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Home Improvements

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Articles:

Home Improvements – Making Decisions
by: Raynor James

If you have a family, planning home improvements should be a family matter. Still, you want to stick to ideas that work.
 
Ideas That Work
 
We’ve all seen families who get along well most of the time and families who are constantly at odds with each other. One common denominator among families who get along are homes that work for them. Let’s talk about ideas seen more than once in homes that work. It may help you explore what will work for you.
 
Many families with school age children have a computer and homework area near the kitchen. It’s often a computer desk and the breakfast area table. This is usually sandwiched between the kitchen and family room, and all three areas are open to each other. It’s an easy area for parents to make themselves available to help and supervise the children while they themselves perhaps cook, talk, read, or have a cup of tea (or other beverage) before or after dinner.
 
Family rooms are also great for TV, movies, and computer games. A finished basement provides an ideal place for a “home theater” for the same sorts of things, but supervision becomes tougher.
 
Unfinished basement areas can be just what’s needed for a workbench, an artist’s studio (especially walk-out basements with big north facing windows), a sewing area, a place to practice a musical instrument, a place to refinish furniture, a potting bench for plants, a place for the pets when the family has guests. I’ve seen all of the above work well alone and in a variety of combinations.
 
Many modern homes have a “formal living room” that is too small to really work as a living room. It can be set up and decorated as a library or study and be the perfect place for a parent to do some serious work and not be interrupted too frequently.
 
Master bedrooms are getting larger and larger. They often have a small seating arrangement included in their design. This can be a parental retreat for quiet conversation.
 
Master bedrooms can also provide a quiet corner for a computer desk and work area. If looking at work space isn’t relaxing to you, you can always shield it from view with a decorative folding screen.
 
Don’t forget the importance of family dinners. Studies show that children of families who have dinner and conversation together several nights a week, week in and week out, tend to be more successful and happier than those who don’t. It can be at the kitchen table, in the breakfast area, or in the dining room, but plan for it and make it happen if you value the success and happiness of your children.
 
Every home is unique and so is your family. When improving your home, look for ideas that work.
 
About The Author
 
Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - FSBO homes for sale by owner. Visit our "sell my home" page at http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your own home yourself with a free 1 month listing.

Home Improvements – Planning
by: Raynor James

Home decorating is one of the keys to making the most out of a home. Do it right and you can turn a pedestrian home into a castle.
 
Really good interior designers interview family members prior to making a plan and recommendations for changes in a home’s interior design and decoration. You and your family can benefit if you take the same approach when you’re in a do it yourself mode. It doesn’t matter whether you are moving to a new home and have a big project or are just freshening up one room. Family interviews are the place to start.
 
What Activities Need to be Accommodated?
 
Large project or small, begin by figuring out how your family is going to use the space. Let’s assume we’re talking about a whole house. Meet with each family member and ask them how they feel about an array of things. Don’t forget to answer for yourself, too.
 
Consider the following issues with family members:
 
1. Will reading be a popular activity?
 
2. TV and movie viewing?
 
3. Playing electronic games?
 
4. Computer use for homework or business?
 
5. Sleepovers for the younger generation?
 
6. Sewing?
 
7. Furniture refinishing?
 
8. Carpentry and wood working projects?
 
9. Dinner parties?
 
10. Is there something new a family member would like to try if there were a decent spot for it? (I do hope your son doesn’t tell you he’d like to learn to play the drums! The violin was bad enough.)
 
11. Will the activities be done by someone alone or will a group be involved?
 
12. Do you or your husband need to be nearby to oversee the activity?
 
13. Is having it occur within view of (or out of site of) something else important?
 
Obviously, there are going to be unique questions per the circumstances of your family. If you make a list and ask appropriate questions, the improvements on your home will lead to happy family living.
 
About The Author

Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - FSBO homes for sale by owner. Visit our "sell my home" page at http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your own home yourself with a free 1 month listing.