Many of us wish for more spare time on a daily basis, but nobody wanted – or expected – their spare time to come in the form of a worldwide pandemic that leaves them housebound. Nevertheless, here we are. All the time in the world without the luxuries of friends, family or even places to go, but that’s not to say there’s nothing to keep you busy.
What about all the other things you’ve never had the time to do? Something that will spring to a lot of minds is the efforts of home improvement. Considering it’s where we all need to stay, it only makes sense to make your space as comfortable as possible. There are many home improvements that can only be carried out once this lockdown has been lifted, so taking the time to plan these changes now is a worthwhile investment of your free time.
Founder of Aliwood Roof Lanterns, Jonathan Hey, has offered his professional expertise and provided a variety of home improvements for you to consider. From quick improvements you can make to spice up your space whilst self-isolating, to those that can be invested in once normal day-to-day life resumes, there’s bound to be something here to catch your eye!
Declutter
Whether you want to start working on your home straight away or would rather take some time to plan your enhancements, there’s no better place to start than with a thorough declutter! Although you may not realise it, an abundance of clutter can add a lot of stress to your day-to-day life. Not to mention the difficulty you will face in attempting to renovate your home with bits and bobs constantly getting in your way.
The main difficulty found in decluttering is usually just figuring out where to start. It can be useful to break down the process as this will make the job seem a lot less daunting. Just focus on one room at a time and don’t be afraid to make more of a mess before you start tidying – it can actually be helpful to completely clear your surfaces before you begin as this helps you decide what should go where. Decide on a designated area for any unwanted junk and by the time the decluttering process is over all that’s left to do is bag up the rubbish and voila! Just like that you have prepared your home for some serious refurbishments!
Roof Lanterns
With lockdown in full effect, having a roof lantern fitted isn’t a particularly attainable goal at the moment, however, you can bet that there are countless people out there longing for the delights of a roof lantern as they stay shut up indoors.
Roof lanterns are an excellent way to flood your home with healthy, natural light – something we’re receiving in abundance now that Spring is firmly underway. In fact, ‘top light’, as it’s known, is by far the most effective way to introduce daylight into a home. Amazingly, lighting from above is more than three times brighter than light that enters through vertical windows, making roof lanterns the perfect solution for any homeowner looking to inject more natural light into their property.
Home office
Home-working has been the norm for well over a month now, and it’s likely that the initial novelty of working in your pyjamas and enjoying a beer with lunch has worn off. This excitement is likely to have been replaced with a gloomy sense of avolition. Of course, there are surely those who thrive when left to their own devices, but there are many more who can’t wait to get back to the stimulating atmosphere of their regular workspace.
In this case, it can be incredibly beneficial for you to set up your very own home office. This could be an alteration you make exclusively for your time in isolation or it may become a permanent change in your home. One thing’s for sure though: a home office would do many of us a world of good right now.
If you have a room that’s designated to storage, or perhaps a well-lit garden room, consider setting up your home office there. Natural light is an excellent source of motivation (yet another reason to invest in a roof lantern) but it’s also important to set up some task lighting as this will help with your concentration on specific jobs, and will be especially useful if working in the evenings. Also, make sure you have enough plug sockets available and a decent wifi signal.
Having a designated workspace is exceedingly important in putting out your best work, making this home improvement near-essential in the current climate.
Insulate your loft
With everyone spending a great deal more time indoors, it’s hardly surprising that you may see your energy bills skyrocketing. Insulating your loft can make your home much more energy-efficient as it reduces heat loss, resulting in a reduced heating bill.
This task can be done yourself and with materials such as boards, rolls or slabs still available for delivery from plenty of DIY shops, this is an excellent job to get out of the way whilst looking for things to do in isolation.
Painting and decorating
Yet another task that should be put off no longer! With essentially everything you could ever need available for delivery, there’s no reason why you can’t turn what may have originally been an aggravating and time-consuming task into an exciting and worthwhile activity.
This is a great opportunity for families to stay busy and spend time together in isolation, and will result in a refreshing new space to relax in. On top of this, adding a fresh coat of paint can add around 5-10% to the value of your home!
Garden makeover
Although there is likely to be a bit of a wait until we can flood our homes with natural light with the assistance of a new roof lantern, we can still receive a plentiful supply of the sun’s rays if we’re lucky enough to be blessed with a garden during this lockdown. With Spring well underway and Summer fast approaching, now is the perfect time to get the gardening gloves on and really go to work!
You can go as big as you like with a project like this; the world is your oyster, as they say! You could stick to mowing the lawn and maybe trimming a few shrubs or you could dig out a pond and build a new deck. The choice is completely up to you and really depends on how far you’re willing to go to improve your garden, but with lockdown in full effect, there’s no better time than now to get your fingers well and truly green.
Embrace open plan living
Any home improvement that involves knocking down your inner walls is sure to be a big job, and definitely requires a great deal of planning. This is unlikely to be a change that you would want to implement whilst isolating, but it’s certainly one to think about!
This is obviously a much easier and more cost-effective job if you have a non-load bearing wall that you would like to knock down, but if this is the case then the result can really transform your home. Consider converting your kitchen and dining room into one glorious space, for example. This home improvement would also pair extremely well with a roof lantern, as an open plan layout would allow for the natural light to reach further into your home.
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