How To Make Your House Your Forever Home

Often, as we move through life, we might move from home to home, renting, buying, and selling as the current circumstances fit us. However, when you find a property that you truly fall in love with, and that suits all the needs of your family, not just in the short term, but in the long term, you might start to think about settling down permanently. However, rarely do we find a home that feels truly perfect for your needs, so you might be thinking about what you can do to ensure that your current house becomes your “forever home.” And here are a few directions you might want to take.

Consider If You Need More Space

The family that you have now might not look exactly the same as the family you have five or ten years down the line. Whether you plan on having another kid or two, or you decide to invite a parent or the in-laws to live with you, you might want to add some space now so that the home is able to evolve with you over time. Consider finishing the basement, adding a second story, or building an additional bedroom or multipurpose room. Flexible spaces, such as lofts or convertible offices, can offer a degree of long-term adaptability without having to constantly remodel. Planning ahead and thinking about spaces you can add can help you avoid future stress.

Invest In A Serious Kitchen Upgrade

If you plan on living in your home for the long term, then it’s worth making sure that the most practical spaces match that ambition, as well. This might start with upgrading the kitchen, focusing on longevity and practicality. Focus on high-quality materials that withstand daily use, like durable countertops, sturdy cabinetry, and easy-to-clean flooring. This can also involve adjusting the layout so that you’re able to establish a work triangle that allows you to move between the fridge, the sink, and the food prep area with much more ease. Adding sufficient storage, pantry space, and modern appliances ensures your kitchen remains functional as your family grows or your cooking habits change.

Make Your Home Much Smarter

Creating the perfect place to live in the long term might also mean making it a lot easier to control all the various aspects of home comfort, climate, and even safety. Automating your home with the help of smart home technology can help you do just that. There is no shortage of smart home features you can install, from thermostats that can automatically learn your routines to security systems that you can manage remotely. You can automate all of the little aspects of the home that make it more flexible to your needs, such as your lights, your blinds, and how you control your media hardware. It might not be the most crucial upgrade you can make, but a smart home offers some real lifestyle improvements.

Aim  For Timeless Decor

Of course, even if your house does become your forever home, you’re more than able to keep switching up its style as time goes on to fit your tastes. However, by focusing on the fixtures and bigger changes that feel inviting and relevant as time goes on, you might feel less inclined to make big changes quite as often. This can include things like neutral color palettes, classic materials like hardwood and natural stone, and clean-lined fixtures that age gracefully and are easier to make fit changing tastes. This way, you’re able to change all of the trappings surrounding the more long-term parts of the home’s look, without having to redesign the whole space every time you want to try a different style.

Consider A Whole Remodel

You might like a lot about the home, such as the area it’s in, the footprint it offers, and the curb appeal, but want to change a lot about the indoors. Outdated layouts, odd room combinations, and renovations that haven’t been evenly updated can make it feel like the whole property is due for an update. If that’s the case, whole home remodeling services may be just the right approach to create a long-term living environment. This approach allows you to rethink the entire flow of the home, update plumbing and electrical, improve insulation, and modernize finishes all at once. While a major project upfront, it prevents the need for piecemeal renovations later, which can be disruptive and more expensive over time.

Consider Accessibility And Aging In Place

Whether you’re inviting an older family member to live with you, or you’re looking at the next twenty or thirty years at your home, and how they might affect your own independence, incorporating accessibility in your home makes sure that the home is able to comfortably accommodate the needs of everyone who lives there. For instance, features like wider doorways, step-free entries, lever-style handles, and spacious bathrooms make daily living easier for everyone. Consider installing blocking for future grab bars, choosing slip-resistant flooring, and planning first-floor bedrooms or adaptable spaces. There are also kitchen features like pull-out shelves or lower-level counter options that can help support people of all physical needs over time.

Know When It Might Not Really Be Your Forever Home

Before you start to make major, sweeping changes, you need to really consider whether or not a home fits your needs as much as you might want it to. For instance, does it offer enough space for you to renovate or extend as much as you might want to meet all of your future needs? The location is just as important, as well. Does it offer proximity to where you work, important family members, or amenities you might need as you age? You should think about how well your home’s location and state can suit you even deep into retirement. If you can’t see yourself living there as you and your family change over time, it might not be the forever home you hope it is.

A forever home might take a little work to realize. However, if you’re serious about staying there for the foreseeable future, it might be plenty worth it.