Mar 24, 2020
You own a rest house, perhaps by the beach or maybe on a mountain, because you and your young family spend most of your weekends there. But the kids grew up and everyone became busy with school and work, so all of you just stay in the city,
Once a year, maybe during the summer or holidays, you make it a point to stay in the rest house you’re still maintaining. You’re starting to see problems with the plumbing and electrical, and overall, the house just feels outdated.
You’re renovating your rest house because you want to feel comfortable staying. You want a home that you always want to go back to. You want a brighter space for entertaining friends and family? Who doesn’t?! Here are ways to convert your old rest house into a contemporary vacation home.
1. Systems in place – Evaluate the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and consult an engineer if anything requires a major replacement. This includes the efficiency of your electric and water consumption. Updating these systems also means that you should eliminate any fire and electrical hazard. Safety first!
2. First Impressions – If your front door is still in good condition, you can either restore it or paint it with a bold color. Think cherry red or deep forest green! Otherwise, you can replace it with a beautiful wooden sculptural door made of local hardwood. You can also go for an industrial-style metal door, or sleek, streamlined modern entry point. Remember that this is the first thing that will greet you and your guests. Create a home with a good first impression.
3. A Fresh Coat of Paint – Color accent walls to highlight the focal point of a room– like the bed or TV wall. If you’re going for a more modern approach, a stark all-white walls and ceiling can become a blank canvas for all your pretty wall decor and beautiful furniture. You can bring in more daylight, too, with lighter colors– a good choice for rooms that are dark and have small windows. A new color can breathe new life into a room, but restraint can do much more.
4. Make a Splash – Replacing tiles can give your kitchen and bathroom a totally different look! Tiles give these areas in the house a personality. Popular choices include white or black subway tiles, printed hexagonal tiles, penny tiles, and machuca tiles. You can also opt for natural stones like marble or slate but these may need sealing when uses as backsplash as they are naturally more porous.
5. Light Up – Do a round and check all the light bulbs in the house. Replace all fluorescent and halogen lamps with LEDs which are more economical. To update your room, mix different kinds of light fixtures (drop lights, floor lamps, table lamps, wall lamps, etc.) in a space and create a more dynamic lighting effect at night. This not only controls mood lighting, but also emphasizes the overall aesthetic of your new rest house with the different styles these light fixtures come in.
6. Storage Wars – This aspect might be overlooked since you’re not going to be bringing your complete wardrobe or a whole library at your rest house. But proper storage and storage allocation will keep your home tidy and everything in place so that during your next visit, you know where everything is.
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