couple painting the wall overlay

How to Improve Your Future Home When Moving Across the Country

Posted in How-to,Looking for a Home on November 10, 2021

You’ve bought a new house, and now it’s time for some proper congratulations! But it hasn’t proven to be even near to what you’ve expected. Worry not! You can easily improve your future home whether you simply wish for it to look better or aim to implement some energy-efficient ideas.

When it comes to picking a residence and moving into them, people tend to make some common mistakes. We’re not talking about forgetting to pack a few rolls of toilet paper (although it may happen if you’re packing in a hurry.) We mean not following good house hunting tips and doing a thorough inspection of the residence. Or perhaps you’ve got yourself a sweet deal and lowered the price with many home improvement ideas in mind. But let’s see what you can do to make the best out of your abode.

You Can Improve Your Future Home Even if You’re Tight on a Budget

Surely, when we organize our moving cross country, we have a lot of things to tackle. We look for a job in the area we’re relocating to, hire cross-country movers, and invest in cross-country moving services. We also consider whether we’ll pack by ourselves or pay for the packing service. You may come to think that you don’t have time nor money to design your future home the way you’ve always dreamed. But even if you’re on a tighter budget, your new abode can be revamped.

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Don’t Declutter Thoughtlessly, Instead, Remodel Old Furniture

One of the crucial steps of preparing for cross-country moving is to purge the way through your residence. You’ll have to be relentless in this because making a pile of what to get rid of will significantly reduce the costs. After all, a cross-country moving company will charge based on the number of your possessions. But before you toss away, sell or donate unwanted items, consider whether some of the furniture pieces can be remodeled or even repurposed. Building a chair out of scratch is hard if you are not proficient, but building a bench out of an old shelf is practically a piece of cake.

Spare Some Time for Fantastic DIY Projects

Since hiring long-distance movers isn’t cheap, most of us will look for ways to move to another state on a budget. You should avoid buying stuff until you’ve settled and figured out what you need. That’s why it’s best to pack furniture you think you can reuse again and if it is in a fixable condition. Some pieces simply need some vamping, which can be done with a set of furniture legs (you can find some pretty chic ones) and some stylish drawer pulls and knobs.

With a bit of paint or some wood stain, your furniture could be given a fresh shine. You can also look for some creative storage ideas and combine baskets and crates with your old pieces to have some more storage space. Your visitors will be amazed by the creativity, and you can proudly say – “This was my future house design project.” And your relocation budget won’t suffer, either.

For a great idea on how to refurbish a dresser with some paint, watch the video below.

Easy to Follow Design Ideas

You’ve decided that relocating to the suburbs is what you need right now, so you have bought a residence with a backyard. But it needs some sprucing up first. Sure, the easiest way to remodel and work on improving your living quarters is to invest heaps of money. For instance, completely refurbishing a 3-bedroom abode can cost you from $20,000 and up to $100,000 on average. If you only plan to remodel a kitchen, you can expect to pay around $25,000, while you’ll pay around $10,000 for a bathroom renovation. But there are many designing a house tips to avoid these large numbers.

Sprucing up the Kitchen Will Raise the Value of Your House

Even if the kitchen area is in not-so-bad condition, there are still ways to refurbish the room without making yourself penniless after relocating to a new abode. First of all, you should check if the cabinets need some repairs. Then, you can simply repaint their fronts and change the knobs. It is best if you use spray paint to get that flawless finish. If you don’t like the tiles, there’s a cheap way to take care of it, by using the stick and peel tiles. You can do something similar with the kitchen counter – cover it with an easy-to-apply faux marble surface.

Mind the Details and Make Your Residence Elegant

If you’ve worked hard on lowering the costs of the move before the long-distance moving company arrived to estimate the value of household goods, you’ve probably got rid of many things. And now the residence you’ve moved into lacks a homey feel to it. It is easily resolved with pretty pillows, nice curtains, and some elegant artwork strategically positioned in each room.

Bright up the Whole Abode With Paint and Wallpaper

There are plenty of hacks that you could use if you’re relocating to a smaller abode. The simplest of all tricks to create more space visually is to paint everything in bright colors and add as much lighting as you can. Start by painting the walls in white or some shade close to white. You can always accentuate a bit by adding a bolder color to a corner or by adding some colorful details. Wallpaper is always a good choice for an affordable, quick, and trendy option when it comes to interior decor. If you choose a pattern correctly, it will make a statement on a wall, similar to artwork.

Woman on a stepladder
Repainting the walls is probably the cheapest but still effective way to remodel a residence

Smart Home Technology Will Save You Time and Money in the Long Run

The modern age brought many benefits with technology usage in daily life, and it can even be used for house improvements. Smart homes are the next step in using communication technology for remote control. Connecting all your appliances and heating and security systems to a smartphone has apparent advantages. You can take care of many tasks while you’re out of the abode, like heating or cooling and washing laundry.

Energy Management Checklist for DIY Home Improvement

There’s no better way to be aware of how much exactly you’re spending and where your resources are going than by using information through a smart system. If you have no clue where to start implementing this kind of technology, here are some basics:

  • One of the first things to do after relocating if you want to save energy in your abode is to install LED light bulbs. Installing LED lighting is highly regarded and well known as energy-efficient. If you buy quality LED light bulbs, you’ll be surprised at how more durable they are. Apart from lasting longer, they will also provide equally good or even better light sources. To get the most of LED’s energy savings, you should install it throughout the residence.
  • Want some more trending home news that will also help you save on energy? Smart power plugs are the next thing to write down on your to-do list. They should be simply plugged into any standard outlet and enables you to control whether it is active or inactive via your phone. This is a great way to avoid wasting electricity on appliances that are not used frequently.
  • Every abode can make great use of smart thermostats, and if you’re moving in winter, this should be among the first things to install in your residence. They allow you to control the heating settings from your phone. It means you can shut the heat off right after you leave and turn it back on as soon as you’re on your way back. If you don’t want to bother yourself with turning everything on and off, there’s a scheduling function available that will do this automatically.
  • Even if you’ve used various tools to help you check how safe is your neighborhood, using smart security systems in your abode is desirable. It includes video surveillance which you can monitor from your smart device 24/7, sensors positioned on entry points of your residence, and automated locks which will allow you to say bye to going back to double-check the doors. It also includes an alarm system that can alarm both the owner and the authorities. Additionally, you can install Fire, CO, and flooding sensors that will send notifications to your smart device if triggered.

The combinations of smart technology in your abode can be infinite. That means that you can apply smart solutions in some parts of your house or apply them everywhere, depending on your budget.

Round smart speaker on a shelf
Around 39 million US citizens own a smart speakerphone in their living quarters

Are You in the Building Phase? Implement Some Eco-Friendly Ideas

More and more people are becoming eco-aware nowadays and are looking for ways to do at least the basics. That’s why we recycle and try to save water in our households. But implementing eco-friendly ideas into homes is easiest when we’re in the building phase. So long before we decide to ship our vehicle with auto transport service and consider other long-distance moving services, such as a storage service for our possessions, we should figure out how improving a residence works. Especially when we plan to make it eco-friendly.

Your Insulation Should Be Well-Done

Sure, relocating hacks will help you be more efficient and allow you to have a stress-free move, but long before you move, there’s a hack for making an energy-efficient residence. While you build an abode, ensure your insulation is properly done. It will help hold the heat in, so it will take much less energy to reheat it when you need to. When insulating, pay attention to the walls and the roof, but also make sure you check the windows too, as they should be double glazed. This can also be implemented on an already built residence.

Underfloor Heating Can Change Everything

Heaters and radiators are a traditional way to have heating all around our homes. But instead of it, consider installing underfloor heating as a way to save money. The homes that have it installed are more easily heated, so it makes them energy efficient. And just imagine how much unpacking after a move will be easier while you’re walking or sitting on a warm floor.

Additionally, Mind the Power of the Sun and Water

Adjusting your abode to harness the power of the sun isn’t a small investment, but it can pay off quickly. Although solar panels are probably not something you’ve had on your household inventory list, try installing some around the place and using it in your daily routines. It is a great way to get heated water, and it comes in handy in a larger household. Sun’s power is a renewable energy source, so using its energy is wise. Make sure you consult a professional before the installation so that you can make the most out of the sun’s power.

Many of us are already aware of just how important it is to save water, and most of us are practicing it daily by turning off our faucets while brushing our teeth. But if you want to pay attention to the water using some more, get a low-flow showerhead. And on top of that, you should stay no more than 10 minutes in the shower; it is an optimal amount of time to wash your body and hair and rinse.

Solar panels on a rooftop
Harness the power of the sun to create energy for your household

Living in an Improved Residence Will Be Dreamy, so Call the Movers and Set Sail

Changing your place of living can be hard, but there are many benefits of relocating that can brighten this stressful event. Both remodeling and improving your residence when you plan a move to another city is important, and it will help us achieve our dreams. Even if the abode wasn’t living up to our expectations, making it energy-efficient and lovable will only add to your reasons to move. Once you’ve made up your mind on what kind of improvements you want to make, it’s the right moment to pack a bag of relocation essentials, contact the movers and take a leap of faith into your dream place.

Kate Holland

A true grunge and rock music fan born in Seattle, Kate has moved across the country and started writing about her experience.

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