Having a home is probably the most expensive investment that you will make in your lifetime. Some people don’t even get the chance to buy a home. Considering this reality, it is important that the property is not only aesthetically appealing but also functional at the same time. The good news is that you can have a stylish yet functional design in your home. You can have it perfect for family members too. Here are 7 ways on how you can have a totally functional home.
1. Understand the Needs of Your Family Members
Before you even call an architect, it is a good idea that you first know the needs of your family members. If you have elderly family members, then it is always a good idea to be extra careful about integrating designs that aren’t safe for their age.
According to a study, one in four Americans aged 65 years old and above experience fall accidents. It means that if you have someone who is already a senior, you might want to consider having designs specifically made for their safety.
You might want to install handrails in the bathroom. Also, you might not want to have steep stairs in your home. And if you are really going to have stairs in your home, you want to have an accessible intercom that older people can use in addressing family members in the house.
The same idea is when you have kids inside your home. If you have kids, you want to make sure that you don’t invest in furniture that can potentially hurt them. Remember that there are some furniture that can be used by your children as toys.
2. Minimalist Concepts
In order to have a functional home, it is a good idea that you also live a minimal lifestyle. What you can do is to not buy things that you will not really use. There are a lot of ways on how you can transition towards living a minimalist life. You can do it slowly or you can do it in an instant. For those who need to discard a lot of things that they are just keeping, it might take a while.
However, if you tend to have a minimal concept in your home, you will notice that you have so much space. You will also notice that things are more organized. It is also a common observation that you tend to not lose a lot of things. A good book to get you started is Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Consider these lessons applicable to both small and huge spaces.
3. Choosing Practicality
If you will look at homes today, you will notice that there are some designs that are just not practical. There are homes that put too much emphasis on aesthetics. What you want is to design rooms for those activities that you are going to do on a daily basis. For instance, you want to make sure that there is enough room for your laundry and enough room for cooking as well.
If you are looking to turn a room for an intended purpose such as an office, for instance, it is a good idea that you consider the amount of time that you will be spending in the room. If you are spending less than 10 hours a week in a particular room, then it might not be a good idea to have.
4. Maximize the Dead Space
Homes usually have a lot of dead space. Dead space can still be utilized and be used for different purposes. It can be used as storage on most occasions. Also, dead spaces can also be turned into a working space. Though it takes some a lot of research on how to utilize dead spaces, once you figured things out, you will be able to get surprised how much more space your current home offers.
5. Always Consider Growth
Part of functionality is your foresight of what’s ahead after a few years. Do you plan on having a child soon? Or maybe, you want to anticipate your children’s activity as they grow up? These are some things that can affect the overall design of a home.
You can have an open design for instance in order to accommodate better use of your home’s space. It offers flexibility on your part. A lot of Q Coast Homes today have this type of design. Not only does it make the home look bigger, but it also gives you the freedom to add rooms and other things that can make the home functional in the future.
6. Energy-Efficient Design
Now, you have to consider the bills that you will have to pay if you ever want to invest in a home. You have to understand that having a home that is functional means that it should also give you savings in the long run. It also doesn’t always mean that you are going to invest in solar panels. There are a lot of strategies that can minimize the cost of electricity. For instance, if you have an open design, it means that you are using fewer lights throughout the day.
In addition to this, you can also make use of larger windows in order to minimize the use of fans to let the air circulate in the room.
7. Budgeting
Lastly, you want to make sure that you are going to have a home that is within your budget. You have to understand that there are some projects that are simply too ambitious for your current budget. You can do a lot of research and see which of the practical designs can meet your expectations.
If you are serious about having a home or renovating your current home to have a more functional version, you would want to talk to experts. You want to get their opinion and have a quote. This way, you know what is realistic and what isn’t realistic on your part.
