How To Make A House A Home

At Britelite our business is windows, doors and conservatories but we are interested in all aspects of home improvement.

With 2017 around the corner, we know that many of our customers are thinking of ways to spruce up the family home – whether that means just a few extra touches, a full re-decoration or even a new conservatory. With that in mind we’ve put together this quick blog piece with some of our top tips for making your house more of a home.

1) Make sure your front door/entrance is welcoming and gives away a little of your personality. You could entirely replace your front door with a stylish new one, or if not a new welcome mat and some nice plants can make all the difference.

2) Have your carpets professionally cleaned. A quick vacuum may seem like it does the business, but you won’t know just how great your carpets can look until you get them professionally cleaned. It can make all the difference to the feel of your home – immediately making it feel brighter, warmer and fresher.

3) If you’d rather not spend the money on replacing your kitchen cabinets/fittings, try re-painting them. Choose the right colour, and paint them well, and you can make it feel like you’ve had a whole new kitchen put in place. And while the brushes are out, why not do the skirting, coving and ceiling of your main rooms too?

4) It may seem a little early, but start having a think about what you can do differently with your garden/outside space. Plant a few wild flowers here and there, set out an area for some decking, think about re-shaping your lawn.. or maybe even install a conservatory! Now’s the time to get planning.

5) Keep your home cosy over the rest of winter by making sure your boiler is working properly (it’s especially worth looking at it if it’s over 12 years old), checking your radiators, and ensuring your home is as insulated as possible. From heavy curtains, to loft insulation, to new double or triple glazed windows – it can all make a huge difference.

6) Get creative with your lighting. Feature lamps and chandeliers can be great ways add imagination to your home, and give it a more interesting character. Mismatched lamps and lampshades can give it a quirky, other-worldly feel.

7) Storage – it doesn’t just have to be about putting things away, it can be a feature. Built-in bookcases and shelves look more impressive than stand-alone items, and truly become part of the house. Store all your favourite books, magazines, music and knick knacks in this way and they can become a display of your taste and character.

8) If re-painting, a good way to keep the colours complementary is to stick to three colours – an accent colour, a calmer colour and a neutral colour. Maintaining this kind of discipline can help you to add character without any danger of clashing.

These are just a few of our tips for little things you can do to make a big difference. We hope you find them helpful or even inspirational. And don’t forget, if new windows, doors or a conservatory are part of your plans for your home in 2017 please get in touch.