Have You REALLY Outgrown Your Home?

There are many things to consider when deciding on whether to move or renovate your home.

Many couples buy a home well before they have children and the choice that they made was right for their circumstance at that time. Often, after the first child is born, there are many changes that they will want or need to make to their home in order to make it more kid friendly.

Do I Need An Addition?

When raising children, certain spaces are needed in order to nurture their creativity and accommodate their activity needs. Many families opt to re-purpose traditional rooms, such as formal dining rooms, living rooms or spare bedrooms to create the child friendly spaces. Others elect to remodel their basements, attics or construct an addition. While some decide to upgrade to a larger home.

While there are a variety of ways to deal with the need for more space, a lot of how you deal with outgrowing your home depends on your financial situation. Many can’t afford to move or love their neighborhood. The cost of constructing an addition may also be out of their reach. In these cases, a simple renovation can create a smarter design that allows a home to seem bigger without adding any square footage.

Is More Space What I Really Need?

Adding more space may not solve your problem. Often, rethinking or redesigning your existing space makes for a better solution. Many spaces can be designed for dual purposes, such as this combined Kitchen, Laundry and Office below.

Hiring a Architect Can Save You Money!

Consider consulting with an architect to see how you can make the flow of your home more attune to your lifestyle and storage needs. They’ll be able to tell you what is and what is not possible. Many times the problem is that the space is not well-planned. By getting a professional opinion, you’ll avoid making one of the most common mistakes; renovating without creating a well-planned design, thus failing to achieve the desired effect.

A few years back, my husband and I were considering creating an addition to our home and were quite close to asking our bank for a home equity loan. Our main issue was storage space and room for workout equipment.

We began to access our current layout and came to the realization that there were many areas that were being underutilized. By simply moving or getting rid of items we no longer used or needed, we were able to create a unique workout space and lessen our storage problem. We spent very little making the changes and our home flowed a lot better!

The moral of this story is to look closely at your home and how you are currently utilizing the space. See if there is a way to reconfigure the layout to create a more open living space that flows better and takes into consideration smart storage options.

Sometimes Less is More!

Make a ‘Want List’ of all the things you would like, such as mudroom, extra powder room, playroom, home office, etc… Conversely, make a ‘Want-Less List’ of rooms you really don’t want or need. Often homes have formal living or dining rooms that serve little or no purpose. Talk with your architect about how to convert these spaces to construct the desired effect you are looking to create.

Check Out this article by Zillow on how sometimes less is more.

Need Help With Re-purposing Your Home?

If you need help with a renovation or remodeling in the Pennsylvania area, Design Data Associates is a full-service design build contractor with professional architects on staff.