The other day one of my friends posted on Facebook how surprised she was that it took her four years to settle into her new home. Now, she moved from London to the South West, but I feel exactly the same just moving across London. It’s coming up to four years in our ‘new’ house and our home improvements show no signs of ending.
Although we loved the vintage features of our previous house – read infested wooden floors and huge gaps between the floorboards – our modern house is so different. For a start it’s always warm; so quick and easy to heat in the winter. It’s also light, airy and open plan. There are lots of pluses for modern family living.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for some home improvement and today I wanted to share 3 perfect home improvements for a London home.
1 Change the front door.
One of the previous owners chose a frankly awful front door which I would be glad to see the back of. Our front door has a patterned panel which I am not very keen on. Plus it is looking a little tired and dated. There are some simply stunning front doors from Keepout which I would gladly choose in its place. Luckily my husband and I agree on this so hopefully we will be able to change it soon.
2. Update the windows
I love big windows, I cannot lie. The windows in our lovely Edwardian terrace were big and let in so much light. They were original to the house so the downside was that they were old and draughty. Sash windows are perfect for London homes, they help retain the original feel of a home whilst being modern and contemporary.
Unfortunately we need to replace the windows in our new home too. Some of the seals have gone in the double glazing but this feels like a massive job. Neither of us think this is our forever home so this might be one job we leave for the next owners.
3. Add French doors to let the outside in
We’re so lucky that our house has wonderful double doors which open up from the dining room to outside. On a good day the doors are open all day and I love watching the kids come and go. There are some gorgeous doors to open up this kind of space, such as these doors here. Our house is open plan so these kind of doors are perfect for letting lots of light in and really opening up the downstairs. In fact, we had to add wooden shutters as the light can be so strong in Summer!
I would love to hear how you would improve your home. Loft conversion or kitchen extension? Replacement windows? Let me know in the comments below.
Disclosure – this is a collaborative post
If I had a big enough home, I would definitely want French Doors to let as much light in as possible x
I really love ours, especially on a sunny day!
I would like to update the windows on our home one day. An interesting post. Sash windows are pretty cool.
I’m obsessed with windows, I think that’s why we’re always making sun catchers to hang up!