Where to start: 4 Home remodeling starting points for any homeowner

Home remodeling excites, delights and thrills. It may also intimidate, overwhelm and stress some homeowners, especially with the expansive list of possible projects. But don’t let that stop you. In fact, try dialing in to your creativity, comfort and daily lifestyle to help you get started on your home remodeling projects.

Still a little stuck? Try any one of these four home remodeling projects to get the inspiration flowing:

Stun with a new dining room

An excellent starting point for most home remodeling ideas is the kitchen. Most think of redoing kitchen cabinets, implanting a lovely kitchen island or simply optimizing the usable space within the food preparation areas in general. But what about the kitchen’s closest complementary component: the dining room?

Most traditional dining rooms consist of basic elements like an expansive table with seats, often a window and some type of lighting feature. However, try updating that style to open up your dining room area. 

Try lighter paint colors to help bring some breathing room back into the dining space. Opt for lighting that brightens without becoming a hindrance, such as recessed lighting. If you want more of the decadent homage to intricate, yet spectacular, decor, try stylized molding, large hanging lights and sturdy, wooden furniture to bring your dining room together.

Maximize living areas with more floor space

Many homeowners want to keep their space open. However, if you have strange walls and jutting enclosures randomly strewn across your floor plan, you may feel a little more cramped than you’d like.

While you may need a contractor for this particular remodeling project, try having those intrusive walls removed or repurposed into something like a bar window from your kitchen to the living space. You can also  open the cabinet space and resize it to incorporate more movable space.

Get comfortable with a cozy reading nook

While not quite a focal point, creating a cozy nook where you can relax and enjoy a good book, crossword or simply pontificate on your day-to-day, you won’t be disappointed in this project.

Nooks typically don’t take up much space and can be designed to be as enclosed or opened as you’d like. If you’re partial to natural light, try setting one up near a window, complete with bench and bookshelf. If you’d prefer a more cozy spot, try repurposing an oddly spaced area of your home with an excellent chair, soft paint colors and a place for a cup of warm tea or coffee.

Delight with built-in lighting

Lastly, but certainly not the least, is lighting that assimilates almost seamlessly with the rest of your home’s structure. Recessed lighting is always a favorite, but if you happen to have an accented art wall, try lighting built into the flooring to help give a more artistic feel.

For those who favor gaming or just love groovy lighting, try softer ambient lighting strips or bars that can be implanted directly into a ledge or jamb.