Family rooms have also undergone a dramatic transformation. Twenty years ago, the living room was more formal and the family room was a casual location where the family plunked down on the old couch to watch TV.
When they have the choice, consumers most often opt to have their family room attached towards the kitchen, says David Adams of David Adams Style in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. This creates a big, open meeting region. Parents want to have the ability to watch the kids playing while they converse with family and friends who've come to go to. In 2003, the national average cost for a 16-by-25-foot family room was USD 53,983, according to Remodeling magazine. The resale value of that addition is USD 43,931, a return of 81 percent.
To squeeze out the biggest return from a family room addition, you might want to err on the side of brighter, while minimizing the quantity and size of windows on the west side. That's simply because the sun sets in the west and can add unwelcome amounts of heat and glare to your room.
Brighter is better for resale worth, because even if a potential buyer wants a media room, they are able to usually add room-darkening shades or drapes. It's much more difficult to add natural light to a room. As for room sizes, Adams says that rectangular-sized additions tend to blend in using the existing structure better, so they're preferred. As you contemplate both the functionality and resale value of your new family room, also think about these "must haves" for your addition:
A spot for a big TV. Today you can purchase a television the size of a couch. You need a spot for a tv that size-even if you don't but own one quite that large.
Make sure you're wired for numerous media. That indicates you need a minimum of one cable hookup in the room and at least one telephone jack. Even if you don't plan on having high-speed Internet access in your family room, you may change your mind later on.
Consider incorporating a spot in your new room for the family computer.Numerous parents these days only want Internet access exactly where they are able to monitor it.What better location than the family room?
If the room is big sufficient, think about having a separate component exactly where kids can play. It will make it simpler to appreciate adult conversation in your new room.
Storage, storage, and more storage. There may come a day when you will say your home is too large for your needs, but we've but to meet the person who says he or she has too much storage space.When shopping for a new home, buyers usually look for a lot of places to store their accumulated "stuff." Sneaking in built-in cabinets and maybe a closet or two can only increase the value of your house.
Flexible lighting. This indicates the room is created for many different overhead and table lighting to create different moods. You need to rely on a combination of ceiling and table lighting to offer proper illumination.
In most components of the nation, a gas fireplace is a must-have in the family room.Modern gas fireplaces are a far cry from those old electric fireplaces sold 30 years ago that consisted of a light bulb along with a piece of colored plastic rotating in front of it. These days, gas fireplaces (in either natural gas or propane) provide realistic orange-colored flames, with "burning embers," brick inserts, and ceramic glass.
Some models are so powerful, they're rated as gas furnaces. These come with remote controls that not only turn the flames on and off, but also with thermostats that maintain the room at a continuous temperature. Some models come with blowers and optional ductwork to send some of that heat to other rooms. This can save you money when it comes time to add heat to a room that is very a distance from the furnace.
You can use the fireplace as a sole source of warmth for the room. They're also cleaner to make use of than woodstoves, quite essential if anyone in your family has asthma or other respiratory issues that are aggravated by wood smoke.
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