New Year Renovations: Living Spaces and Bathrooms

The start of January is always a unique time. It is when people step back from their lives and reflect on what they have accomplished in the past year, and what they would like to achieve going forward.

One thing that crosses the minds of homeowners when reflecting is home renovations. Deciding on what home renovations to do, the timing of them, and of course the budget are some of the toughest questions homeowners face. Home renovations are an important investment. You are investing your money into likely your biggest asset, your home, with a plan to improve its functionality and value over time. Because of this, you want to make sure you are setting yourself up for success.

We recommend that you include home renovation plans into your New Year resolutions and goal setting. The reason for this is simple. If you have a plan for what renovations you want to complete for the year, you can take the time to do research on how you want the renovation to be done, which contractor or business will complete the project, and you can budget for your renovation accordingly.

Pro Tip: By having a plan for the year, you can be patient and watch for sales that come up periodically to take advantage of those savings for your renovation. By taking the time to map out your year of renovations, you could save hundreds of dollars on your projects.

Obviously, it can be hard to predict what renovations will need to be done throughout the year, but the point is for you to do your best to be proactive about home renovations, rather than reactive.

We have compiled a three-part blog series to provide inspiration and ideas for your home renovation projects. This week, you get two-for-one. Let's start with living spaces...

Fireplaces

Who doesn’t love the idea of snuggling up on the couch right next to your warm fireplace with loved ones in the lounge? These cozy accents are back and becoming a focal point of rooms. Even non-working fireplaces are being used as focal points, getting creative by stacking your fireplace full of freshly chopped logs to give you the rustic and homey feel, or simply installing an attention-grabbing screen to cover your empty fireplace and add a flair of pattern or colour to your room.

Heated Flooring

This feature of a room may not be noticed right away, but trust us, during the winter or on cold mornings your family and friends will be appreciative. Heated floors are typically thought to be kept in the bathroom, but they are also gaining popularity in entry rooms and smaller living spaces.

Open Floor Plan

The term “open concept” is a buzzword that I’m sure you hear being thrown around left and right when talking about home design. Open concept is all about tearing down walls and utilizing windows to open and brighten up your living spaces. The truth is, open concepts are popular because they do generally look great. They can give even the smallest of living spaces a feeling of being brighter and more spacious. If you aren’t quite sold on tearing down your walls, consider taking advantage of your windows and wall space to create the feeling of openness and space.

A great option to achieve this would be installing a bifold door in your living space. These high-performance fibreglass doors built with a top-hung rolling system provide you with the option to expand your living space when the occasion calls, while still providing complete weatherproofing and energy efficiency when closed. Not to mention the natural light that pours into your living space.

Sunrooms

Sunrooms are a space that many homeowners dream of having. They provide you with a space to relax and get lost deep in thought, digest your favourite book in natural sunlight, or simply a cozy spot to lay down and take a nap. For those who may not have it in the budget to build an add-on such as a sunroom to your home, you can still achieve the same kind of results by transforming a sun-kissed corner of your home into your sunroom corner. Make use of large windows and bring in soft furnishings and decorative pieces to complete the space.

Now, let's take a look at bathrooms...

Bidets

Bidets are one of the items in a bathroom that everyone has an opinion about. Whether you love or dislike them, bidets never really seemed to catch on in North America. If you have ever spent time in Europe, they are much more popular. However, once manufacturers started creating and selling combination bidet and toilet units and high tech toilets the popularity has slowly started to rise.

Statement mirrors

Mirrors that boost the style of a bathroom are popular. It is a relatively quick and inexpensive way to spice up your bathroom’s design. Adios, medicine cabinet and large rectangular mirrors. Hola, vintage and modern eye-catcher mirrors.

Obscure Glass

Privacy is likely an important part of your bathroom renovation plans, for obvious reasons. But you still want plenty of natural light to come through into your bathroom. What should you do? Consider upgrading your bathroom window with obscure glass. With nine different options ranging from styles “Artic” to “Rain”, you get a completely custom look with your obscure glass.

Bathrooms that feel like living spaces

We all spend plenty of time throughout our lives in the bathroom. But have you ever thought about making your bathroom feel more comfortable and homey instead of feeling like a hospital? Yes, you should still keep your bathroom as clean and sanitary as possible. But look into adding flair to your bathroom with open shelving or a photo gallery. Spice up your walls with wallpaper or a painted feature wall. Infuse your bathroom with warmth and life rather than the sterile whites and neutral tones. If you have the space consider adding a comfy sofa or chair.

Build Direct wrote an excellent article on starting points to consider when renovating a bathroom, and stay tuned to read about renovation ideas for your kitchen and exterior!

We are your certified Window Geeks

Centra Windows is not only the manufacturer but also the installer of its product, which enables us to offer a full warranty, eliminating any confusion between product performance and installation. We view the house as a system and understand how each of the elements must work correctly to maximize the comfort and energy efficiency of your home. Contact our local Employee Owners at 1-888-534-3333 or send us an email at info@centra.ca for more information about this topic and many more. You can also sign up for our biweekly newsletter, providing all the tips and tricks about the window industry.