New Year’s Resolutions to Refresh Your Home

Judie Docs, Executive Officer North Coast Building Industry Association (NCBIA) www. ncbia.com CSP, MCSP, CGP, CMP, MIRM

The beginning of a new year offers a fresh start and a chance to usher in a positive change. New year’s resolutions are usually associated with personal goals, such as losing weight or saving money. This year instead — or perhaps in addition — you can resolve to take steps to refresh your home. A completed home improvement project, even a small one, can make a significant difference in the comfort and enjoyment of your space yearround. For example, you can resolve to:

Let More Light in Your Home.

People tend to be more productive and happier when exposed to light. Try to allow as much natural light into your home as possible. Daylight provides access to vitamin D, a nutrient linked to fighting illness, heart disease and depression, as well as boosting weight loss. Simple ways to increase the amount of natural light in your home is to add reflective items such as mirrors and other shiny features such as cabinet hardware, glass tiles or glossy ceramic tiles in the kitchen or bathroom. For a bigger boost of sunlight, install a skylight to brighten up your home.

Create Green Spaces. Plants can improve your overall comfort. There are many varieties of plants conducive to staying alive and well in your home. Popular types of indoor plants include aloe, English ivy, rubber tree, ficus, and areca palm. If you’re looking for stylish ways to incorporate plants into your existing home décor, consider grouping plants in an odd number and select varied sizes for an informal, inviting look. Plants with a variety of leaf colors, textures and pots can make your greenery arrangement stand out.

Organize Your Kitchen. More homeowners are spending time in the kitchen not only to prepare meals but also to spend time with the family or work. The first is step is to declutter your space. An orderly kitchen space will make it easier to find what you’re looking for and feel good about the space you live in. Before purchasing organizational tools, experts recommend removing all of the items in your kitchen. Sort kitchen items into three separate piles: keep, discard, or donate. Once you’ve determined your essential kitchen gear, consider placing like items together in the same general storage area.

Add a Splash of

Color. You don’t have to repaint the entire interior of your home to make a difference in your décor. Adding a splash of color, such as painting an accent wall, can transform a space. Experts recommend pulling colors from existing features in the room you want to paint, such as bedding, to help you determine the best paint palette to work with. The color you select should flow well with the rest of your home. Hardware stores often have sample sizes of paint to test colors in your home or have paint swatches on hand with suggested color collections.

We are your local not-for-profit trade association representing member companies involved in all aspects of home building, remodeling, and other aspects of services available to help you in the future as well as more information on the above topic. So, you can see it is for your protection that you use a NCBIA member. If you are unsure that your contractor is a member of the NCBIA or you are looking for a list of NCBIA members, you can visit our website at www.ncbia.com or call 440-934-1090. We also have a job posting board (under the industry tab).

Visit our 24/7 Virtual Parade of Homes!!! Allows you to look at some of our builders’ new homes and communities on your mobile device or computer at your leisure (including our remodelers) We know time is our greatest asset and via our NCBIA Virtual Parade of Homes, we save you time looking for a new home or a community that fits your lifestyle. The Virtual Parade of Homes is open online 24/7. Many of the homes featured in our Virtual Parade host regular open house hours for those consumers who are looking to tour the actual homes. You can click through to builder websites to see what they have to offer.

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