Say goodbye to living the life of a single man: you now have graduated from being a bachelor into a spouse or a parent.
This transition is both exciting and terrifying; you will have to give up a few things that you might have enjoyed in your youth in order to spend more time with your family.
You do not have to sell your house, however. If you are not ready yet to move to a new place, you can transform the house where you spend your years of being a bachelor into a home fit for your family’s needs. Here’s how.
Create More Room
As a bachelor, you probably enjoyed waking up and moving around a big and open space every day. Your loft-style home, however, may not be ideal if you have children.
Dividing an area into two rooms will give you, and your children, privacy in your home. You can call a licensed general contractor to erect a stable wall to enclose any space that you have.
You can even transform your attic into a living area. A professional can tell you what needs to be done, which equipment and materials should be installed, to make the space comfortable for you and/or your children to sleep in and play throughout the year.
Shopping for Two
You no longer are buying furniture for yourself. You will need to sell or give away the things that you used while you were a bachelor to make room for new stuff that is a better fit for a family man.
You have to get a bigger bed — for example — to accommodate two people, a bigger sofa for family movie nights, more chairs in the dining area, and so on.
A family home is also, often, a lot cozier and more decorated than a bachelor’s house. Be ready for throw pillows, carpets and rugs, fancier curtains and sheets, a multitude of pots and pans, and other show-pieces.
Baby-Proof Your House
Your house can be an accident hazard if you have a baby. You may not have noticed before but, suddenly, the corners of your coffee and dining tables are too sharp, the banisters of the stairs are too wide, and the hardwood floors too, well, hard.
To make your house a safe place for your baby to explore and grow, you need to make major changes.
Walk around your house to identify items that may harm your baby. The electrical outlets are major points of concern; is it placed near the floors? Can your crawling baby reach it and potentially stick a finger or object into it? Heavy objects atop tables and shelves may also cause serious injuries. If your baby bumps into a side table, will the vase or lamp fall down and shatter?
These things need to be considered. For wall plugs, there are safety covers that you can buy from home improvement stores. Objects that can be knocked down should be secured in place.
You should also buy a baby gate to prevent your curious bundle of joy from traveling around the house without supervision.
Your house, as well as your daily routines, will change and, for a while, things will feel unfamiliar. However, the sacrifices you will make to turn your bachelor house into a family home that is full of love will be worth it.