The first few months of the new year are traditionally quiet for most people. With the festivities of Christmas and New Year’s Eve long finished, there’s often a lull in activities to do. It’s still a few months until the weather starts to improve, and at present, the days are still rather dark and cold, making venturing outdoors less attractive.
However, it’s important to remember that this time of year can present the ideal opportunity to undertake some meaningful home improvements in and around your property. Take a thorough look at your key spaces and outdoor areas. It may be that some areas haven’t been upgraded for years and could benefit from significant improvements.
In 2024, home improvement focuses on creating unique spaces that reflect your tastes while taking advantage of modern styles. Often, using key pieces of home technology can upgrade these spaces further, adding extra function and practicality.
In this article, three superb home improvement ideas will be explored. They cover some of the key areas in your home as well as your garden spaces. Hopefully, these ideas will provide inspiration, and you’ll use them to add unique touches to your home improvement plans.
1. Add luxury to your bathroom
It’s widely recognized that the pace of modern life can be overwhelming at times. Work can be a main source of stress, with 95% of Americans reporting that they suffer from stress in the workplace. It’s therefore important to take steps to effectively relax and unwind once you’ve finished your working day so you can fully rest and recover. An ideal way to promote relaxation at home is by upgrading your bathroom and adding a touch of luxury to this vital space.
Start by looking at the condition of the walls and tiles in the bathroom. These can age or become damaged over time, which can dramatically reduce the overall appeal of this room. In 2024, many homeowners are considering tadelakt bathroom plastering techniques to add a unique touch of style and luxury to the overall finish of the room. Tadelakt is a traditional Moroccan lime-based plaster that’s incredibly durable, scratch-resistant, and suitable for bathrooms and wet rooms. The result of using this material is a luxurious and long-lasting finish that can dramatically improve the aesthetic appeal of any bathroom.
In addition to this plastering technique, consider adding water jets to your bathtub. This small upgrade can help you to completely relax and unwind at bathtime as the water jets massage your tired muscles and reinvigorate you.
If you like the idea of listening to relaxing music as you’re enjoying a soak in the tub, consider adding a voice-activated speaker that can stream your favorite playlists without you needing to manually operate the device.
As a final touch, bring the relaxing benefits of the natural world into your bathroom by placing plants such as aloe vera and other ferns in the space. Such plants thrive in warm and moist environments and help to add a touch of nature to this room. Aloe vera can also be used to treat small skin cuts, making it a useful plant to have in your bathroom.
2. Modernize your kitchen
It’s widely recognized that the kitchen is the most important room in any home. This space becomes the focal point of activities at many points during the day. From preparing a quick morning snack at breakfast to enjoying a sumptuous home-cooked dinner with your family, the room is in regular use throughout the day.
However, the kitchen can quickly start to show signs of wear and age because of the use it receives. If your kitchen hasn’t been upgraded for several years, this should be the area of your home to focus on.
A key upgrade in this space can be to create a kitchen island. This can add extra practicality to your kitchen as it can function as a seating area (when transformed into a breakfast bar). In addition, a kitchen island can become the focal point of food preparation and cooking by moving the key appliances and working areas to this area.
This type of kitchen island is popular with homeowners who enjoy hosting dinner parties and cooking from scratch regularly. It allows the act of cooking to take center stage in the kitchen and lets you prepare meals more efficiently.
When upgrading your kitchen, pay particular attention to the work surfaces. These can quickly become aged and unappealing, especially if they’re not made from durable materials. Consider upgrading to granite worksurfaces or even marble if you have a higher budget for improvement work. Both surfaces are extremely durable and will add a touch of luxury to this key room.
3. Upgrade your backyard with a water feature.
With spring steadily approaching, it’s time to consider getting back outside and focusing on your garden areas and green spaces. Over winter, many homeowners do little in their gardens, but this time of year is the ideal time to start thinking about improvements that can be undertaken.
A key way to add a striking focal point in your backyard is to add a water feature, such as a small pond. Garden ponds are remarkably easy to create; simply dig a suitable space and add some durable pond lining to ensure the pond retains the water.
Add paving slabs to secure the pond lining and create a durable walking area around the pond. As a final touch, consider adding a water fountain to add visual appeal to the pond. This will also help to aerate the water, should you choose to add cold water fish such as koi carp and goldfish.
If you do plan to add fish, it’s also important to research the types of plants that will be suitable. For example, water lilies are an excellent choice for ponds as they can help control algae levels while also providing an attractive location for frogs to sit on.
Remember that a water feature can be created on a modest budget. A small, simple pond may only involve the purchase of pond lining and some securing stones but can still help to transform your garden.
