How to Handle Renovation Stress AND Refresh Your Space – New Trends – July 2018

Reprinted from PILLAR TO POST HOME INSPECTORS – POSTNOTES – JULY 2018

HOUSE SENSE – RENOVATION STRESS

A bit of planning in advance will help keep you sane during a renovation. Careful planning will not only allow you to hold onto your sanity during the upheaval but will also ensure you get the best bang for your buck! Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. No Surprises – Make sure you agree (in writing) on a completion date but keep in mind that renovations can sometimes be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.
2. Be Flexible – Accept from the start that you’ll be dealing with a lack of privacy along with dust, noise, mess and disorganization but remember that it’ll all be worth it in the end.
3. Kidding Around – Set aside some toys and games for the kids and schedule some playdates and local outings so you can escape the construction zone chaos.
4. Plan Ahead – Pre-prep some freezer meals for quick and easy dinners. Also, take this opportunity to donate unwanted items to charity so your newly renovated home won’t be full of clutter.
5. Stay in the Loop – Misunderstandings between contractors and spouses are one of the biggest causes of stress during a renovation. Open communication is essential so schedule regular progress reports.

Watching your home transform into something new is a very exciting experience but it is also a major inconvenience. The secret to making sure everything goes smoothly is to remain calm throughout the process and plan ahead for surprises. If you keep that in mind, your dream home will be a reality before you know it!

MOTIVATION – POSITIVE STRESS

Imagine your life without stress. As ideal as it sounds, a stress-free life would be a life without change and boring indeed. One way of defining stress is simply any change to which we have to adapt. If you have been juggling the complexities of working in or running a business, maintaining important relationships and trying to have some leisure time enjoyment, you are very familiar with the tug of war that stress plays in our daily routines.

Because stress cannot be eliminated from our lives, it is useful to be aware of ways that we can use stress positively or reduce some of its negative impact. Here are some suggestions to begin the process.

You may want to start by making a personal appraisal of your stress level. Major life changes such as a move, job change or divorce are by nature stressful and often result in a sense of limited control over our time, our relationships and our personal priorities.

You probably already have many useful techniques at your disposal but here are some ideas that I have found personally helpful and which I recommend to those wanting to improve their stress coping skills.

1. Physical Activity. While regular exercise helps to reduce the negative effects of stress, a short walk break during a harried day offers immense benefits as well.
2. Removing yourself from a stressful environment allows you to regroup both emotionally and mentally.
3. Prioritize. Write down and review what is most important each day. Check off and congratulate yourself on your accomplishments rather than berating yourself for what you were not able to do.
4. Be Good to Yourself: Get appropriate sleep and nutrition. Nurture yourself through your relationships with others and through your spiritual life.
5. Laughter and fun are great stress relievers.
6. Allow yourself to share your stress with others.
7. Would You Rather Be Happy or Right? Heated disagreements with others can raise our stress levels and accomplish little. Look for compromises, take a time-out from confrontations and recognize that things eventually do work out.
8. Recognize you can’t handle every situation perfectly and may not have all of the answers. At times, the assistance of a mental health professional is useful when the changes in our lives are too overwhelming. However, a few simple changes can often turn stress into a positive force in our lives.

REFRESH THE SPACE

It’s that time of year when homeowners are thinking about revamping and refreshing their space. Here are a few of the latest trends and styles that are gaining steam:

1. Ziggity-Zag – Geometric patterns are making a comeback! It could be as simple as adding a few accent pillows or for a bolder statement, consider some patterned wallpaper.
2. Sleep Easy – Embrace minimalist bedrooms this year with soothing neutrals and plain furniture pieces. Keeping the space simple will help you enjoy a restful night’s sleep.
3. The Heart of the Home – Homeowners are injecting warmer, brighter tones on their kitchen walls and cabinets. Sinks made with materials like stone, copper, concrete or granite will also steal the spotlight in 2018.

If you’re thinking about breathing some new life into your home with a makeover, be sure to take the latest trends into account during the planning stage. Hopefully these ideas have given you inspiration to inject some new style into your home.