Taking the keys to your first home is an unforgettable moment – you have a place of your very own and all your life goals suddenly seem possible.
There’s no shortage of work ahead of you, of course. But it’s all good fun – shopping for furniture, planning the lay-out of your new home and even attending to a few little maintenance tasks along the way.
As an experienced real estate agent, I love seeing my clients revelling in the excitement of owning their first home – it makes my job so rewarding.
If you’ve never had to set up a home from scratch, it’s easy to make a few basic mistakes. In my time as an agent, I’ve learned a few lessons about the “do’s and don’ts” of home design and lay-out. So here are some hints and tips that should guide you away from some of the most common mistakes.
- No flow – You need to be able walk around your new apartment or house without having to squeeze past furniture. Make sure your lay-out allows you to walk easily through the living areas. Create logical paths of at least two feet to achieve a flow through your home.
- TV glare – Placing a TV against or opposite a window is one of the most common mistakes I’ve seen. Of course, this makes watching television difficult unless you continually draw the blinds. Put the TV perpendicular to any windows or sliding glass doors.
- Walled in – Don’t assume you can knock down a wall to join two areas together. Some are called “supporting walls”, and their job is to hold up the building. Knock them down, and you’re in real trouble. Other walls can hide pipes and electrical wiring. So think twice before getting out the sledgehammer.
- Measure twice – Builders always say, “measure twice, cut once” – and this is a great approach to buying furniture. Note the dimensions of each room, including the kitchen, before buying furniture, a fridge, new TV and artwork. Over-sized pieces ruin a living area, making it feel small and impractical. Consider using tape on the carpet to outline the location and size of the furniture you need – and then go shopping.
- Make your mark – Don’t try to copy showroom lay-outs. Creating a perfect symmetry isn’t necessary. This is your home, so leave your own mark by adapting the styles to work for your living area and bedrooms.
- Air-con plan – Increasingly, we’re all using air-conditioning to cool our homes in summer. If you’ve bought a property without a unit, then you should plan an installation as early as possible. Talk to a supplier about the most suitable models for the size of your property and where the pipes and ducts should be placed. Their positioning could influence your lay-out decisions.