Creating a healthy, and comfortable living space is both a goal and a challenge for anyone who owns their own home. Every family has different needs and preferences, so it’s essential that you take an individualized approach when considering making changes or improvements to your property. As the past year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, there is immeasurable value in having a home that feels safe and offers plenty of opportunities for activity and recreation. Still, home improvement projects can be overwhelming and expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing. If you’re unsure where to get started, read on to learn more about five simple ways to make your home more comfortable.

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   Create recreational space.

If there’s one thing to learn from how COVID-19 forced all of us to stay home more often, it’s that it’s important to be able to have fun without leaving the house. Think about some ways you and the rest of your family like to relax, and work from there. Whether you want a craft room, a rec room for board games and activities, or a pool in the backyard, there are a variety of ways to create space to play in your home.

2. Prioritize clean indoor air.

Making sure your home is healthy and comfortable is one of your most important jobs as a homeowner. A big part of that is ensuring your home has safe and clean air to breathe, free of pollutants and small particles that may be harmful to your family. Make sure you choose an air cleaner for your home that adequately meets your needs. You can talk to an HVAC professional if you aren’t sure how to find the right model for your space, but your choice of air purifier will often be based on how many square feet of space the air cleaner will be expected to handle. A good air purifier will be able to reduce the presence of odors (including tobacco smoke), allergens (especially pollen and pet dander), and contaminants (like mold and dust mites) by using a HEPA filter or an ionizer.

3. Upgrade to smart technology.

Not only can smart technology make your home more comfortable, it can also add value should you ever choose to sell one day. One example of a smart device that can improve your quality of life and save you money is a smart thermostat. Not only will it regulate temperature inside your home more effectively, being able to operate on automation and with a timer ensures that you’ll only need to use your HVAC system when you actually need it. That means lower utility bills without sacrificing the ability to keep your home cool.

4. Invest in a quality mattress.

There are few things that affect our mood, comfort, and well-being more than getting a good night’s sleep. If you want to upgrade your home, a new mattress is a great place to start. An Aireloom mattress is a good bet if comfort is a high priority. It’s generally a good idea to invest in a high-quality mattress, as most are designed to last or quite awhile, and there are few purchases that you’ll use as often as your mattress. Take your time in trying different styles, most people have different opinions with regard to the firmness and style of mattress they prefer.

5. Add personal touches to your décor.

No one wants to live somewhere that feels like a museum. Use artwork created by family members or photographs of favorite memories to decorate the walls. Consider finding interior design projects that everyone can participate in, or that allow for different members of the family to have creative input.

There’s no one size fits all approach to home improvement, it’s important to focus on projects that address your family’s unique needs. Comfort can mean different things to different people, though it always makes sense to start by ensuring your home is clean and safe. While the prospect of significant home upgrades can be overwhelming, you can make meaningful improvements to your home to improve your quality of life without breaking the bank. As long as you’re thorough in your planning and smart about where you choose to invest, your house will start feeling more like a home before you know it.

Before it comes to place your loveseat at home accurately, you first should know how it is different from a sofa. A loveseat is a unique kind of seat with space for two seat cushions. Generally, two people or less can sit on it. It differs from a sofa as more than three people or less can sit on it. Therefore, Loveseats are popularly called a two-seat couch. Comparing a loveseat to a sofa is smaller and designed for two people or less.

Now, if you have a sofa and a loveseat together in the same room, you should style the loveseat with your sofa to exude a cohesive look. In this way, you can match the style of the loveseat to your sofa. This works well if you use the sofa and the loveseat together for a space where conversations with family and friends take place. Make sure you have a durable loveseat cover that complements the sofa well.

Where should you place your loveseat?

Loveseats work well in homes with odd spaces. A great ideal for the conversation space is to place two loveseats facing a right angle. If you want to set the loveseat apart from the primary area for seating, maybe in a corner where you read, select a complementary style that matches your furnishings. You can also place your loveseat in a bedroom for space where you wish to curl up.

When the room where you want to place the loveseat is large and too big for an armchair but does not have enough space for a sofa, a loveseat fits perfectly. Keep the following factors in mind when you are considering loveseats for space-

• The scale of the room is crucial. Look for a piece that does not overwhelm your space with its depth or height.
• Loveseats with thick cushions look spacious, and so for a small area, stick to those contemporary styles that have a clean line and low back.
• The pattern and the color of the loveseat affect your visual space. To keep your room from feeling claustrophobic, use colors that are light and solid as upholstery.
• Several people are fond of loveseats as they offer you a comfortable space for stretching out, relaxing, and conversing with friends and your family.

The correct loveseat depends upon the size of your living area and your seating preferences. If you have a very large space for multiple seating arrangements will not suit a small dining or living area.

Pairing loveseats with other furniture

Make sure you measure the space with care. Consider the placement of the other pieces of your room’s furniture so that everything does not become crowded together. Make sure you leave enough room to move about and keep some space for side tables and lamps.

If you are placing the loveseat close to or beside other furniture seating arrangements, ensure the heights of the seat, arm, back, and leg are approximately the same. For easy placement, you should consider loveseats without arms.

We all know that the pandemic has affected many parts of our lives and made us shift in a lot of ways, especially in how we work, have fun, and see our friends and loved ones. Real estate is no exception. If you are thinking about buying or selling a house, you might have heard about a housing inventory shortage. Across the United States, people who want to buy a home are having to compete for the house of their dreams, and people who are selling are taking the highest bidder. You might be wondering why this is happening and what you need to know to face this market. In addition to working with a professional real estate agent, there are some top agent insights to be aware of, that can prepare you for the best possible outcome.

Upgraded homes, please step to the front of the line

More people than ever are buying a property to upgrade, after months confined at home has left them seeing clear areas where they need more space, or more amenities. Maybe it’s a second bathroom, a bigger kitchen, or a backyard that has room for a grill and a garden. Those homes with upgrades, like pools and chef-ready kitchens are hotter than ever. Meanwhile, people who are happy with their homes aren’t moving. This means there is a shortage of desirable homes. Whatever your situation, if you are selling your house to upgrade for a new one, you can use a net proceeds calculator to see how much new home you can afford and then watch the market to see the best time to act, despite the housing inventory shortage.

Now is the time to grab that low-interest mortgage

Mortgage rates have gone lower than low, and potential homeowners across the country are taking advantage of this situation. For some context, mortgage rates were already low before Covid-19 hit the U.S.; then the global pandemic took rates even lower, for example: 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 3.47% in February 2020, compared with 4.37% in February 2019. Then, in March 2020, the Federal Reserve dropped interest rates to nearly zero. This caused mortgage rates to hit a low of 3.2%. During the last year, rates have been bouncing up and down and buyers who are ready to go are acting fast, gobbling up homes as soon as they hit the market.

Buyers get ready for war

Taking advantage of those lower mortgage rates is not necessarily easy for buyers, who may need to face fierce competition to land the home of their dreams. This is what real estate agents call a sellers’ market —  when sellers may get more than they are asking for, as buyers will take extreme measures to outbid others. It’s no surprise that on the one hand, this is not ideal for buyers, who could find themselves in a “bidding war” with others. Sellers, on the other hand, aren’t complaining, because they can land more for their homes, as multiple buyers compete to take home the prize. People who are selling a house now might expect that they can get a high return, which could translate to a nice home upgrade with more amenities.

A housing inventory shortage is not necessarily a negative situation, depending on your real estate goals, especially if you are a seller with coveted amenities like an upgraded kitchen or revamped backyard. With a professional real estate agent backing you, you can stay on track to moving, wherever you are in your real homeownership journey.