Finding out that your family is growing is certainly a cause for celebration. However, it’s also likely to be a cause for some concern. Your house might not, as it stands, be quite ready to deal with a new member or two. But what can you do to ensure that it remains your practical and sensible family home for years to come? Let’s look at some of your options.

 

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Prepare a space for the new arrival

If the new addition to your family is going to be a newborn baby (rather than, for instance, welcoming a parent to live with you), then you need to make sure that you have a space dedicated to taking care of all the baby’s needs. Sites like Huggies have detailed breakdowns of all of the must-needs that go into a baby nursery. It’s easy to get caught up in buying all the “nice-to-haves” of a nursery but the bed, somewhere to sit, and effective storage must be your first concern, especially if you’re on a limited budget.

 

Getting the space that you need

Even if you do want a nursery, you might not exactly have the room to create one, right now. If that’s the case, then you may need to look at some home improvements that can create the space that you need. Not only does adding space, be it by converting an existing room like the loft or by building an extension, increase the livable room in the home, but it can add real value to your home, as well.

 

Making a more convenient home

When you welcome someone new to the home, it increases the demand on not only the new rooms, but also any shared spaces such as the bathroom, kitchen, and living room. As such, it might be worth looking seriously as the quality of life renovations available from teams like Just Better Bathrooms and Kitchens. From making better use of the space available to making these rooms easier to maintain and clean, you can clear up a lot of hassle by ensuring that everyone finds these shared spaces a lot more convenient to use.

 

Aging in place

You should prepare the home not only for your needs right now but also the needs that will come as the family continues to grow together. This can include the increasing storage needs likely to come as a result of your new arrival growing up and having just as many possessions as other members of the family. To that end, you might want to look at maximising the storage in the space as it exists by installing things like bespoke wardrobes and drawers that are fit to the architecture of the home itself, including those little nooks and crannies that might otherwise be tough to use.

 

Aside from the options above, it should always be considered that moving is a possibility if it’s more practical that what’s listed here. What’s most important is that you end up with a home that suits the needs of your family, not the particulars of how you get there.