Vancouver Townhouse Blog

5 tips to make your townhouse a place of joy and comfort in 2017

Resolve to Love Your Townhouse in the New Year

Townhouses are cozy abodes. If you’re looking for some ideas to increase the happiness you feel at home, you’re at the right place. With a new calendar on the wall and new resolutions in your head, the New Year is a great time to consider how you can enhance your life, tap into personal style, and turn your townhouse into a comfy home.
To help you get started, we’ve scoured the Internet for some concrete steps that will bring you results fast.

1. Create a wish list

   Grab a journal and fill it with all the things you love. Did a paint chip recently make you go ooh? Is there a fabric swatch that leaves you starry-eyed? Take a picture and throw it in your scrapbook! Add some notes about why the contents appeal to you. Is it a lustrous shade or the graceful architecture of a chair? Choosing things that you really love for your home can be surprisingly difficult. It often means taking a step back and saying no when something doesn’t quite work. By understanding why things appeal to you, you can make better buying choices and create a space that’s truly magnificent.

2. Purge the unwanted

   Removing the items you don’t love helps create space for the things you do. Have you been living with accessories, paint, or furniture that make you go mheh? Walk through your house and catalogue all the things you would change if you didn’t have to worry about removal or replacement costs. Try to throw out or donate one item immediately and make a plan to gradually replace the others.

3. Invest in your happiness

   Maybe you’re not going to stay in a townhouse forever. Perhaps it’s a temporary arrangement while you save up for your dream house. But that shouldn’t stop you from making the best of your current situation. While you probably won’t be able to make drastic structural changes due to strata rules, there are tons of ways to beautify your space. Items like area rugs, removable wallpaper, houseplants, and curtains can make your abode more awesome—and you can carry them away with you when you move.

4. Spend Mindfully

   All the de-cluttering in the world won’t help if you keep bringing stuff home. Take control. Before making a purchase, ask yourself if you really need the item. Is there a function it will play? If it’s a decorative piece, is it something you truly love? This can be a difficult habit to learn depending on your shopping habits, but the payoff is totally worth it. You’ll be left with a cleaner house—and more money to spend on the objects that you truly love and need.

5. View constraints as a creative challenge

   There’s no doubt, townhouses are smaller than homes, so creating a space you love can be hard. Don’t despair. Try to look at it as an opportunity to kick your creativity into high gear. A small space, budget, or lack of storage may seem like a hindrance, but there are all kinds of solutions to help you create a space you love. Brainstorm how to transform your home’s biggest design flaw into a potential feature. Ask different people for their ideas and visit design shows. The point is to shake things up and look at problems from a new perspective.

If all else fails, why not change the big picture? If your living situation just isn’t working, take a step back and consider how a different home could impact your life. Do you need a bigger space? Maybe it’s the location that’s a problem. Would life be better in a more modest home space that’s closer to the city—or do you crave a tiny patch of land where you can grow some tasty veggies? The New Year is an opportunity to do some big picture thinking about what you really want out of life. If buying or selling a townhouse is on your radar, set up a free consultation with specialty townhouse realtor Ariane Benjamin today at 604-779-1500.