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Moving is always a massive mix of excitement, fun and a big dollop of stress, worry and sometimes abject terror. We are flooded with emotions about leaving behind a home, about the sale, the exchange and what the new home will be like. Most people spend many a night trying to picture the new home from memory and thinking about what improvements they are going to make. But; where do you start? You cant work on every room at once unless you are paying other people to come in and dot he work for you so there comes a point either before or after you have moved where you pick a start point and this can be tricky.
Of course, some homes are ready to go and don’t need any work but even then they still need a personal touch so while you may not need walls plastering or new carpet everywhere you still need to think about where to start.
Before you even start thinking about which room you should work on it is important to say that trying to do it all just doesn’t work. What ends up happening is you do little bits in each room and end up with a mess. This can lead to frustration, stress and arguments and you do not want that in your lovely new home. So don’t get over excited or over ambitious and start tinkering with everything and finish nothing.
The kitchen is a brilliant place to start making it your own. Why? Because for most homes it is the beating heart. It is where we make food, it is where people (for some unknown reason) will always congregate when they visit and it is somewhere that can make you feel very settled if it is looking great. Rebecca Paxton from Halcyon Interiors says “Get the kitchen right and you will feel more settled faster, leave it until later and you would be amazed the difference it makes to feeling at home” Imagine having a stunning bedroom to sleep in but every time you go downstairs in the morning you are faced with a kitchen you hate. What about having people over to see your new home? They wont look at your upstairs bathroom but they will see the kitchen. By “attacking” this key room first you can ground the whole house around it.
No, still not time for upstairs! We are talking about the lounge first here but dinning rooms are also important. However a dinning room, if separate can be closed off and ignored a little! It is time to get that wood burner installed, get that amazing sofa, the wooden flooring and more. The lounge is the space you will be relaxing in and trust us, once you have moved you will really be needing to put your feet up in the evenings. If you do have plans to get a new gas, electric or real fire or a wood burner then this can really help make the house feel like a home. Adam Wakeford has been working in homes for over 20 years and he says “a new house can feel cold unless its mid summer, getting a fire up and running can work wonders by bringing a visual and physical warmth to even an half empty room”. Once again, it is about building a heart in your new home that will allow you to settle in.
Yes, it’s time to sort the bedrooms! Getting a good nights sleep is obviously critical and is as important for adults and kids alike! While we can all tolerate a half done bedroom for a while once the down stairs is feeling like home its time to make your boudoir something to revel in. Whether its new carpets, light fittings, removing old fitted storage and re plastering it all makes a massive difference. Kids can certainly enjoy a camp out style life for a while but once the novelty wears thin they will find it less fun so try and do the kids rooms first!
The smallest rooms in the house…sometimes. We all love a stunning bathroom and the downstairs toilet will be seen by guests but most people understand the house is a work in progress and spend so little time in there they don’t mind. The main bathroom(s) are important but can wait until the rest of the house is coming together. But now is the time to make a space that works well, that looks amazing and that can also play a role in relaxation and pampering. It will feel like a long time coming but it’s the best way to do it.
Once the above is all ticked off it is time for rooms like a study, garden rooms as well as the garden itself, the garage, the driveway and so on. These things can become more of a project because they are not as essential. If you work from home you may want to bump your study above the bathrooms but for most people they can serve as a handy storage room during refurbishment. After that…the loft space perhaps?
This article has been written for us by Aaron James. Aaron is a freelance writer based in Sussex specialising in Lifestyle and Business.
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