For many people, buying their first home will also include decorating an interior for the first time. Here are a few pointers on design, colors, patterns and decor. 

Your first step when starting to decorate your space is to pick a style. This will keep everything in unity and harmony within a single theme of your design. This can mean you decide you want your space casual instead of formal or traditional instead of contemporary. From there you can go into more specific design styles such as rustic, farmhouse, shabby chic, French country or minimalist. 

Some other elements of design that you should keep in mind are balance, focal point, contrast and variety. Find and keep balance in a room by distributing the visual weight. You can do this symmetrically, which is more traditional or you can do this asymmetrically. In each room there should also be a focal point, an example would be in a living room you would have a fireplace or piece of art. This item can set itself apart by its scale, colour, texture etc. Contrast and variety add visual interest to a room. Repeat certain elements and change others. 

Choosing a colour palette is a very important step in interior design. You can create a colour scheme for your entire space or for a specific room. Create your own mood board to help you in this process of finding your right colour schemes. 

The patterns that you use don’t always have to match, but they do need to complement and coordinate with each other. Consider colour, size and scale. 

Tips to get started with your decor:

Edit - Always look at a room you’ve decorated and find out what works in a room and when something is too much, tasteful or requires embellishment.

Artwork - Carefully consider what you display and how you display it. Set wall art at eye level, for example.

Furniture - Above any other piece of furniture in your home, your sofa and bed are the most important if you are on a tight budget is what you should splurge on. Then you can save for a nice area rug, accent tables and wall art. 

A local spot in town that can help you on your decorating journey is Lillidae Home & Design. 

https://www.liliidaehome.com/

From ornate fireplaces and crown mouldings to established, mature landscaping, there are many benefits to buying a historic house. However, there are also some disadvantages that you’ll definitely want to factor in when considering the purchase, as well. When buying a historic home, you’ll often need different insurance policies and even a special license.  

Expect Repairs

Depending on the work that has been done by the previous owners to preserve your historic house, there’s a good chance that repairs will be necessary right off the bat. The first repair you can usually expect to do on a historic home will be replacements of the roof and windows. As with all homes, roofs and windows can be expected to weather over time and will need regular repair to prevent damage from the elements. 

Other repairs you can expect to encounter may be water damage, structural damage, or even electrical issues. 

Hire An Inspector Experienced With Historic Homes

To get an accurate picture of what repairs or maintenance you can expect, you’ll want the help of a home inspector that has experience assessing historic homes. These homes were built differently than the homes being built today and an inspector who doesn’t know what to look for may miss some crucial indicators of costly repairs that may be needed.

Before hiring a home inspector, ask them about their experience working with historic homes

Maintenance Can Cost More Than Usual

The maintenance that will need to be done on a historic home will be much different from new homes today, which could require the assistance of specialized contractors.

These contractors should be familiar with using the different materials used in the home to help preserve the historic integrity, and may charge more for their knowledge, care, and experience. So what may seem like a simple fix could end up with a much more costly bill at the end.

Modern Upgrades May Not Always Be Possible

Depending on many factors, from structure to plumbing to electrical work, the modern upgrades you may be wanting to put into a historic home may not always work. If you are perfectly content with maintaining the historical integrity of the home, this may be fine for you. However, if you are wanting to buy a historic home with the intention of updating and modernizing, consider consulting with a contractor to see if it is even possible. 

Insurance May Be More Expensive

Insurance companies are no strangers to the costly repairs and maintenance that may be required on historic homes, and often the rates they will offer on home insurance will reflect that. New construction homes are usually built to code and come with warranties that help protect your investment for some time after purchase, whereas historic homes do not. Be sure to talk with your insurance provider before making the switch to get an accurate quote of what you can expect to be paying monthly to insure your home.

No matter if you’re buying a historic home simply for the aesthetic appeal or to become a part of the cultural narrative they provide, it can certainly be a truly gratifying experience for a homeowner. 

Working out an inheritance can be tricky. And many people may not know how inheriting a property works, here we will help you to get an idea of what all goes on.

Being passed down an estate is a hard and stressful time. Upon a family member’s or friend's death, you would be appointed the executor of their estate and would manage their debts and assets according to their will. The part of the estate given to descendents is the inheritance, which may include a house or land property.

With any large financial transactions, you should be aware of the tax consequences. Fortunately, Canada is not one of those jurisdictions; there is no inheritance tax in Canada.If the home being inherited was the deceased’s primary residence, there’s no tax on the property transfer at all. If it was a secondary home, like a cottage, there is an estate tax. The estate tax is paid from the estate’s assets, so the inheritor doesn’t have to pay anything.

Staying along those lines, you may also inherit a property with a mortgage attached to it. As you settle debts of the deceased as the executor, this will include mortgages. Ideally the estate would have enough assets and investments to cover the mortgage. If not, then the house will need to be sold to pay off the mortgage, since not every lender will allow the inheritor to take over the mortgage payments. 

So after you inherit a property, what are some of the things you need to do? 

You will need to continue to maintain the home, either by yourself or hiring someone to be checking in on it. 

You should also keep the home fully protected by contacting the home insurance provider and secure coverage as the new homeowner. 

You may also want to do a home inspection, just to be sure there are no outstanding issues with the property. And along that note get a comparative market analysis done by a local real estate agent or appraiser to get a feel for what the property is worth in today’s market. 

In the end there are only three things you can do with an inherited property; move in, sell or rent. What you decide to do with the property is up to and to the circumstance you find yourself in.