For homeowners who like to stay active with new plans to make their houses more attractive and functional, the winter months can be difficult. With the grounds under snow and sub-zero temperatures, making it difficult to work on any significant exterior projects, January, February, and March can feel like a dead zone when it comes to home improvement.
Fortunately, this isn’t the case. Not only is winter the ideal time to start planning upcoming renovations, but there are also plenty of significant aesthetic and practical upgrades that can be made regardless of what the weather is doing outside.
If you want to start the new year by undertaking a job that will improve your quality of life and add to the value of your home, here are three upgrades you should consider for 2019:
Refurbish Your Bathroom
The bathroom is one of the essential rooms in your house, and it is also the one that sees the roughest use. Humidity, water, and rapid temperature changes all take a toll on everything from water fixtures and fans to tiles and drywall. Keeping your bathroom in good shape is practically a full-time job.
The good news is, there are plenty of affordable refurbishment projects you can embark on this winter to keep your bathroom pristine. Whether you want to re-tile the shower, install new marble countertops, or merely replace worn-out fixtures, updating your bathroom will be deeply rewarding.
Replace Your Old Windows
Replacing windows may not seem like the most exciting home improvement project to undertake in January. Still, one of the many benefits of replacing your old windows at the beginning of the new year is having a lot more freedom when scheduling and contractors.
Because winter is typically a prolonged season for building contractors, handymen, and window and door suppliers, replacing windows in January or February can help you get better service faster, all while saving money. And if you opt for energy-efficient vinyl windows, you can cut your heating bill for the rest of the winter by a significant amount.
Update Your Colour Scheme
Finally, adding some life and color to the dreary winter months is updating your interior color scheme. It can involve a full repainting, but it doesn’t need to; depending on your current design, you can also focus on accents such as trim, molding, cupboards, drapes, and curtains.
Not only will this brighten things up in the difficult weeks following the holiday season, but it can also lay the groundwork for a more far-reaching facelift that will transform your house inside and out once spring comes.
For people who live in a colder climate, staying active through the winter usually requires a degree of intentionality; undertaking an exciting home improvement project is one way to make sure you don’t let inertia carry you into a January depression. And because renovations are often cheaper in the winter than they would be during the busy summer months, the beginning of the year is also a great time to invest in upgrades from a financial point-of-view.
This year, why not get a fresh start by refurbishing your bathroom, replacing your old windows, or updating your color scheme? There’s nothing like a home improvement for beating the January blues!
