk to begin with. It’s also artsy. What do I mean? Have you ever tried taking a Video Gamer’s calendar (in our case it was Halo that blended perfectly well with the rest of the office theme) and hanging it to look like a poster? Try it. High chance you’ll love it!

• Coasters: I get through my day with at least 3 caffeine breaks so instead of having dull boring coasters, I picked up a set of 4 Star Wars’ coasters at Target (on clearance) with a black and white Storm Trooper theme to match the black and white casing of my husband’s gaming PC in the office. Needless to say the coaster is theme appropriate, does it’s job and when it’s not, it still makes for an interesting piece of art!

Space & Color

Ours is a small workspace. I discovered however, that if you invest in white furniture and add some mirrors to the mix, it can do wonders. That’s why we chose an unused 3.5 ft X 2 ft vanity mirror to add a sense of space and depth to the room.

If you have to have color, stick to 1 or 2 only and play around with shades of the same color rather than use a third. For us this was red and blue and the theme runs through the posters and wall art in the office.

Be sure to pick up pieces from reputable places such as Weaver Furniture Barn. No matter what ideas you have floating around in your head you don’t want subpar pieces in your office. It should be a cozy space that fosters productivity, so when selecting pieces it is important to bear this in mind.

The biggest value add to the office however, has been this sturdy white storage cube organizer we recently purchased online at Walmart. It is not only useful, acting as a bookshelf, curio display shelf and storage (for all the ugly stuff in the office people don’t want you to see. Lol) but lends modernity to the room. Ours may look like one piece but is actually 2 single cubes (bought separately) and mounted on the lower 3- piece cube. I went a step further and added a white magazine/file holder (which had I lying around the house) to the ensemble which may not even be noticeable because it blends in so well. Here’s another tip: everything is art. Be attentive to odds and ends around the house , which if paired well with other items can turn into a beautiful utility and would definitely save you a trip to the store.

Lighting, like mirrors can add beauty and space to a room. A workspace definitely needs this. But ceiling lights can be harsh sometimes, kill the aesthetics of the room and be very unnerving for people trying to work. A soft light on the other hand can be relaxing, help your focus and give you that much needed break to meet deadlines. We added medium voltage contemporary, light-weight lamps to the room. I also put together a decorative light bowl, using a spare glass bowl, LED lights and some old potpourri fill ups I no longer need. If you don’t have potpourri, you can use candles, decorative stones or shells. Run with your imagination here

Reflect your personality

This is undoubtedly the most important part of decorating your home office. It’s your office and must reflect your personality. As a child, like most boys, my husband collected many action figures from Star Trek, Spawn, Pokemon, GI Joe, etc. So it was no surprise that when I came across a ton of them in the basement and began to organize his collection, he suggested we use a few to mount in the office. If action figures was his thing, the light bowls were mine and what goes better with light than greenery, so I added a few (fake) indoor table plants. It makes the room more aesthetics. And who doesn’t have stickers and cutouts, too interesting to get rid of, but also too small to do anything meaningful with? I just took a few interesting high quality curated stickers a client had given my husband to sample, mounted them on white paper (kind of like a collage) and framed them in a small desk frame. My husband loves it and says it motivates him to ‘do more’ and ‘keep it simple’ at work because that’s exactly what the stickers say.

My husband and I are proud of our new home office and the short time we took to get it done. It’s our space and one of the prettiest rooms in the house, decorated on a low-cost budget. Breathing new life into old space isn’t difficult to do and if we can do it, so could you!

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