Home Improvements - Making Decisions
By Raynor James, Fri Dec 9th

If you have a family, planning home improvements should be afamily matter. Still, you want to stick to ideas that work.

Ideas That Work

We've all seen families who get along well most of the time andfamilies who are constantly at odds with each other. One commondenominator among families who get along are homes that work forthem. Let's talk about ideas seen more than once in homes thatwork. It may help you explore what will work for you.

Many families with school age children have a computer andhomework area near the kitchen. It's often a computer



desk andthe breakfast area table. This is usually sandwiched between thekitchen and family room, and all three areas are open to eachother. It's an easy area for parents to make themselvesavailable to help and supervise the children while theythemselves perhaps cook, talk, read, or have a cup of tea (orother beverage) before or after dinner.

Family rooms are also great for TV, movies, and computer games.A finished basement provides an ideal place for a "home theater"for the same sorts of things, but supervision becomes tougher.

Unfinished basement areas can be just what's needed for aworkbench, an artist's studio (especially walk-out basementswith big north facing windows), a sewing area, a place topractice a musical instrument, a place to refinish furniture, apotting bench for plants, a place for the pets when the familyhas guests. I've seen all of the above work well alone and in avariety of combinations.

Many modern homes have a "formal living room" that is too smallto really work as a living room. It can be set up and decoratedas a library or study and be the perfect place for a parent todo some serious work and not be interrupted too frequently.

Master bedrooms are getting larger and larger. They often have asmall seating arrangement included in their design. This can bea parental retreat for quiet conversation.

Master bedrooms can also provide a quiet corner for a computerdesk and work area. If looking at work space isn't relaxing toyou, you can always shield it from view with a decorativefolding screen.

Don't forget the importance of family dinners. Studies show thatchildren of families who have dinner and conversation togetherseveral nights a week, week in and week out, tend to be moresuccessful and happier than those who don't. It can be at thekitchen table, in the breakfast area, or in the dining room, butplan for it and make it happen if you value the success andhappiness of your children.

Every home is unique and so is your family. When improving yourhome, look for ideas that work.

About the author:Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - FSBO homes forsale by owner. Visit our "sell my home" page athttp://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your own homeyourself with a free 1 month listing.

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