The majority of the home remodeling lens tends to focus on more extensive projects, like a whole home makeover with a remodel for every room in the house or a huge kitchen overhaul. However, you’d be amazed at the difference elevating “small spaces” with a professional remodeling contractor can make.
Beyond Kitchens & Baths: 5 Ideas For Re-Envisioning Your Living Spaces
Scheduling a walk-through with a local home remodeling contractor is an excellent way to re-envision existing living spaces so they cater more to your daily lifestyle and hobbies.
The team at Details Construction Group loves it when clients ask us for new, creative, and unconventional ideas for transforming the smaller rooms or areas in their homes.
Here are some ideas based on some of our most recent whole-home remodels.
1. Elevate The Laundry Room’s Function.
With customized cabinetry and storage, a laundry room can be much more than just a space for a washer and dryer.
Depending on your household occupants, hobbies and interests, and daily routine, we can talk about designing customized laundry or mudroom spaces for:
- Crafts or hobbies
- The kids’ cubbies (hats, towels, shoes, school gear, etc.)
- A room for your pets with a bathing station, feeding area, and kennels.
- Gardening and tools storage with a wash station.
- Pool toys and outdoor play equipment storage.
- And so on.
2. In-law Quarters or Income-Generating ADUs
We’ve seen an uptick in clients who spend significant portions of the year with multiple generations in the same home. Creating independent in-law suites ensures everyone can be together when they want to, yet also have complete autonomy and privacy in their own spaces.
We can also discuss building an ADU in the back or side yard, which could be used as an in-law or guest house or as a potential income-generating space. In-law units or income-generating additions add value to your home and can help it sell faster.
Our team does all the pre-build work for you, ensuring the unit meets your building department’s guidelines.
3. Stylish Modifications For Aging In Place
Don’t wait until necessity forces your hand. Families who implement universal design principles now can stylishly integrate them into the existing features. This is always more aesthetically pleasing than the slap-dash jobs done on the fly when unforeseen accidents or illnesses create red alert situations.
Homes that are comfortably designed for aging in place:
- Utilize luxury flooring that accommodates wheelchairs, walkers, or canes.
- Install sturdy grab bars in the bath/shower and toilet areas (these come in handy whether you’re aging in place or not).
- Pay special attention to slip/trip/fall hazards (like curbless step-in showers in the bathroom).
- Prioritize levers and drawer handles as opposed to knobs and pulls.
- Create custom lighting plans that accommodate tasks, ambiance, and safety/security.
- Account for extra maneuverability around tables, countertops, and appliances.
In addition to integrating these features stylishly and seamlessly into your current home design, honoring accessibility makes your home a welcoming space for guests of all ages and abilities.
4. Garage Or Bonus Room Conversions
Has your garage become more of a storage unit than a place for vehicles? Is there a formal living or dining room that’s barely used all year? Why not make it something the family enjoys on a daily or weekly basis?
In some cases, this may be the beginning of that in-law or guest suite build-out mentioned in #2.
However, this may also be an opportunity to make it:
- The Man Cave or She Space.
- A Craft-Room.
- Decked-out game room to keep teens/young adults safely in your sphere with their friends.
- Home gym.
- Yoga room or quiet zone.
- Home bar and entertainment room (including a revamp of your adjacent outdoor living spaces).
- Home office.
5. The One-Room Super Makeover
During the year or three after your major kitchen or bathroom remodel, you may begin to feel other rooms of the home pale in comparison. This is your opportunity to consider doing one- or two-room “super makeovers.”
This would look something like:
- Adding luxurious touches to the master bedroom.
- Building loft and homework spaces into a child’s bedroom.
- Using your powder room to make a design statement, forgoing the “neutral palette” typically used in more central areas of the home.
- Building custom features into your office/guest room so it serves as both a comfortable space for guests and more than just a desk-against-the-wall office.
- Homework niches or stations.
During the time we spend together walking through your home and learning more about your family, including its current and future goals, the more we’ll be able to generate ideas or tips for upgrading living areas beyond the kitchen and bathroom remodel.
Schedule a Small Space Design Consult with Details Construction Group
Would you like to have a professional remodeling contractor envision your home in a whole new light? Schedule a design consultation with Details Construction Group.
We love finding ways to elevate the smaller or lesser-used rooms of the house so that every nook and corner is functional, stylish, and designed to bring you joy!
