Entry Hall

1.  Organize your hall.  It doesn’t take much to turn chaos into calm.  By adding a bench which doubles as shoe storage, some hooks, and cabinets, you can transform an entry into a mud room.

Pull Out Baskets

Kitchen Updated

2.  Cook more family meals (In a kitchen you love)  Out of all the renovations I have done to my home, no renovation changed my home and how we live more than the renovation of our kitchen.  Suddenly, it was a pleasure to cook and spend time in that space.  Whether you completely rebuild your kitchen or simply reorganize and upgrade, the difference can be dramatic.

Kitchen with Oak Floors

New Master Bath

3.  Upgrade that old bathroom.  Again, from personal experience, another big improvement to our home was a new master bath.  Our renovation included a large, comfortable shower, radiant floor heat, and extra room by our sinks with plenty of storage.  The only down side was that our children loved the new bathroom so much that I have had to compete for bathroom time.

Bright Bathroom

Raised Hearth

4.  Spend more time cuddled up in front of a good fire.  We have had a lot of good fires this year in our living room fireplace.  The loss of a couple of maple trees meant that we have a great supply of hardwood for the fireplace.  If your home did not come with a great fireplace, or if the one(s) you have need work, I encourage the effort required to make a special place to gather around a hearth.  The fireplace in our home seems to attract family members like moths to a flame.  I like that, it beats the other attracting screens.

Restored Study Fireplace

Simple Porch

 5.  Spend more time on a porch.  As soon as it warms up a little, spend some time on a porch.  I am out on my porch from early spring to late fall.  No place in or around my home is more relaxing than our porch.

Screened Porch with Fireplace

Photos by Rob Karosis  Curated Brochure by Crisp Architects: Portfolio

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