Like renovations and remodels, home additions are significant investments and large-scale house projects that can absolutely improve the character, usability, flow, and value of your home as a whole. But unlike a remodel, a home addition doesn’t just give your existing space an update: it creates MORE space for you and your family to spread out into.
But, as with everything in life, there are tradeoffs:
• The larger the project, the greater the expense.
• The bigger your house grows, the smaller your yard shrinks.
• More interior space you have, the greater the cost to heat and cool it.
• The more rooms you live in, the more cleaning you’ll have to do to maintain them.
So, unless you have an unlimited budget and unlimited space to take advantage of, you may want to make sure you’re getting the most out of your home addition by considering the following:
1. Build Taller
Often, when we say we need more space we’re really saying that we need more storage. And even if you’re not able to expand your new addition length of width, you may be able to build upwards, opening up new storage solutions vertically in the form of cabinets, high shelves, or even chic lockers or other built-in features.
Higher ceilings, the so-called 5th wall, can provide other benefits and some exciting options as well.
Research has shown that high ceilings make spaces feel more open and are more pleasurable to be under, even if they aren’t offering any extra usable floor space. And we’ve seen some clients take advantage of this high space with loft netting or hammocks, accessible via low-profile handholds, which kids and adults can both enjoy on a lazy afternoon.
2. Tuck-Away Seating
Depending on the type of home addition you’re adding, there’s a good chance you’ll also be considering your options for seating. And seats, while they are important for home spaces like bars, home offices, and porches, can really cut into small floorspaces and walking routes which are already in high demand.
Including your seating in your early addition design can often help streamline the final result, as bar-counters, tables, desks, and more can all be adapted to fit and store chairs of various types, keeping them out of the way in your new, more functional, and uncluttered home space.
3. Natural Lighting!
We’ve written about it before, and we’ll write about it again. Natural lighting and large windows and skylights are priceless commodities in the modern home.
Big windows are great for home value and for keeping an eye on the kids playing outside. Sunlight can help you save on energy bills (when paired with the right curtains), and can benefit your own mental health and sense of well-being inside your living space.
And, on top of all this, natural lighting and large windows can also make small spaces and additions feel so much larger and more connected with your property as a whole than they would otherwise.
Admittedly, windows can cut into your wall space and you may need to adapt other elements to accommodate a larger bay window setup. But the benefits of doing so are absolutely worth it!
4. Use Smooth, Sleek Finishes and Textures
Dark paint and highly textured walls, ceilings, or finishes add shadows and visual noise that can emphasize the smallness of a space. Smoothing these textures down and opting for light, streamlined, glossy materials can have the opposite effect, reducing noise and allowing the clean lines of the space to stretch outwards.
Curbless showers, matching tile, mirrors, glass or glossy wood surfaces, and minimalist fixture are all good options worth consideration. Or, for an even lighter-weight option, consider furnishing your new space with light-colored, sheer curtains and hanging them all the way up the ceiling, reinforcing the sense of height and scale in your room.
5. Open Up Space Below
If extending the open space to the top of a room can make it feel bigger, grander, and cleaner, what happens when you also open up negative space at the bottom of the room? And this can be accomplished a variety of different ways using floating vanities and open, un-skirted desks, chairs, and other furniture.
Not only does this low, open space potentially allow you to store things underneath, in a pinch, it also clears so much more of the space visually, allowing the eye and the mind to recognize this oft-forgetting space and reinforcing a sense of freedom and openness that any homeowner should prize—especially if the rest of your home has grown cramped enough that an addition is warranted.
It’s the Little Things
Squeezing every square foot out of a space shouldn’t be your only priority when contemplating your home addition. You also need to work with a remodeling contractor with the skill and experience to create an addition that fits and flows into the rest of your home’s interior and exterior, while tangibly improving your overall home experience.
At Amber Valley Construction we are proud to bring this level of expertise, attention to detail, and overall quality to all our home addition projects. And look forward to serving you with fair pricing, excellent communication, and outstanding results in your next West Michigan home remodeling project.
Please contact us today for more information.