Home Additions That Enhance Living Space

enhance living space

How people choose to live their lives is evolving. For years, home plans included the basics, including the kitchen, living room, bedrooms, and bath areas. Today, those rudimentary inclusions won’t suffice. Homeowners are spending more time at home, with many working from home.

The pandemic altered the way people entertain, how they spend leisure time, and the way they live life in general. That means many owners explore new ways to enhance their living space. Here are a few strategies owners commonly use to increase and improve their homes.

Adding A Florida Room

Florida rooms, or sunrooms as they’re known in some regions, add living space and provide a warm, sunny escape from the norm. Florida rooms generally include several windows to let in light and provide ventilation during warmer weather. Many owners view sunrooms as transitional zones between indoor areas and exterior spaces.

There is no set way to design a Florida room, which means owners are encouraged to customize the rooms to meet their needs rather than settling for a cookie-cutter style. If you’re building a Florida room, explore the many options available to ensure you end up with a room you’ll use and enjoy for years to come.

Expand The Main Floor

Main floor expansions are common, as adding a room to the main level is often a more cost-effective solution for obtaining new living space. Common additions include larger kitchens or baths, expanded entertainment areas, and additional bedrooms. Since the onset of the pandemic, home office additions are increasingly common.

Building Up Rather Than Out

Home designs and lot size constraints often lead homeowners to consider adding a second story rather than expanding outward. A second floor provides substantial square footage and allows owners to construct new en suites, home offices, entertainment spaces, and other rooms. Owners needing a lot of new space often find going up provides the results they need.

Finishing Attic Or Basement Spaces

In many cases, homes include unfinished attics or basements. Both areas provide opportunities for expanding a home’s living area, but the uses for those spaces depend on their sizes and local regulations. For example, some basement areas may not work well for bedrooms but might be ideal for an office or home theater.

Remodel A Porch

Many older homes, and some newer ones, include at least one porch that isn’t used. In those situations, enclosing the porch may provide substantial square footage to use as living space.

Some Precautions To Consider

Home improvement experts encourage property owners to add living space, but there are a couple of caveats to consider. In most cases, homeowners recover a substantial portion of their home improvement investment when selling, but not always.

If you’re considering a new Florida room or other addition, consider how that addition fits into the neighborhood. Real estate professionals routinely counsel homeowners considering additions to ensure they don’t overbuild for the neighborhood.

If an improvement pushes a home’s value beyond the average for the neighborhood, it won’t add significantly to the property’s value when sold. On the other hand, a well-designed addition that fits the neighborhood boosts property values and provides extra living space for the owners while they live in the home.

Start With Careful Planning

To get the most value from an addition, take the time to plan the project carefully. If you’ve got questions, consult local real estate professionals and contractors to determine the viability of an addition. Once you’ve completed the planning stage, you’ll be on your way to building a home addition that genuinely enhances your home’s living space.

Gretchen Walker
Gretchen is a homemaker by day and writer by night. She takes a keen interest in life as it unfolds around her and spends her free time observing people go about their everyday affairs.