Home Improvement Projects Perfect for Winter

‘Tis (almost) the season for holiday fun, family gatherings and snowy nights spent cozy by the fire. It’s also the time of year where we find ourselves spending a lot of added time indoors, especially when the colder weather kicks into gear and factors like snowfall and tricky road conditions make you especially wary of unnecessary outings. 

Looking ahead to all that extra time indoors this winter season might just inspire you to get creative and try your hand at some DIY home renovations. The home experts at Royal LePage Your Community Realty have compiled a list of popular winter home renovation projects that you can tackle this winter.

Update your laundry room 

Laundry rooms tend to be prime areas that can benefit from organizational and decorative accents and updates more so than invasive renovations. This makes for an easier, relatively mess-free DIY renovation. This is especially important in the wintertime, when you won’t want to be propping open windows in sub-zero temperatures to circulate air and release any dust from renovation work in the space.

For some efficient storage solution ideas, try adding some basic shelving over machines or along any open and blank wall space. There you can add bins and baskets to organize laundry cleaning products, extra linens and towels, and whatever else you’d like to have within reach to make better use of your space. 

To streamline your laundry cleaning and folding, install a countertop over the washer and/or dryer to create a functional area overtop, allowing for folding and storing quick-grab items like detergent, softener and dryer sheets. `

Try these budget-friendly and easy DIY ways to add some accents and decor elements to your laundry room: 

• Peel-and-stick wallpaper is a great way to add a splash of colour or fun print to your laundry room, without the commitment or cost of traditional wallpaper. Peel-and-stick options come in a variety of prints, styles and textures and are an easy and affordable way to create a statement wall or cover all walls of your laundry room. 

• The laundry room is one area where lighting tends to be basic and functional. Try sprucing up the lighting in this space and add a little more pizazz to the overall aesthetic. After all, whether we like to or not, we spend a great deal of time doing laundry - so why not make it as enjoyable as possible to be in that space? 

Change out your cabinet hardware   

Your cabinet hardware makes more of a difference in the aesthetic of your cabinetry than you may realize. Changing it up for something more current and sleek, either by opting for a more modern shape, metal, or colour, will go a long way to update your cabinets. 

Currently, hardware styles like matte black, brushed brass and antique copper are the most popular and trending finishes for kitchen cabinet hardware. In general, matte black may seem like a bold choice, but it is surprisingly complimentary and versatile in most colour palettes. 

Get creative implementing new storage solutions

Just as it is in the laundry room, it’s a good idea to seek out ways to make your overall home organization more efficient and user-friendly. Storage solutions can be everything from closet organizers to drawer sorters to extra shelving to new hanger systems - the opportunities for storage and organizational solutions are endless!

Renovate the basement 

Your basement is one area of the home that is often left untouched when the rest of the home undergoes a renovation. Chalk it up to “out of sight, out of mind”, the basement area often becomes designated with more function than form in mind. It becomes a children’s play zone, a secondary office, a space for extra storage - an “everything” space. It can be easy to forget that the basement is a major source of added real estate in the home and, when used effectively, can prove to be an extremely useful chunk of added square footage.

The wintertime can be a great opportunity to reinvent your basement space and put it to its best use based on the needs of your family. This can mean playing around with furniture placement, changing up lighting, re-doing the flooring or carpeting, or even just some light aesthetic touch-ups to freshen up the space overall. The scope of your basement renovations will depend on what you’re trying to accomplish in the space. 

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Upgrade your lighting

Lighting in a home is a major component - both for form and function. This is what sets the tone and establishes the atmosphere in your home. This is also something that is easy to shop for either in person or online - because everything is a little more tempting to do online when it’s subzero temperatures out! 

These are some of the biggest lighting trends of 2023: 

Statement lights 

Designers recommend you first consider scale when choosing a statement-making light fixture. The light should appear more substantial in size and structure than the other existing lights within the space, without overtaking the room entirely. The lighting style is also very important. Consider the kind of lighting effect you are hoping to achieve, whether the light provides more of a spotlight effect, direct light, even-lighting, casted shadows or designs, etc. The light fixture itself and the type of lighting it provides will all play into the overall aesthetic you achieve in your statement lighting. 

Retro-themed lighting

In terms of design trends across the board, it seems in 2023 “everything old is new again” as we continue to see design styles reflect a nod to nostalgia with classic style revamped for contemporary spaces. This has been especially true for lighting trends, where popular styles in 2023 reflect a theme of updated retro styles, heavily influenced by old world to midcentury designs.

Brass and black finishes 

Seen predominantly as finishes used for farmhouse and industrial lighting style, the brass and black colour combo has been a favourite for some time now. A class with a contemporary flair, this is an easy way to inject a trending style into your home with the confidence that this trend is here to stay and worth investing in. 

Gold 

Another trend that has serious staying-power, gold tones in all shades and finishes continues to reign supreme in lighting trends and other interior design elements. Especially popular right now are the muted gold tones and matte finishes that are subtle enough to compliment a room without overpowering other existing elements. 

When it comes to home renovations suitable for the winter season, there really are so many options to consider and of course, your budget will play a factor as well. The main thing to keep in mind is that no matter the budget, if you’re serious about freshening up your home this winter season, there is a DIY option available for everyone. 

Royal LePage Your Community Realty is Canada’s largest independently-owned Royal LePage franchise, with over 1000 agents and 10 office locations to serve you and your clients. 

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