Home Improvement Ideas for the Holidays

Thanksgiving and Christmas are fast approaching and with these favorite holidays comes the season of gift giving and spending time with family and friends. Before you invite an army of loved ones over for that turkey dinner, however, you may want to take a good look around your home and make sure it is suitable for visitors. Here are some holiday home improvement tips to help.

Preparing Your Home for the Holidays

When most people think of preparing their home for the holidays, they often think in terms of cleaning or setting up decorations. While those are certainly big parts of the prep list, they really only scratch the surface of what you need to consider when hosting holiday festivities or having guests stay with you.

For starters, a regular house cleaning probably won’t cut it. And while you could roll up your sleeves and apply a little elbow grease, you may want to consider calling in a cleaning service to save yourself a little time and grief. The holidays are a busy period and your efforts might be best served elsewhere. In addition to traditional cleaning, you may want to think about other areas as well, such as your carpet, upholstery, and even your chimney. This is especially important if you will have visitors with allergies or respiratory issues.

In addition to having your fireplace cleaned, you may want to have it checked to see if it needs any repairs as well. Remember, it may experience extra use during this time as the temperatures dip, so before the cold season really sets in, you should get this taken care of. The same can be said of your heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. Call in a professional HVAC technician to have your unit tuned up and serviced. The last thing you want is for your heating and cooling equipment to break down and leave your guests out in the cold!

While you are at it, you may want to consult with a home auditor to help locate any energy waste in your home. These professionals look for things such as air leaks, ventilation issues, insulation problems and outdated appliances, all with an eye toward making the temperature in your home easier to control and reduce your energy bills.

Finally, winterizing your home in preparation for the colder weather always makes sense this time of year, and more so if you plan on having out-of-town company stay with you. Cleaning and repairing your gutter and drainage system and preparing your outdoor faucets, sprinklers and hose bibs all fall under this category. Having a leaky roof in your guest bedroom or a frozen pipe (that could lead to a flooded basement) is something you want to avoid during the best of times, much less during the holidays.

If you live in North Georgia and are looking for some help preparing your home for the holidays, be it through home improvements or something as complex as a home addition, give the professionals at Tracy Tesmer Design/Remodeling a call!

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