“Will it affect resale value?” is a common question asked when discussing a remodeling project. But unless you are flipping that property immediately or anticipate selling it within five years, the answer is, “It doesn’t matter.” Tastes change and so do materials. No matter what decisions you make, a new buyer 10 or 20 years down the line will probably want to make their own changes to suit their lifestyle. Therefore, focus on designs that work best for you and your family.

However, this is not to say that all renovations are equal. Colors, styles and materials might change over time, but the need for function is timeless. Here are some home improvements for those looking to add style and function to their house.

Built-In Cabinetry

Having enough storage space to keep clutter at bay is a common design dilemma for many homeowners. Adding built-in furniture-style cabinets is a great way to gain storage space while creating architectural interest in a home.

For example, a built-in bookshelves provide display space for art and accessories that add character to a space.

Banquette Seating

Breakfast nooks with banquette seating are a perfect space-saving choice for small alcoves or corners of your kitchen. Many families like to have an informal place to eat, do homework or have morning coffee.

Another option is a booth-style banquette, it’s like having breakfast at your favorite diner. When remodeling, consider all the ways you can add storage to your planned modifications.

Curbless Showers

A curbless shower is a great feature for giving your bathroom a sleek, streamlined look, but its benefits go beyond appearances. You’ve likely heard the term “aging in place.” It means designing ways for homeowners to stay in their homes as long as possible. One of the ways to do that is to remove barriers that might cause trips and falls as our mobility decreases.

A bench that, when paired with a handheld shower head, allows for showering while sitting down. Add support behind the shower wall so grab bars can be added later, even if they don’t need them now. It’s much easier to do during construction than after the fact.

Mudrooms And Drop Zones

Mudrooms are a great remodeling addition, particularly if your home is in an area with inclement weather.

A well-executed mudroom can be easily cleaned with lots of cubbies, hooks, baskets and bins to contain clutter and keep wet clothing and shoes out of the main part of the home.

Add a drop zone for mail and a bulletin board for family calendars and commitments. You could even add USB outlets in the drawers to charge devices.

Home Offices

The pandemic has certainly changed our views on the need for real office space in our homes. And now that many companies are likely to make working from anywhere a permanent change, your remodeling plans should definitely include carving out space for this purpose.

You don’t have to devote an entire room to creating an office; instead, you can earmark part of a hallway or an alcove. A home office is a great place to invest in function-packed design. 

With all the fires we are having in BC make sure you have a plan and a checklist ready in case you ever need to evacuate with your pets. Whether for a wildfire, flood or other disaster, pets are a top priority when it comes to evacuating. But if you’re not prepared, it can make a difficult situation much harder. In an ideal world, our pets would be forever by our side. But for situations where this isn’t possible or safe, or when you and your pet need to leave home in a hurry, what should you do to be pet-ready in an emergency.

Of course, the key to any emergency is to be prepared. We’ve all heard the message about the importance of having a plan for floods and fires. And those plans need to include pets. So, what can you do to be ready in case you need to get your pets out in a hurry?

Wildfires and floods might be top of mind right now, but there are other reasons you should have an emergency plan for your pet. What if you’re taken away in an ambulance, or you have to travel suddenly for work or a family crisis?

And what will happen to little Maks or Waffles if you’re delayed in getting home because your car broke down in the middle of nowhere and it’ll take days to get the parts and the pet-sitter?

More often than not, pet-sitting services get very short-notice from people in a panic. Someone’s ended up in hospital and they’ve got a dog and a cat at home and a budgie and they think, ‘Oh my goodness, who’s going to feed my pets?’”

The good news is that there’s plenty you can do in advance to make sure your pet will be OK.

The most important thing is to sort out a pet-friendly emergency contact — a neighbor, friend or family member or, failing that, a pet-sitting service. If your pet can’t stay home, it’s much easier to have an accommodation option worked out for them in advance.

The other important task that you can do right now is to jot down a packing list for your pet. In an emergency, you or someone else can pull it all together in flash. When you’re worried and trying to think of what to pack for yourself and your kids and whatever else, there’s just a basic list of necessities that your pet would need if it’s going with you or going somewhere else to stay.

If your pet hasn’t left your house before, you may not have a carrier in which to transport them safely and conveniently. If that’s the case, get one.

For example, if you have birds in an aviary, you should have a smaller cage for them. Keep it in the shed. Or if you have free-roaming rabbits, they’ll need a carrier.

And because you may be on the road for a while, or doing a lot of waiting, you’re going to need a large container to store enough water for an indeterminate length of time, as well as a smaller one that your pet can drink from.

Finally, even if your pet doesn’t normally wear a collar, it’s very helpful if they have one with a tag and your phone number, in case they run away in fright. This, increases the chances that you’ll be reunited sooner. Even if they are microchipped, it’s really easy if you look at their collar and you can see the number and call it rather than having to take them to a vet.

When it comes to floods and wildfires, there’s often a bit of time between the initial warning and the final order to evacuate. If you can, get your pet out as early as possible.

Ask a friend or family member if they are able to take care of your pet until the all clear has been given. This means that you have nothing to worry about to start with.

Here is a list of items to put together in a pet evacuation kit. A pet evacuation kit has all the critical items and information that is required for you to take care of your pet if you are temporarily displaced. Place all the following items in a large tub and have it in or near the car.

Transportation equipment: leads and harnesses, car harness, cat or dog carriers.

Food and water for at least a week: water bowl and several gallons of water, pet food that can be stored without refrigeration.

Current medications and a pet first-aid kit: Place these along with instructions in a small box.

Miscellaneous items: waste bags, blankets and toys.

Other items in the kit are not so obvious. Emergencies are stressful for pets, and when they’re afraid, they sometimes run away. Include things in your evacuation kit that will make it easier to find them, like a recent photo, phone numbers for local shelters, the local phone number for lost pets and contact details of after-hours vets.

And don’t forget to pack your pet’s medical records. If they can’t stay with you or a friend, they may have to board at a kennel and they’ll need proof of vaccination.

Keeping stress to a minimum is easier said than done, but anything you do to keep your pet as calm as possible in an emergency will go a long way to making the situation easier for everybody and reduce the chance of them fleeing in a panic.

Here are a few tips for keeping your animals as calm as possible.

• Don’t punish your pet for being afraid. It can lead to worse behavior. Offer comfort and use distraction as a method to calm them down.
• While still at home, create a quiet space for them to go to. If they have a place they like to hide, let them go there. Follow their lead. 
• You can use music to mitigate stressful new environments and unfamiliar noises. 
• Distract your pet with their favorite toys and treats on the way.

Before you pluck and rake, consider wildlife, the health of your plants and your own right to relax. Here are some reasons to leave your fall garden standing.

Why Work When It’s Cold?

We are all tired, so leave the garden alone. Plus it’s getting cold out. Do you really want to be outside working? Isn’t there a football game on or some pumpkin-spice latte to savor? Let the garden be for your own health and sanity.

Wildlife is Hibernating

Lots and lots of insects and frogs, and who knows what else, are out there in your garden overwintering in leaf litter, on twigs, even in the top layer of soil. What happens when you “clean up” the leaves and chop down the plants? You might be tossing out a black swallowtail chrysalis or a mantis egg case, or stepping on a mourning cloak butterfly.

Protect Your Plants

Leaving the perennials standing will help them gather snow. That snow in turn will insulate the roots when it gets really cold and also add moisture to the soil. That’s a double win for low-maintenance gardening. Viva snow!

Discover a New Dimension

You won’t want to miss frosty mornings when every leaf, stem and seed head is accented with fascinating patterns of silvery shadows — halos of ice and snow that make the garden exquisite. And did you know that a snowflake is a fractal — a mathematical equation — just like coastlines, mountain ranges, trees, sunflowers and even the human circulatory system?

Everything in nature can be mapped out with math, and nowhere is that more obvious than with a winter frost. Take your kids outside and expose them to — math and nature.

Enjoy New Neighbors

Leaving up your plants welcomes all sorts of wildlife you’d never see, even though they’re quite common. What a cure for seasonal affective disorder.

Robin Will Stop by and Surprise You

Did you know there are robins around in winter? They tend to roost in groups, going about only when thirsty or hungry. A heated birdbath is great, but so are all of those fermenting berries on shrubs and trees. Lots of other songbirds will also be enjoying seeds from standing perennial cover, too.

Gardens Thrive in All Four Seasons

When the first spring blooms arise, you won’t feel like you missed them, because so much was going on in your garden all winter long — leaving the plants up makes winter seem shorter. Those first spring flowers won’t seem as much like a relief as a confirmation that a garden never really sleeps, and you’ll be seeing that firsthand in all four seasons.

“Winter interest” is a landscape term that means there’s something beautiful to look at during the cold season. Usually, that means grasses or dogwoods, but any old perennial will do. Winter interest isn’t just for us, though; it’s for birds, butterflies, frogs and soil microbes munching on leaves and making the garden healthier for summer. A lot will be going on if you leave the garden up until a spring cut-down — get out there and enjoy it this winter!

New teachers, shifting schedules and sudden onslaught of paper, the back-to-school transition can be challenging for parents and kids. Manage the chaos by putting an action plan in place to handle some of your home’s hot spots — including a spot to study — and you (and your kids) can step into the new school year feeling prepared. Here’s how to set up a homework zone for your scholars, whether they’re entering kindergarten or applying to college.

Supporting Your Scholar

The needs of a kindergartener and those of a tween may seem miles apart when it comes to study space, but there are a few things that hold true for all kids:

Pick a place where your child feels comfortable to set up a homework zone. If he or she loves being in the heart of things, this may be the kitchen table.

Keep supplies close at hand. If children have to hunt for that glue stick or report cover, the whole process will feel more frustrating.

Feel free to create a separate zone for reading. No matter your child’s age, it’s often more comfortable to read in an upholstered chair than in a stiff desk chair.

Younger Children

What To Expect 

The focus for preschoolers and kindergarteners should be on cultivating a love of learning. A cozy nook for reading or being read to and a project table for practicing cutting, drawing and writing are all that’s needed. A clean, inviting space encourages children to explore good books without offering an overwhelming number of choices.

Tips

Using child-height tables and chairs helps preschoolers and kindergarteners feel ownership over their work area.

Younger kids sometimes have a hard time if there’s too much on the table at once. Keeping extras stocked on shelves above the table or on a portable cart will help avoid spills and make it easier to focus on the task at hand.

Keep an eye on the clock: If your kindergartener gets homework, be sure to ask the teacher how long it’s expected to take, and don’t force your child to work past that amount of time. At this age, it’s better to keep the homework routine short and positive!

School-Age Kids

What To Expect

As kids progress through elementary school, they’ll gradually be asked to take on more responsibility and likely more homework too. This is when organization and time management begin to come into play — and having a well-organized homework space can help.

Tips

Homework in elementary school can involve a mix of reading and writing with creative projects, so be sure to store some art supplies along with the No. 2 pencils.

Decide on a system for keeping track of homework papers, and stick with it: A simple inbox and outbox or labeled “in” and “out” clipboards fastened to the wall should do the trick.

Designate a roomy document box or bin where you can store completed schoolwork and projects. Aim to sort through it with your child once a month, choosing a few special pieces to keep and recycling the rest.

Let your child add photos, artwork and special treasures to personalize their study space.

Tweens And Teens

What To Expect 

With a heavier workload at school, more responsibilities at home and after-school commitments, middle school and high school kids have a lot on their plates. Even though they may be taller than you now, tweens and teens can still need your support — and setting up a comfy spot to work is a good first step.

Tips

Using a laptop or the family computer likely will be a necessity for doing schoolwork in the tween and teen years, so consider where you want this to happen. Especially for younger tweens, you may want to have the family computer in a main living space for greater supervision.

With teens’ increased workload, the system that has worked until now for keeping track of homework and schedules may no longer cut it. Help them experiment until they find a system they like to use: This could be a paper planner, an app or lots of Post-its — whatever works!

Working At The Dining Table? 

Kids in elementary school often feel more at home doing homework at the kitchen counter or dining table, where they can chat with you and sprawl out as they work. If that’s the case for your child, there are just a few things to keep in mind:

Ideally, your child shouldn’t have to clear away work in progress when it’s time for dinner. If that’s impossible, try to find a nearby surface that can be kept clear so there’s a place to hold your child’s supplies.

Consider using a cart on wheels to hold homework supplies. That way, your child can pull it up while working and tuck it away at mealtime.

f your child just wants to be in the same room, see if you can find a nook to put a desk in the kitchen or dining room, to avoid the cleanup issue.

Stay On Top Of Paper Clutter 

Once teens have multiple subjects to manage, paper clutter seems to expand exponentially. Built-in storage can help keep lots of paper neatly organized, making this a good choice for pack rats and organization junkies alike. Here are a few more ideas:

Use stacking paper trays to keep track of to-dos and finished work

Assign a hanging file to each subject and keep important papers inside.

Reduce paper and keep track of things digitally with an online system like Google Drive.

More Than One Kid Sharing A Space? 

Consider study partitions. Make sharing a study space easier on all involved by providing a desk with a partition between work areas. Consider building the desk unit into a closet, so when the kids are done working, the doors can hide it all away.

It is almost time for students, including my  oldest, to be going off to college or univerisity. Whether you are choosing to study from home, rent an apartment or live on campus you need a place that is organized and is a quiet place for study and sleep. Let’s look at durable furniture, small space solutions and incorporate your style to create a place to inspire and help you succeed at school no matter where you live. 

Durable, Functional Furnishings

Dorm-style furniture is often simple in design and gets top marks for durability with its typically solid wood construction. If furnishing an off-campus room, be sure to include these dorm-room necessities: a desk with drawers; a tall bookcase or if you have more floor space, go long and low to make the room feel bigger; an ergonomic chair, because you’re going to be sitting there … a lot; and if space is in short supply, look for a bed with bookshelves built into the headboard.

These functional pieces will last for years but, they might not take your breath away with their style. No worries. You can have fun with the bedding, pillows, desk lamps and other practical accessories that will add style to the space.

You can also switch things up every school year with the latest trends in smaller accessories. Make the space yours!

A Dream Closet

The benefit of most dorm room closets is that they are spacious and incorporate storage needs: rods for hanging, shelves for folded items, mirrors for primping, and hooks for hoodies, robes and jackets. But we always need more storage, right?

So, whether you’re in residence, an apartment or home, consider adding a shelf above the existing top shelf in the closet, go for a temporary one if in residence, and a multi-level shoe rack that can triple the closet floor space. Over-door hanging organizers both inside and out keep your dailies, bathrobe, shower supplies, hats, knapsacks, and more, in clear view and off the floor. By doubling or tripling your storage capacity, you should be able to forgo a bulky dresser in the room.

Make the closet as attractive as the rest of the room. In residence, that might be limited to choosing coloured hangers or you could try an easy-peel wallpaper on the door to help add pattern and colour to inspire creativity in your study space.

At home or in your own apartment you can paint the inside of the closet a colour — something that will brighten your day every time you open it.

Under the Bed

If you’re in the market for a new bed, opt for one that sits high off the floor to allow space for hiding the clutter of bins, luggage and nicnacks. Some beds even have hydraulic lift mattresses that make it easy to access storage space under the mattress.

If you’ve got a standard bed frame, consider getting bed riser blocks that sit under each bed’s leg and lift the bed off the floor, allowing more room for storage. If considering a new bed, keep in mind that a twin bed is 72-inches long and an XL is 78-inches long; you’ll probably want the longer version and remember to purchase the appropriate sized sheets for the bed’s size.

If your bed has a raised base and there is a lot of space underneath, then buy matching storage containers so storage does not appear messy or cluttered. A bed with drawers built into the base is also a great idea to create additional storage.

Easy Ways to Add Personality 

1. Fill the walls with large bulletin boards using easy-remove picture hanging hooks. This will allow you to change up inspirational images, posters and calendars throughout the school year.

2. Bring in a few small plants: They are the easiest roommate you will ever meet!

3. Love to set the mood with music? Invest in a good pair of wireless headphones to enjoy your music without interrupting others’ study or sleep.