Undoing The Poor Designs Of Previous Homeowners

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We move into homes not always because of what they offer now, but what they could be. In some cases, investors may even just buy a piece of property because of its associated land, knowing that they intend to knock down the house at some point in the future and redevelop a custom home in its place.
However, sometimes, you purchase a home because of how you could renovate or improve it, especially after ghastly decisions made by the previous owner. You may be tight-lipped about this during the walk-through of course, as that’s just good grace.
It’s unlikely, though, that you’ll keep the “mirrored wall,” the disco-jazz room, the 70’s textured wallpaper, the taxidermy screwed onto plaques against the wall, and all the other representations of taste you can’t quite believe is still present in 2023.
Undoing the poor designs of previous homeowners is a task, but if anything, it gives you the chance to completely reset the home and focus anew on functional, decorative, comfort.
Let’s consider how you’d even get started with that process. Without further ado, let’s get started:

Make The Space Neutral

If you have the chance to, it’s good to render the space neutral once again so you can see the home at its most simple. This way, you can get a better idea of the scale and dimensions of each room, the furnishings worth keeping and ridding yourself of, and how you can rectify mistakes made beforehand. This might involve removing textured wallpaper to see the wall underneath, removing tiles to see what they were covering up, or removing odd archway fixtures to inspect their structural integrity. This way, you can better develop a renovative approach to make the space yours.

Find Reliable, Updated Materials For Your Renovation

It’s easy to balk at the prior decorations and designs of those who used poor or cheap materials to furnish their homes, and so replacing that with better, stronger, more durable materials, perhaps from services like Clear Amber Shop, can be ideal. Here you can format the stage for additional installations like a skylight, a conservatory space, or simply rectifying issues that haven’t been addressed, like implementing double-glazing windows as your first step towards insulating an old home.

Distinguish Between Character & Outdated Fixtures

Just because a prior homeowner made questionable decisions doesn’t always implicate the rest of the home that way. It may be that the actual, fundamental design of the property is quite well-made, which is what attracted you to it in the first place. As such, making a clear distinction between fixtures to remove and features to keep can be ideal. For example - false wooden beams that make a room look completely out of step with the rest of the household? You might remove that. But an exposed brick wall that’s been treated and still looks relatively inkeeping with the home, especially given how old those bricks are? Well, this could be preserved and strengthened perhaps. As tempting as it might be to start from zero, it’s also good to distinguish between certain elements; if only foray your planning peace of mind.
With this advice, you’re sure to undo the poor designs of prior homeowners, and move on with a capable view from there.
K Elizabeth xoxox
*Collaborative Post