How to Improve Your Household in 2018

Every home evolves over time. After the building is finished, most people consider it the end of their worries when it comes to taking care of it – except the small maintenance obligations here and there. However, if you’ve lived in one household for longer than a decade, you know this is not true. It’s not only a matter of maintenance, it’s about practicality and moving along with the times. If you think your house is ripe for a “facelift” project of some kind, here are some handy ways to improve your home in 2018.

Make the kitchen cleaner and brighter

The kitchen is the heart of every home and it reflects your attitudes towards your own household. It is usually the one chamber in the house that sees most activity and it is therefore hardly ever completely clean. However, you can make sure at least some basics are covered.

Stoves, counters that surround the kitchen sink as well as the walls above them are usually covered in stains and the more you postpone the cleaning, the bigger feat it will be to clean it up. Making your kitchen brighter, by using LED lights might appear counterproductive in that regard, but it actually helps.

For example, if you cover your counters and the walls above them (the stretch between the counters and hanging cupboards) in porcelain tiles, you will reap multiple benefits. For one, porcelain is not only robust, it is easy to clean. Two, if you choose to go with white, you’ll have a much more airy, open kitchen which you can show off proudly to guests after a noticeably shorter cleaning session.

Let the sunshine in

Sydney is known for its “sunny disposition”, so why not utilize it? After all, letting the sunshine in has multiple benefits. First of all, it will make the colors and contours of your interior design pop with unimaginable vivacity. More light makes every house look more stylish and joyful.

Furthermore, the natural light makes the residents happy too – as it encourages the secretion of happiness hormones. Therefore, opting to replace your regular patio doors with high-quality glass bi-fold doors from Sydney is win-win in every conceivable way.

The same goes for bigger windows – and if you can accommodate for wall-high glass windows that stretch from floor to ceiling (in other words, without attracting the unwanted neighborhood attention), you’ll benefit from it greatly.

Go green with light

While we are still on the topic of brightness, replacing your entire light grid with LED light bulbs might be the best possible choice to improve your home. The advantages of LED light bulbs are numerous and undeniable. They spend 90% less electricity than your regular incandescent light bulbs and they use almost a 100% of their energy to produce light. This means that no energy is wasted on heating up, which is a godsend during slow and smoldering summer days in Sydney.

Furthermore, they are a far less toxic solution than CFL light bulbs – which are admittedly not dangerous for as long as they don’t blow out. Still, why would you risk it? After all, the LED light bulb can last for up to a whopping 20 years, which is an insane margin of difference when you consider that you have to replace regular incandescents every few months. Therefore, you will save money on purchasing new light bulbs in the long run and save a ton on the monthly electric bill – which can truly be a financial killer within the Sydney city limits.

Spruce up your outdoors

Just a few minor changes to your immediate outdoors can make a world of difference when it comes to improving your home. For one, adding a motion-detecting light above your front and patio door is a welcoming life hack when you are returning home late, plus it is a good scare-off for potential intruders. If you add a cheap security camera right next to the motion sensor light, you’ll definitely be burglar-proof.

Additionally, purchasing a foldable awning and placing it right above the front and the back porch will protect your windows from direct South Pacific sunlight while still letting the daylight in, plus it will give you a nice little spot for the outdoor layabout mode.

Letting your home fall into disrepair is something that can easily happen if you are too preoccupied with other matters, but you should always be ready to lend it your full attention. In many ways, the house is like a child – it thrives when you show it devotion and care. You should always envision the house you’ve moved into as the basis for creating something more personal – if the household is fashioned to your own taste over time, both you and it will benefit immensely.

Guest Contributor, Diana Smith