Now is the ideal time of year for renovating your home. Not only is it usually mild and dry enough to have doors and windows (or walls) open to the elements, it means you can reap the benefits when summer fully arrives. Want to maximise your space and your investment? Try some of the latest ways to give your home an on-trend overhaul.
Fashion-statement front doors
There are a few things that reflect your home's personality and give a warm welcome like a front door. However, there's a huge amount of scope to make it stand out thanks to the latest styles and colour available. Large-scale front doors are increasingly popular, while lighter shades, such as white and cream are giving way to dark tones, such as navy, cobalt and pine green. Composite doors are ideal for experimenting with colour - think pretty pastels, such as primrose and duck egg blue or unexpected hues, such as bright yellow or punchy purple. Need some ideas? Try searching for #ihavethisthingwithdoors on social media.
'Your front door is the face of your home - it's the first thing people see, so don't follow the crowd, design your own and really go to town,' advises property expert and Truedoor ambassador George Clarke. 'With your front door, you can have more freedom to express yourself, perhaps picking a colour that you wouldn't normally choose for your interior walls. Changing the front door is a quick win but a real game changer in terms of how people perceive you and your home.'
Repurposing rooms
Gone are the days of houses with spare bedrooms - one of the hottest home trends is turning those underused spaces into hard-working hubs. Home offices are high on the wish list for a growing at-home workforce or handling household paperwork but it's also desirable to turn bedrooms into en-suites for a master bedroom, hobby spaces for crafts, playrooms, or additional living rooms with a view. The key to getting the new space right is planning ahead. For example, you may need more sockets for plugging in office equipment, Wi-Fi or additional lighting. Similarly, an en-suite will require a way to connect to the existing pipework of a main bathroom or new plumbing of its own.
Broken-plan living
While many of us love the spacious feel of an open-plan room, in recent years privacy and split spaces have made a comeback. Semi open-plan, or broken-plan as it's now known, is a series of connected spaces that employ different design techniques to subtly divide the room while still maintaining its flow. Not only does this mean you don't have to watch the kids do their homework or keep every area scrupulously tidy, it allows each zone to have its own look and feel. As well as permanent solutions, such as partial walls and interior glazing, moveable furniture and shelving are easy ways to flexibly segment a space, while visiual tricks, such as different flooring types and lighting sets give more of a broken-plan feel where there isn't space for a physical divide.
Frame-free glazing
If you're lucky enough to have a beautiful garden or countryside view, now's the time to make the most of it. Where once your options for sliding glass or bi-fold doors were limited to chunky frames with slim sightlines, large panes and minimal handles. This means that even when your glass doors are closed, the room will feel connected to the outside space and allow plenty of daylight to flood in for a brighter aspect all year round.
Even better, most have low-level or flush-fitting floor tracks so you can walk straight out to the garden without negotiating a step. This allows your garden to become a seamless area of living space simply by opening the doors. The result is perfect inside-outside living for entertaining, relaxing and more.
