New year, new home! It’s always exciting to kick off another chapter of being a homeowner, and renovations personalize your space to make your house truly a home. Renovation projects range from DIY-able to professional depending on your budget, but each one will bring back that excitement like when you first moved into your home!
From the garden to your bedroom, here are 7 home upgrade renovation ideas you might want to do this year to give your home a fresh new start! Some may require you to hire a contractor for professional work, and homeowners in Singapore can look to Colebuild (https://www.colebuild.sg/) for all their construction needs!
1. Bedroom: Change Your Window Tint
Tinted windows offer both privacy and light control. Your bedroom windows would do well with a tinted film to filter out the harsh morning sun, while still keeping your room well-lit. No longer will you have to wake up blinded by the sunlight shining right on your eyes! Window tints can be made to reflect the sunlight only during extremely bright days.
Plus, tinted windows offer you the privacy that you need for windows, even without blinds or curtains. Depending on the level of tint, some privacy tinted windows work like one-way mirrors that black out the outside of your bedroom window, while allowing the light to shine through inside so you can still enjoy that natural light.
2. Kitchen: Renovate for a New Countertop
After years of using your kitchen for food prep, slicing and dicing ingredients, and those late-night snacking, your kitchen countertops must have taken the brunt of the wear and tear in your kitchen. Scratched countertops aren’t just an eyesore, those scratches can be the start of damage as water, oils, and dirt can seep into the material through those scratches.
Revitalize your kitchen with a countertop renovation! Upgrade your kitchen countertops to materials that are durable, elegant, and cost-effective. Do you prefer marble countertops, but not their high maintenance care? Go for quartz-infused, engineered countertops that are durable and stain resistant instead! Want wood countertops that don’t scratch? Get laminate or veneer!
3. Living Room: Automate Your Lighting and Comfort
Ever considered getting a home assistant to automate your house functions? Perhaps 2022 will finally be the year you decide to get an Amazon Alexa or a Google Home Assistant! Automating your living room provides you full comfort as you read a good book, watch movies with your family, or simply chill out in your den.
A smart home assistant, whether touch screen activated or voice-activated, would make operating house functions easier. Connect the device to your dimmer switch for a cozy date night in a swift command, or automatically cool your room via air conditioner with a touch of a button. A smart home assistant would bring your living room to the digital era!
4. Doorway: Add a Caddy
2022 is the year we’ve become more confident to step outside since the pandemic started in late 2019. After all this time, you may tend to forget to bring essentials with you as you head out. Make use of that space by your doorway and add a built-in or added caddy for you to place your items in before going out, or after coming home!
A caddy should have different shelves and would be made from aesthetically pleasing material while being practical as you can use the caddy to disinfect goods coming into your house. Plus, the caddy is a great area to place your shoes, winter hats, scarves, and other seasonal items you typically wear when heading out!
5. Bathroom: Optimize Your Space with Built-in Cabinets
Much like the doorway, your bathroom would greatly benefit from cabinets to store your items conveniently. Stop making that rush to grab toilet paper from the stockroom, and instead stock up on your bathroom supplies right in your bathroom!
Built-in cabinets help optimize the little space in the bathroom, as these are typically built-in areas that are unused, like high up on the walls, small crevices, and behind the sink. Utilize your spaces to maximize your bathroom area. Plus, bathroom cabinets are both functional and aesthetic as they store your supplies while providing a nice accent to your bathroom.
6. Hallways: Brighten the Hallways
House hallways are not often given attention when it comes to designing your space, but these areas are where we tend to pass by the most often as they connect us from room to room. Dim hallways can be a hazard, especially as you walk through them in the dark of the night. Avoid tripping down the stairs and falling over objects by brightening your hallway!
Hallway lights should be practical. They should have the perfect amount of brightness without being too blindingly bright. Your wallpaper or wall paint matters in creating a bright hallway as well. Choose light, neutral colors for your hallways so you can see the path clearly even with dimmed lights. Consider forgoing rugs for the hallways as these can form slippery surfaces.
7. Garden: Create an Outdoor Space
Your garden holds a ton of potential when it comes to home upgrades. If you have a green thumb, consider creating a garden patch where you can grow your own crops throughout different seasons. Go for hydroponic gardening if you’re worried about all that dirt, or create a pumpkin patch in time for Halloween!
If you prefer to have a recreational outdoor space, have your garden tiled for outdoor garden space to sit by during those warm summer days, drinking lemonade among the greenery. Have a pool installed if you have the budget and an eye for aquatic sports.
Try your hand at raising koi fish in an auspicious outdoor pond, get into beekeeping, or create a paradise for migratory birds with bird baths, wildflowers, and bird feed stops if you prefer being animal friendly. There are so many possibilities to consider when renovating your outdoor space!