Do you love to host parties? Maybe you’ve got a big extended family that likes to visit frequently. Or perhaps you want to upgrade for your next Thanksgiving celebration.
Whatever the purpose, there are lots of ways that you can expand, refurbish, and generally make your home a better place to host all the people you love welcoming to your home.
Think about the scale of change you want
If you’re really a big party thrower and find that your guests constantly seem cramped when you have them over, there are several design tricks you can use to expand your existing space and give people more room to move in. Whether it be a glass enclosure for front porch or a whole new room, the options are many.
The first thing you should do is think about how big of a change you really want to make:
● If your party guests are fed up to the point where they are ready to up and take the festivities elsewhere, perhaps you should think about adding an entirely new space. Think aboutenclosing your porch area. This could save you the coat of building a whole new addition, and you could show off your events to the neighbors with a fabulous glass exterior.
● If you’re looking for smaller-scale change, consider internal renovations that could give you extra room within your existing space. Many people are combining rooms by knocking down a wall. Now this obviously isn’t something that you want to undertake lightly; unless you’ve got a semi-professional carpenter un your family, you should enlist the help of a contractor. But imagine people’s surprise when they walk into your brand new open space!
● There is also the possibility of going really big. If you’ve got land to build on, take advantage of it. Lots of Canadians live in areas where space abounds, so you might think about what you can do with the area surrounding your house. There are several possibilities:
○ You can build an addition onto your existing space. It could take the form of a deck or patio if you don’t already have one. If you have space behind the house, for example, you can build onto the back lawn relatively easily. Perhaps choose a wood type that would be a nice contrast to the rest of your house. You could leave the area open for summer gatherings, or choose to enclose it with either permanent or temporary materials. Maybe add heat lamps for the shoulder seasons.
○ You could get really ambitious and add a backyard cottage. It might seem like a major investment, but you may be surprised at how reasonable projects like this can be if you find the right contractor. This could offer the perfect way to get away without having to go away. It could also give you the opportunity to create an entirely different design from what you have in the rest of the house without fear of clashing. And even when you’re not throwing parties, the space could be a great opportunity for seclusion and rest apart from your usual home life.
○ Consider going vertical. As people in New York and other crowded urban areas know, building “up” can take on interesting forms if you are lacking in space around your house. This would also likely require the assistance of a professional, but if you don’t currently have an attic then you could build a new story and make it the perfect space for cozy gatherings.
Don’t forget your decor
Once you’ve decided on the kind of addition you want to make to your house, think about how you want it to look. One of the fun things about building is that you get to create something from scratch and truly make it your own. There is nothing that will impress guests more than something that you truly put your heart into. Some ideas to consider:
● Go green. Sustainability is everything these days, and it could set the perfect tone for group gatherings. Efforts to decorate sustainability could involve everything from the actual use of sustainable materials to color choices to the use of natural objects within your space.
● Get in touch with 2025 design trends. Poke around online and see what is trending this year. Certain design themes are coming back from the past, including maximalism, the use of bold colors, and 1960s-style designs. See if any of the things you see online resonate with you.
● Personalize. Once you have your basic theme down, be sure to put your personal stamp on it. Think about a big, bold painting in the middle of the room. Or a souvenir from your favorite trip on the coffee table. You want to remind people whose house they are in, after all.
Mind your budget, but explore your mind
There may be some things that are outside your budget. But there could be many possibilities for things that are. So start exploring the option and see what both speaks to you personally, and also makes sense in terms of time and monetary commitment. You will be sure to end up with something fabulous in the end.
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Matt is a passionate woodworker, father of four, and number cruncher by day. His love for woodworking was sparked by his great-grandfather's carpentry legacy and nurtured by his dad's DIY spirit. Encouraged by his wife, Matt turned his woodworking hobby into a successful side hustle, focusing on creating custom cutting boards and engaging with a thriving online community. Now, he's shifting gears to share his knowledge and passion through Borkwood Blog, where he hopes to inspire and connect with fellow woodworking enthusiasts.
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