Winter is upon us, which means most of our time will be spent hibernating inside trying to pass the time until Old Man Winter loosens his grip. Until then, take this opportunity to start thinking about home renovation projects that can help brighten your home and your winter blues. If your interior is feeling dark and outdated, here are our top renovation projects that will brighten up your home to create a lighter and more enjoyable interior.
Maximizing Natural Light with Glass
Glass is the best material for brightening interiors. So take advantage of it! Consider reconfiguring your windows to maximize natural light. This is also a great way to lower monthly energy bills since newer windows are manufactured with superior insulating properties, making your home more energy-efficient. Skylights can also be a good addition to certain areas where windows aren’t practical in your home. These can be installed almost anywhere, including the bathroom, bedroom, and even the kitchen, depending on your layout. If you’re looking to create a partition in your space without blocking any natural light, French doors are an excellent option for creating a barrier without stifling the sunshine.
Include Reflective Materials
Aside from glass, other materials can help to reflect light and bounce it throughout your home. A good example is wood flooring. Darker stains can absorb light, but lighter hues with a glossy finish can amplify the light from your ceiling and windows, brightening darker spaces. Placing mirrors on the wall across from any windows is also very effective for dispersing light in dark interiors.
Modern Kitchen Reno
The kitchen is the “heart of the home”, which means it’s a big piece of the interior design puzzle. It’s also the most used room in the home, and often where guests and family congregate to chat and mingle. If dark and outdated cupboards, counters or flooring best describe your kitchen, make it a priority for your to-do reno list. Incorporating brighter and reflective materials, such as granite or marble for the counters, white subway tiles for the backsplash, and light wooden flooring and cupboards can transform your entire home into a modern, minimalistic, and beautiful looking space. An updated kitchen will also increase your home’s value significantly if you ever plan on selling in the future.
Knock Down Some Walls
There’s a reason why open concept floor plans are included in most modern layouts today. With more confined interiors being limited on space, open concepts remove any unnecessary partition walls to invite in more light. This is one of the quickest and most effective ways of brightening up space and bringing life back into your home almost instantly. You can use other features to act as semi-partitions if you wish to break up your layout a little. Bookshelves are a great example of this. Removing a wall can dramatically improve the overall function and flow of your home. It also makes it much more enjoyable when you can still be included in the conversations from the living room when you’re hosting and preparing dinner.
Bathroom Update
As the second most used room in a home, you can’t neglect the bathroom. Whether it’s the master suite or a guest suite, bathrooms usually need a redo every few years since they endure quite a bit of wear and tear. Consider updating old amenities and faucets and stick with a lighter palette for the walls. If your bathroom is smaller in size, a glass-enclosed shower and a floating vanity can be a welcomed addition for opening up space. To add some depth, modern wallpaper patterns are incredibly popular today for creating some unique texture without looking too 1980s.
Replace Exterior Doors
Old exterior doors can not only hinder the sunlight from entering inside, but they can also detract from your curb appeal since they get noticed first. They can also impact your energy bills if they’re cracked and worn. Modern exterior doors today are energy-efficient, incredibly durable, and come in a variety of attractive designs to compliment your exterior while maximizing your exposure to light. Take a look at your front or back door to see if this might be what you need.
When you’re ready to breathe some light and fresh air into your home, contact us at the Renos Group. We’re a family-owned renovation company serving the Ottawa area for years. We can tackle just about any home reno project you need, from the kitchen to bathroom and everything in between. Get in touch, or give us a call at (613)727-9427 with us today to discuss your ideas and to get a quote!
