Tag: new home

Key first steps to take after moving into a new home

Key first steps to take after moving into a new home

Moving into a new home signals a very exciting time in your life. Better still, after avoiding the common buying mistakes you can enter your new home with 100% confidence. Still, there’ll be work to do upon moving in, even if the property feels perfect. Focus on the simple steps below to create a happy home environment in next to no time.

Make it safe

There is nothing more important than feeling safe inside your new home. However, the unfamiliar surroundings can make this a little difficult, especially if you’ve moved to a new area. A Smart home alarm system will instantly deliver the extra layer of protection that you deserve, while also putting your mind at ease. Moreover, it saves you from the emotional and financial fallout of an intrusion, which would ruin your relationship with the home.

In addition to human intruders, you must also implement the necessary steps to prevent pest infestations. When combined with smoke alarms and child-friendly items, where needed, the property will feel more homely.

Add personal touches

Even if you purchased a home that has been recently renovated and decorated, you need to stamp your own personality on it. The easiest way to do this is through personalised décor. This could include adding family photos, holiday souvenirs, memorabilia or awards around the home. Meanwhile, a handful of décor pieces that follow you from the old property create a smoother transition into the new home.

You can continue to embrace the character-defining features and unique elements that caught your eye in the first place. However, ensuring that the home feels like yours rather than a bland show home will make a huge difference.

Focus on function

When moving into a new home, you may have your eyes set on luxury additions. While they’ll certainly come at some stage, practical ideas should be your priority. Jobs like improving the shower pressure or fitting a Smart thermostat are a great starting point. Selecting the right window coverings in the bedroom to promote improved sleep habits is vital. And getting your storage under control should be on the list too.

Similarly, you should invest in the right appliances to make daily chores a little easier. This will mean you can spend more time enjoying the new property. Opting for eco-friendly products that protect your finances and the environment will help too.

Get to know the area

Finally, when moving into a new home, you’re not simply purchasing a property. It’s equally vital to acknowledge that you’re buying into a new way of life. Therefore, it’s vital that you get to know your surroundings. From the location of local shops and finding out the bin collection day to the best driving routes to work, the simple issues will help you settle sooner. With this in mind, you should try to implement those steps ASAP.

If you’ve moved to an entirely new location, networking and making friends is crucial too. It will go a long way to making the property feel like home, which should make you feel a lot happier in the process. You’ve got this!

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5 ways to make your new house a home

5 ways to make your new house a home

Your new build house is crisp, clean and… a bit lacking in character. While you’re thrilled to own it, you’d really like to add a few touches that reflect your and your family’s tastes and lifestyle, transforming it from being just a house into a real home.

Luckily, you don’t have to upend the kids’ toy chest in the middle of the lounge floor just to make your house feel lived in! After all, you’d like to keep things tidy. A few little jobs around the house and garden, and you’ll start feeling more settled. Let’s get to work creating a comfy feel, working from the outside in, to make your new house a home.

1. A curbside welcome

Designers often use the ‘journeys’ people make through spaces to shape the way they experience them. You’ll do the same kind of thing starting at the curbside. Begin by shopping for custom address plaques. Thinking of giving your house a name as well as a number? Even better! It doesn’t have to be anything pretentious – it could even be amusing. What you choose reflects the character of the family that lives within those four walls. If you’re a keen gardener and have a border along the pavement, add your special touch here too.

2. Up the garden path

Now that you’ve seen to the initial steps in creating a sense of place, it’s time to continue the journey. There are many little details you can add that inject interest to the walk from your gate to your front door. Apart from using your favourite plants, consider adding some garden statuary or an ornamental water feature to welcome friends and family as they approach your house. The area around the door is particularly important since it’s a place where people pause. An attractive collection of potted plants is a good start, but don’t overlook the vertical wall space. Use it to display a carefully-chosen artwork, antique, or object of interest.

3. Moving indoors

Clutter is a definite no-no, but a minimalist interior can seem rather cold and impersonal. Scatter cushions and throws can make a huge difference in transforming the sterile look of a new home into something altogether warmer, friendlier and more personalised. When it comes to paintings and objects d’art, be selective. It’s better to choose one or two statement pieces than it is to fill the space with tons of knick-knacks. And while you aren’t planning to leave things lying about, a well-chosen coffee table book or two help to make the space more interesting with a lived-in-look that isn’t in the least bit messy.

4. Throw your heart into the kitchen

In the kitchen, you can really let your hair down and have a bit of fun. Brighten it up with your children’s artworks, flowers picked from your own garden, a display of your heirloom china and glassware or anything else that says ‘family’ to you. After all, it’s considered the heart of the home, and home is all about family. I love adding vintage touches like an old set of scales or granny’s handed-down mixing bowls – and no matter how modern your kitchen is, a vintage touch here and there won’t look out of place.

5. Comfortable and personal bedrooms

Assuming the basics are already there, each bedroom’s owner will add their own personal touches they like. If you have small children, they’ll need a bit of help, but you already know what they like best, even if you don’t altogether agree with their tastes. So, if your daughter wants to plaster the walls with music fan posters, or your son wants to decorate with model dinosaurs, that’s their choice. In your own bedroom, you and your spouse can reign. Work together to create a restful atmosphere in which you can both relax after a busy day.

There’s no wrong way to do it

No matter how much you like your new house, the ways you choose to make yourselves at home personalise it. What you do depends entirely on you, and there are no wrong or right ways to do it. Turn getting settled in into a family project in which you take everyone’s preferences into account. It can be fun too!

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7 things to check before taking possession of your new home

7 things to check before taking possession of your new home

You’ve finally found your perfect house and now it’s time to sign on the dotted line. Congratulations! But there’s still a lot of work left to do before you can call your new home officially yours. You wouldn’t like to be sitting in your new home without a great deal of focus and attention to detail, now would you? If you don’t take care of the small things, your new home could end up costing you much more in the long term. Here are the 7 most important things to check on before taking possession of your new home.

Drainage

A landscaping survey is important to assess if the original drainage system is adequate enough to support your new home. Your water drainage system should help divert rainwater from inside your home, into the soil and away from the foundation. You can get services of drain survey in London to conduct a survey in your planned house. By using CCTV, a surveyor can go through all the nooks and corners of your new home. This is to ensure that there are no blocked sewage pipes, water drainage systems or sewer lines that may be causing flooding problems.

Windows and doors

Before moving into a new home, you should consider checking the condition of all windows and doors. You wouldn’t want your home to be flooded or have small holes in the roof while you are waiting on a repairman to arrive. You should make sure that the window openers are in good condition, as well as locks and weather strips. With these items in bad condition, a burglar can simply break into your house, or the window could easily be blown open.

Appliances

You should make sure that all the appliances, including your heating system and air conditioner, are in good working order. Your heating system should be equipped with the necessary tools to help you control its functioning. You should be in a position to know when you need to replace the filters, as well as the temperature setting and heating zones. Your cooling system should have enough ventilation to adequately cool your house while maintaining a low noise level.

Utilities

Before you move into your new home, make sure that there are no leaks in your water, gas or electrical connections. You should be checking for leaks by putting food colouring into your plumbing system. Wait a few hours to see if the water has coloured. If it has, then the lines are leaking. Do not move into your new home without a repairman to check. By having a routine check, you will be able to notice any leaks and also make repairs before any damage occurs to your house.

Paintwork

You should make sure that the paint on the walls of your new home is in good condition before moving into it. If there’s cracked and flaking paint, then you should have it repaired as soon as possible. There are many techniques to paint walls. Inspect the paint on your external walls and check for visible cracks and flaking.

Flooring

The condition of the floor of your new home is critical to the long-term maintenance, in addition to its value. You should inspect the floors and joists in your new home for any defects or rot. You should also check for loose boards and protruding nails that will need to be remedied. In addition, you should use a moisture meter to detect any areas of damp.

Roof

While you’re conducting your inspection, you should check your roof for any damaged and loose tiles or slates. The roof, in addition to the walls, is a major element of the visual appeal of your home. As well as the slates, inspect the rafters, joists and fascias – especially if it’s an old building. Furthermore, look out for signs of termite infestation such as holes or nests.

By checking all these details before moving into your new home, you’ll ensure that your new home is in good condition. You’ll cut down the overall expenses of maintaining it and reduce the risk of any unexpected repair jobs. The most important thing is that, when you’re taking possession of your new home, you don’t get caught out by unforeseen costs.

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Helpful tips to remember when purchasing furniture for a new home

Helpful tips to remember when purchasing furniture for a new home

Furnishing a new home is either a fun experience or a really daunting one, depending on who you are. Some people love the idea of playing around with furniture and décor to get their home looking the way they want; others… not so much. Part of the challenge in furnishing a new home is finding the right furniture to put inside of it. You want to ensure that your furniture looks the part and blends well with the rest of your furniture, but this can be a lot harder than it sounds.

In this post, we’re going to share a couple of useful tips to help you purchase the right furniture for a new home. We’re also going to offer a bit of advice on how to style your rooms so that you don’t end up with mismatched furniture that looks out of place.

Matching neutral wooden furniture

Furniture should be kept simple if you’re struggling to find a good colour combination

Colour combinations are important to make a room feel a bit more coordinated. Interior design experts normally suggest using a relatively simple neutral colour palette to keep things simple. However, if you want to be a little more expressive, then you can mix simple colours such as white and beige with something that stands out like purple, red or a deep blue.

Sofa bed in a light filled loft room

Furniture should serve multiple purposes if you’re looking to make the most of a small space

If you’re looking to make the most of a small space then you may want to consider multi-purpose furniture that can do multiple things. For example, you could look for good sofa beds for sale if you want your lounge area to double as a temporary bedroom for when you have guests over, or if you just want a comfortable spot to lounge in.

There are plenty of other ideas like this that can help you make the most of a space. Even something small such as a footstool that doubles as storage can be really useful. Don’t underestimate the power of multi-use furniture as it’s a brilliant way to save precious space and also helps reduce the number of difficult decisions you need to make when purchasing furniture for a new home.

Tan 3-seater leather sofa

Furniture will last a lot longer if you take proper care of it

If you’re going to buy furniture, then you should also invest in equipment or products to take better care of it. For example, you should consider buying leather care products if you’re investing in a leather sofa, and you may want to think about buying protective covers if you want your furniture to last as long as possible.

This is a relatively small investment to make your furniture last longer. However, you can also extend the life of your furniture by simply investing a bit more when buying it. And that brings us to our next tip.

High quality dark wood dining room table and chair

Furniture should be high-quality so that you don’t need to replace it prematurely

Another tip is to always invest in durable high-quality furniture. While it’s understandable that you might want to try to cut down on furniture expenditure, it’s a good idea to minimise future expenses by investing now in something that’s much better quality. Purchasing high-quality furniture might seem expensive at first but it’s a great investment for years to come. When purchasing cheaper furniture from places such as IKEA, you can expect to replace the furniture in a few years because it’s not really built to last a lifetime unless you opt for a more premium option.

However, it’s also worth mentioning that you don’t want to buy something that’s completely out of your price range. There comes a point where your investment doesn’t give you a more durable piece of furniture and instead, you’re paying more for a designer tag. So, if you’re going to spend more on furniture for longevity, do a bit of research to see what brands offer long-lasting pieces of furniture that you can rely on to last for years to come.

Vintage teak sideboard

Furniture can be bought second-hand if you’re looking to cut costs or get something unique

Remember that second-hand furniture is completely fine to purchase if you’re looking for something a bit more unique or if you want to cut down on the cost of furniture. Don’t hesitate to look around on local listings to see if anyone is selling or even giving away an unwanted piece of furniture. With a bit of care, you should transform it into something beautiful and have it fit in well with the rest of your home.

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