How to Make Your House More Comfortable in Less than a Month

A house doesn’t become a home until it has the necessary comforts to make it a place you love spending time in. Do the rooms have a cold, almost sterile atmosphere? Is it draugthy, with poor lighting? Does it lack the desired space to host social occasions.

Well, there are numerous things you can do to make your property more homely, and the great news is, there are many tasks that you can attempt yourself to reduce the costs involved.

DIY vs A Professional Remodeling Contractor

Pros to DIY

• Doing the renovation yourself is obviously much cheaper when compared to labor costs of a professional contractor. Therefore, cost is one of the main benefits of completing a DIY home renovation project.
• A DIY project also means the work can be completed in a time frame that works around you, with no pressure of deadlines. The work could be completed at a slow pace, possibly just on weekends, or whenever you get time off from work, meaning there is minimal impact on your home life.
• Attempting DIY can help you learn new skills that will serve you well for years to come. The more skills you learn, the more ambitious you can become, taking on more difficult, and intricate tasks, saving even more money down the line.

Cons to DIY

• Mistakes are possible. Some mistakes are just part of the learning curve and can be easily rectified, however, there are some errors that can be very costly, and may need professional assistance in order to fix them. This could potentially result in more expense than if you decided to hire a contractor in the first place.
• Safety is also an issue if you are attempting more heavy duty, physical tasks. Professional contractors must complete hours of training to learn the necessary safety techniques that allow them to offer their services.
• You may be putting yourself at risk attempting to fix electrical issues, or underestimating the weight of things, potentially causing injury.

In some cases, it could be just be as simple as lifting something incorrectly, so make sure you watch a few safety tutorials online before attempting more advanced DIY.

8 Ideas to improve the overall comfort of your home

1. Select a warm and inviting color scheme. It cannot be underestimated how much a good paint job can set the tone for the entire home. Egg shell is always a classic that never fails to lift a room, while terracotta can also be a good choice for a cozy kitchen.
2. Wood will never go out of style and is the perfect choice if you are looking to create a country farmhouse theme that creates a warming, traditional feel across the home. If you have an old house, then exposing wooden beams is highly recommended to give your home extra character.
3. Combine different styles. Creating a blend of old and new can be a good way to make rooms more interesting, and perhaps bring some quirkiness to liven things up. If you have a lot of white, flat-pack furniture, then considering blending it with antiques and traditional-style artwork.
4. Turn a cold looking stone floor or tiles into something more appealing with vintage rugs. Turkish or Middle Eastern-style rugs will never go out of fashion, helping to transport you back to one of your favorite holiday destinations.
5. As well as rugs, you can accessorize further with cushions, blankets, throws, pillow covers, and more. If some of your rooms are looking a little basic and bare, then investing in some charming accessories and fabrics can help you add some warming textures to a living space.
6. There’s nothing more inviting than plants and nature, so if your rooms are in need of some more color, it could be a good idea to purchase a few house plants to provide a bit of greenery. Good, low-maintenance house plants include Peace Lillies, Philodendrons, Cacti, Aloe Vera, Spider Plants, or even something a bit more exotic, like Jade.
7. Are you a keen photographer? Then hanging some of your favorite holiday snaps and family portraits at eye-level can create a much more homely atmosphere. This is a really cost-effective way of making your walls more interesting and reducing the amount of white, or redundant space.
8. Transform your bathroom and kitchen with warming metals such as copper or brass. These rustic additions are a great contrast against white subway tiles and will never lose their appeal.

Choosing a Home Remodeling Contractor

Based in California? Looking for San Jose, San Francisco, or Irvine, Orange County home improvement services, then you are fortunate that the State has become a bit of a hotbed for professional contractors. However, that doesn’t make choosing the perfect one for your next project any easier.

5 things to look for when choosing a Home Remodeling Contractor

1. Ensure your contractor can provide an extensive portfolio and has a list of recent references at your request. This is one of the best ways to determine a high-quality contractor, as opposed to an inexperienced one, helping to weed out the ‘cowboys’.
2. Your contractor should have all the required licenses and certifciation as per the laws of the state.
3. Your chosen contractor should be approachable and be a prompt communicator. If the contractor takes days to reply to any queries that you may have when they are aiming to secure your business, then this poor communication is likely to be a problem during the project itself.
4. When provided with a quote, cross-check it with your own research to confirm you are not being over charged for materials and fittings.
5. Request to speak to the project manager so you can gain an understanding of their procedures and working style. This can help give you a gut feeling of whether this person is the right choice to complete the project, and if you can trust them to deliver a professional service.