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Ever wanted a house makeover to fulfil the image of your dream home in mind?

7 Warning Signs That Your House Needs A Makeover
This isn’t real, or is it?

You know, the ones you see on Pinterest which will leave visitors green with envy.

Oh yeah. Who doesn’t want that?

You adore your home, its location, and neighbourhood, but there’s one problem. Your house is ageing: its age peeking through via the detached tiles in the kitchen, outdated fixtures, or the cabinetry in the kitchen that flashes back to the early 90s.

Home deterioration issues shouldn’t be neglected. You know something in the house needs to be changed. But how do you know if you’re really ready to do it and where do you begin?

Here’s a home remodelling checklist to help you decide if it’s time to give your nest a makeover:

1. Chipped plaster, peeling paint, chalky and/or damp walls

Your brand new sofa just arrived and you placed it against the plain wall. You imagined it to be as gorgeous as you’ve seen online. But why does it look nothing like that?

Oh, it’s that wall. The worn-down, dirty, chipped wall that doesn’t do justice to that beautiful couch you bought.

7 Warning Signs That Your House Needs A Makeover
Yes, that ugly piece of wall.

The walls cover the most surface area in a house. When there are damages to the walls, the age of your house becomes more apparent. And it usually discloses a greater problem in the house than you thought.

For instance, the most common problem would be a white, yellow, or brown chalky substance on the wall. Walls breathe moisture and these stains could be the result of the salt residue that the moisture has left behind.

The solution?

Applying a fresh layer of paint to your dingy walls will do wonders to update the look of your home. Or if, as mentioned, humidity is affecting your walls, here are a few guidelines:

  1. Cut short hot shower time
  2. Check for plumbing problems such as leaks or clogs
  3. Crack open a window and turn on vent fans for a longer period of time
  4. Install vent fans if needed. Consider hiring an electrician to install them.

2. You need more space

house makeover
Oh dear, that cringe-worthy clutter.

Maybe your kids have outgrown the house, or that your family’s lifestyle has changed since you first bought the house. Whatever reasons it is, the feeling of being boxed-in inside your own home means that your home is too crowded.

You could also be feeling that the air is stiff in the house, or natural sunlight can’t reach into certain areas, which may impact your moods and stress levels.  These are signs that there are too many items or furniture obstructing air and sunlight from entering the space.

The solution?

Well, first off, you’ve got to KonMari the house! That’s the latest home tidying trend to throw or donate things that don’t ‘spark joy’. No amount of reorganization or rearranging will work unless you have lesser things.

Afterwards, you can rearrange your home’s furniture to make your home bigger, and more comfortable. Tip: consider replacing cabinets or drawers that are too bulky with something sleeker—the more space you have the more things you’ll buy to fill them up.

3. It just doesn’t feel right in the house

There is a fine line between “mid-century” and plain outdated. What started out fresh and trendy can quickly become bland, or even tasteless.

Oh my god

Some examples could be the shiny gold doorknob, or those glossy, laminated built-in kitchen cabinets, or that TV wall feature (why did I ever decide to do that?).

If your home seems like its stuck in 2010 (in a bad way), perhaps you’d have to help your home catch up with the times.

The solution?

Some low-cost tricks to bring your space into the 21st century are a change of hardware, a fresh layer of paint in contemporary colours, or simply replacing some furniture pieces.

Need some help with your space? Find someone who can help you with it!

4. Your space isn’t functioning well

Do you get a backache when you’re washing up in the too-low sink?

Do you feel like you don’t have enough storage space even though you may have already cleared out as many things in your house as possible?

Your home should be a sacred place where you feel safe, relaxed, and physically comfortable. Every inch of the space should complement your current lifestyle and function well for your everyday life. For example, if you cook dinner every day, make sure the kitchen counter has sufficient space for you to work on.  

The solution?

Consider hiring a professional architect to help you figure out why and what you can do about utilizing the entirety of your home.

5. The house looks dingy

Does your home look grimy no matter what you do? Take a look at your lights.

There could be two areas of concern:

a) The technicality of lights

There are a few reasons why your lights are flickering; it usually means they’re receiving too little voltage, affecting the way they light up a house.

Charred or discoloured outlets or switches could also be another sign. Loose connection or faulty wiring can cause small fires which leaves charring or discolouration on the surface of the outlet or switch.

Burning smell but can’t point out where from? Take note: your wiring may be shorting behind your walls or under your floor.

b) Misplaced light fixture

It’s an art, not a design cliche, to place your lights in the right place. Good lighting is everything—misplacing or misusing light fixtures may make your home looks dated and dreary. Strategically placed light fixtures can affect the ambience and mood of your home and spruce up your home almost instantly.

Solve these issues by:

Hiring a professional electrician to check on your wiring and replace when necessary. As for lighting, ask a professional interior designer for help on where to place light fixtures.

6. Clutter everywhere

We’ve emphasized a couple of times on the importance of decluttering. That’s because a study shows that clutter is a bad thing for your physical and mental health.

You may have gotten used to drawers that wouldn’t close, things that weren’t put away, and cabinets that are filled with appliances you barely used.

If the clutter in your home is too prominent to ignore, you may want to start working on that house makeover.

We’re not aiming for 5-shirts-in-my-wardrobe kind of minimalism. The goal is to toss out things that do nothing but takes up space in your life, and develop a tidying system for the house that everybody can use to keep the house constantly clutter-free.

The solution?

First, remove excess in the home that leads to a feeling of disorganization. Clear out things such as CDs, rubber bands, old batteries, useless decorations, books, sentimental items, etc. Not confident you can actually throw things away? Ask yourself, if a fire left you nothing in your house, what will you replace? This is a great way to know what’s valuable to you.

7 Warning Signs That Your House Needs A Makeover
No storage, no clutter.

Then, find a storage system that everyone can get used to. However, you can be more deliberate in looking for ways to store your things. If you need a storage table, find one that doubles as an added decoration to your interior. Don’t have time to shop for one? Post a task to get help from the community!

Little things add up

Living in a clutter-free, made-over home with modern aesthetics will make you feel more energetic, relaxed, and happy.  

Perhaps you’d just like to have a new look for your house or you happen to have enough budget for a makeover. You may feel like you need some repair work and makeovers for your home even when it is not yet that necessary.

But if you see those above-mentioned indications for a house makeover, it’s probably time to welcome a more cosy and inviting environment.