If you are buying a home for the first time you will need to make your budget stretch as far as possible. Take your lead from these affordable decors and interior ideas to suit families. When you’re no longer single your needs usually start to change. Perhaps the two of you are dreaming about running a business from home or maybe you are planning a family. Whatever your short-term or long-term plans, you should discuss them in detail before purchasing a property.
These tips may be super useful for house hunters:
Convenience
Check out how far you will have to drive to get to work, shops, doctors, schools and so on.
Exposure
Determine noise levels from neighbors (including pets), airplanes and traffic. Remember to take environmental factors into account, such as pollution, whether the area gets a lot of wind, and if there are any underground water sources.
Status of the neighborhood
Do the streets and the other properties in the area look neat and well maintained?
Security
Obtain dependable information about crime in the area.
Development
Make a note of access routes. Find out if there are plans to build a school, shopping mall or soccer stadium in the area in the foreseeable future, or if there are major roadworks in the offing.
Affordable decor tips
When your family starts to grow, so do your requirements for increased living space. A larger home means a more expensive lifestyle and greater challenges when it comes to making your home more beautiful with a limited budget.
Structure
In an old house such as the one pictured here, a lot of structural work is often required to create a family-friendly environment. Walls were knocked down to create an open-plan living space and a new kitchen was added. The dotted lines indicate where walls have been knocked down.
If you’re keen on an older house, keep in mind that you can change the feel of the place completely by knocking down walls – rooms will immediately be more inviting and spacious. Keep an eye out for authentic architectural details such as beautiful original fireplaces.
Floors and walls
The original wooden floors were restored and the owners chose tiled floors for the new kitchen – an extremely child-friendly option. Wall-to-wall carpeting remains the most cost-effective floor covering and it’s worth considering if your new home does not have attractive wooden floors. The latest carpet ranges are easy to clean and there are several stainproof options. The walls were treated with CreteStone from BPB Gypsum, which is a good way to hide uneven plaster or old-fashioned stippled walls. It can be painted or left unpainted.
Furniture
The house pictured here has a uniform, individualistic style, which is nonetheless child-friendly at the same time. If you’re buying second-hand furniture, solid wood is a good choice: transform battered old pieces with a little light sanding and a good-quality stain or varnish, or dress them up with fresh coats of paint.
Accessories
Combine distressed picture frames and other treasures, such as driftwood, river pebbles, and items with old-worldly charm, to create the popular ‘shabby chic’ style.
And the last tip, be patient. You won’t find everything that you need immediately and it could take a couple of years to put together a collection of furniture and accessories of your dreams. But it will be definitely worth your efforts.