When considering home improvements, it is important to ask
family members for their opinions. So, how do you evaluate the
answers?
Typical Discoveries
Talking with family members about home improvements will lead to
surprising answers. You and your husband each have times you
need to be alone (computer work, business planning), and times
you need to be alone together (initial discussions about family
plans, a new job, the budget, travel, etc.). This varies by age
of course, but children have similar needs for being alone,
alone with friends and with the family. There are times you and
your husband will decide the children need your supervision no
matter what their preferences.
Decisions
After discussions and interviews with family members, you are
ready to map out a plan for how the various areas of the house
are to be used. Do the initial plan and then discuss it with
your husband or wife. Don't discuss it with the children until
the two of you are pretty much in agreement.
Obviously, tastes are specific to individual people. You and
your husband must come to an agreement based on the following
considerations:
1. Theme - Are you going with a particular atmosphere or style?
2. Costs - What do you want to do versus what can you afford?
3. Value - How much will the improvements impact the value of
your home?
Once you've hashed through these issues, you'll be ready to move
forward with your plans. Then it's time for the two of you to go
over it with the children.
Children obviously can have some outlandish ideas about what
would look "cool" in a home. While you may balk at such
suggestions, it is important to include your kids in the
process. A happy medium can be allowing children a lot of
latitude when it comes to their rooms. In reality, their rooms
are "homes within homes" and they feel comfortably in them.
Don't worry, you can paint them after the kids leave home or
before you sell it.
Planning home improvements can be a bit bewildering. Make sure
to include your family in the discussion so you get a result
everyone feels good about.
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