Renovating a home offers the opportunity to make changes and additions that make your home more comfortable, convenient, and fun. But it is easy to get carried away and, while thinking about how you can make your home more like something from Selling Sunset, end up auditioning for Cops.
When it comes to making your mood-board a reality, it is important that you take security into account and don’t open yourself up to unwanted attention.
Super-visible glass is a two-way street
Floor-to-ceiling windows and glass front doors look great, and they give you wonderful sightlines over your garden, but they also risk turning your home into a shop window for opportunistic burglars. If you want to bathe your home in natural light, nobody could blame you, but mitigate the risk; laminated or tempered glass, security film, and multi-point locks are all worthwhile additions.
Open foyers erase choke points
There is something exceptionally welcoming about an entryway with the walls knocked down, and it’s always a delight to step through your front door – but intruders will surely agree with this, which is bad news.
As well as ensuring you have airtight home insurance, think about internal buffers that get in the way of malfactors. A solid internal door before you get to the living areas, a lockable closet for parcels, and a lobby camera that sees all can make you and yours much more secure.
Smart locks are only as smart as you let them be
A keyless lock is great to have due to its convenience, right up until default PINs, shared guest codes or missed software updates turn it into a vulnerability. If you’re going to add convenience to your home access, pair it with strict protocols – long access codes that can’t be guessed, auto-lock timers, and guest codes that expire. Also, ensure that you have a hardwired doorbell cam and mechanical backup locks that can be activated when you need extra security.
Privacy fences shouldn’t provide total privacy
A good fence will boost curb appeal, create a cozy yard, and yes, provide some protection from unwanted intruders. But it can also provide cover for those same intruders. A great fence will mix privacy with visibility in the right places – ensure it is slatted rather than solid, place motion lighting at gate lines, and lay gravel strips inside the fence so that if someone breaches the outer perimeter, they can’t do it silently. Even the mere presence of things that make intrusion inconvenient can deter unwelcome visitors.
A few smart decisions: combining aesthetics with security, late-night testing of safety features, and documentation of all countermeasures for insurance purposes.
These can make all the difference in protecting your home upgrades from the intruders who can turn a cozy home into a target. Nobody wants to think like a hermit and view their home as a refuge, but considering safety at the time you make improvements can mean you have the peace of mind to simply view it as a happy, safe home.
