By Eileen Barna
It is a new year and now is the time to look around and think about what will help you to live more fully, be less stressed and spend more quality time with those you love. You can’t control the world outside your home, but you can control what is inside, so let’s imagine you are coming home and you enter your new “perfect world” room by room:
- Magical Mudroom – The first thing you see when you come home is your new tidy mudroom with its organized shoe storage, cubbies for each member of your family, and a place to drop mail and keys. Hidden away are all of your pet supplies, out-of-season outerwear, pool towels, etc. Everything has its place and this brings you peace the moment you walk into your home.
- Multifunction Kitchen – A kitchen is more than a place to cook a meal, it’s really the heart of the home and a place where everyone gathers. When you walk into your new kitchen your whole family is comfortably hanging out, doing work, and chatting about their day. A well-designed kitchen will accommodate many different activities as well as be an inviting and cozy place to spend time.
- Sensational Storage – As you look around your perfect world you will see very little clutter; this offers your family a respite from the chaos outside the home. Every room needs a little hidden storage, so built-in cabinetry or shelving can be found in the pantry, family room/bar, and your primary closet; everything is neatly tucked away and organized until you need it.
- Light and Bright – You love the late-day sun streaming in the large windows overlooking your yard; there is something about a home that has lots of light in it, it tends to lighten up your mood as well. So, adding recessed lights into the ceiling and more large windows can really change your whole outlook on the world, literally!
- A Quiet Place – Need a moment to get some work done or meditate? Every home needs a place to get away and have some quiet time. This multi-function room should be designed so that it can be a study room, an at-home workspace, a yoga/meditation area, a place to do arts and crafts, and anything else that feeds your soul.
- Outdoor “Addition” – It’s a lovely evening and it’s a great night to barbeque on the grill with the family. In your perfect world, you have a built-in grill area complete with a countertop for prepping and a refrigerator with cold drinks. Step down to a cove of comfy couches that are next to a roaring outdoor fireplace with strings of lights glowing overhead. It’s like having a whole other outdoor living space right there on your patio!
- Spa Bath – It’s time for bed, but not before a steam shower in your new bathroom that feels like the spa you love to go to in the Adirondacks. A combination of natural earthy tones in the wood-like planked floor and clean white accent tiles is calming and invigorating, just like your favorite spa.
If you would like to walk through your own perfect world in 2023, it’s time to embark on your remodeling journey. Call TrueLeaf Kitchens to make an appointment at 908-766-2006, visit our showroom at 134 S. Finley Ave. in downtown Basking Ridge, or look at ideas on our website gallery at trueleafkitchens.com.