Photos By: Rollins Andrew Interiors

When you decide to live in big cities like New York or Singapore, finding a home will be as exciting as you have imagined it to be. Imagine browsing through houses for sale in Singapore, making sure you are precisely at the right location in the city so that everything is accessible.

Purchasing a house is easy, however the maintenance is what can give you intense headaches. You have to make sure that your house lasts for as long as you live in it, and that sometimes means you will have to undertake renovation projects.

Just so you will not end up scratching your heads over house improvements, here is a list of how you can start renovations and why you might need to do it for your house.

Consult with an Inspector 

Before a home renovation, you firstly need to go around your house and see which areas obviously need attention. Then, prepare a list of your renovation ideas on how you want these areas renovated.

Next, hire a professional who can inspect the house and confirm whether what you have on your list is doable or you need to make adjustments. However familiar you are with your house, there might be crooks and crannies you might miss.

Inspectors will closely check your basement, roofing, and even the foundation of the house. They can discuss which areas you need to focus on first, the materials you need to start looking for, and how many people should be working to finish the project.

Do a Systems Check 

After the exterior and interior parts of the house, it is time to get into the knitty gritty. By that, it means checking the electric and plumbing system currently installed in your house. You should also do the rounds with a professional for this one because you will have to check whether the pipes need to be changes and if the electric lines have wear and tear.

If you want, you can ask how you can make your house more energy efficient so that you are not only saving the environment, but you are also saving money on energy consumption.

Consider Changing Aesthetic Style 

You are already renovating, so you might as well do a redesign. You do not have to spend a lot for redesigning your interior. Something as simple as changing where the furniture is placed, replacing the paint, or just adding wall art.

When choosing paint color, make sure you only choose 3 shades so that the colors are not fighting for attention, but instead complement each other.

Remember that house renovations are not just supposed to make your house look modern and updated. It should be done to make sure the house remains safe and to preserve its longevity. Doing this after every few years will definitely help maintain it well.

Bathrooms are intensely high traffic areas in the home and it does not take long for them to start showing the strain! You don’t need to take on a major bathroom reno to get it looking back in tip top shape. Here are some easy budget friendly tricks from the pros that you can do all by yourself:

1. Repaint, Clean and Spruce

Every few months go through the bathroom and take out everything that is not bolted down, give it a good scrub, bleach surfaces, and take a hard old toothbrush to clean your grouting! Bathrooms build up a layer of soap residue and the only way to get rid of it is by thoroughly scrubbing the surfaces. Finish by drying and polishing all the shiny surfaces, be it porcelain or silver chrome to make sure that there are no marks left as wet patches dry.

ARPA Designs

2. Install a New Mirror

Whether you opt for baroque curves, asymmetrical style or a modern sleek look is up to you; but one thing is guaranteed – a new mirror, properly fitted and carefully placed can make all the difference to a tired bathroom! The other day I saw some great value bathroom mirrors at My Bathrooms. With the right eye for detail, a great choice in a mirror can make your space look bigger, brighter, and instantly updated.

Tucker and Marks

3. Wall Stickers

No longer for the kid’s bedroom, stickers are big in the décor business, enabling patterns and pictures to be fixed to walls, bath panels and even the shower cubicle quickly and cheaply. These colorful and attractive decals instantly add a splash of color and brighten up dull areas.

Wall Pops

4. Update Your Shower Curtain

Buy a new shower curtain, choosing a lovely luxurious one to replace your current, rather dull one. A curtain in a bright, vibrant hue with a glamorous trim can instantly add elegance and grace to your bathroom!

Tobi Fairely

5. Update Fixtures

Changing your drawer handles, door knobs and your taps can give your bathroom a fresh new look at a fraction of the cost of replacing all the furniture. Even the toilet flush can be changed for a glitzy gold-painted number to add some sparkle to your bathroom!

Esther Herschcovich

6. Ceiling Light

Paint the ceiling of the bathroom lighter than walls to open the room out and give an airy impression of spaciousness, even in a small, poorly proportioned room. You may also paint different patterns on your bathroom ceiling.

Hendel Homes

7. Smellies!

Keep one small section of the bathroom for scented candles, flowers and potpourri to add a lovely natural fragrance to the room at all times. The light and subtle perfume will make the bathroom seem fresh and clean, even if you have a large, rather sloppy family!

Isler Homes

8. Floating Shelves

Minimize the furniture footprint in the bathroom but maximize storage space by using floating fixtures for storage shelves and even the vanity. You can buy some amazing floating shelves from IKEA.

Hart Wright Architects

9. Storage Solutions

Every bathroom needs a certain amount of storage space so do not skimp. Make sure that everyone has a place to keep their toiletries, and then demand that they keep those toiletries neat and tidy!

Diana Bier Interiors

10. Lighting

Bathroom lighting is vital – and not only for ladies to do their make-up! Poor lighting can make us feel cramped and uncomfortable, which can making bathing and washing up an awkward occasion. Invest in a good array of lights or chandeliers and make sure that the bulbs are not the dimmest you can find!

Peter Dorne Architects

With so many different textures, feels, colors, and materials, using the right flooring you can completely change the mood and ambiance of a room or your whole home. I’ve teamed up with Posh Flooring to put together 7 great trends we are definitely going to try in the upcoming New Year:

Grady o Grady Construction

Purple Orchid Rugs:

Scala Construction

Mod and Stanely Design

Diamond Stained Strip Hardwood:

Siemasko Verbridge Construction

 Houzz

Rough Brick Flooring:

Thompson Custom Homes

Chas Architects

Mosaic Strip Wood Floors:

Grady o Grady Construction

Stonewood, LLC

Reclaimed Hardwood Floors:

Chas Architects

Albreht Wood Interiors

Black and White Diamond Tiles:

Laura, U Inc

Kennet Fromme

Mosaic Entry Tiles:

Jeffery Doherty Design

Tucker and Marks