Remodeling Your Home to Maximize Room and Flow
Jul 17, 2014Many large homes lack the openness you’d expect based on the size. Too many solid walls create a sense of claustrophobia as you move from room to room. Opening up those walls could really open up the space, but please don’t take this on as a DIY project; many of those walls may act as supports for upper floors. Removing supports removes the structural stability of the home itself. Consider a remodel to maximize room and flow.
Many empty nesters who have chosen to keep the large home they purchased when their children lived at home are remodeling to maximize space and restructure the home to fit their new lifestyle. This is often called aging in place.
Maximize Personal Space
Consider the layout of your home for a moment. Does it feel awkward? Do you wish it felt more open, or that there were multiple doorways into certain rooms? Do you have extra rooms that are rarely used because they feel so out of the way? Your brain has the right idea – those spaces should be opened up to allow better flow of traffic and better flow of air.
Kitchen to Dining Room to Deck
Here’s a great example of what we mean by improving the flow of traffic through your home. Many homeowners enjoy eating on the deck or patio. Is it currently easy to navigate from your kitchen to the deck? Or do you have to dodge a wall or doorway along the way? Wouldn’t it be easier to remove that door or wall to expand the space needed to move freely? Think of how much more open your home would feel if you removed a wall or doorway here or there.
Improved Flow Maximizes Heat Pump Efficiency
Doors are not heat pump friendly. Blocking off certain rooms because they’re rarely used is not helping lower your energy bills. I know, there are huge debates littering Internet forums and groups, but the plain simple truth of the matter is – remodeling your home will do more for air flow than closing off rooms ever could.
When air can flow freely through your home from room to room, all of the air throughout your home gets cycled through the heat pump. You don’t have certain areas that feel or smell stale compared to others. And your energy bill will reflect the changes you’ve made to the interior of the home.
Maximize Light Flow
Windows provide a lot of natural light to different areas of the home. On the flip side, doors and walls block off natural light. Natural light reduces the need for an overhead light, thus reduces the power bill each time you rely on natural light over a light bulb. Small changes like this may only save a few cents per day, but over time it can add up to a significant amount of savings.
Call for a Consultation
Call us to schedule a consultation if you feel that your home could benefit from remodeling to increase flow, or if you’d just like to discuss remodeling your home. Our teams welcome a challenge and would love to work with you to achieve whatever your goals are for your home.