Home improvement trends are making a move towards households adding personal touches to their properties, it has been said - although electricity and gas bills could be reduced by ensuring such improvements are green.
Indeed, simple home improvements could not only breathe new life into a house, it could also help Britons to lead greener lifestyles and achieve
cheaper gas and electricity bills as well.
Adding the personal touchGeorge Clarke, presenter of Build a New Life and Channel 4's The Home Show, says that Britons "really" want to make their homes more personal.
"A lot of people want real fires in their home now. That's an indication of how people have changed their attitudes to home - they just want to sit there with a beautiful fire and a nice glass of wine, look back and say: 'I love my home'," he adds.
And having a real wood-burning fire may have additional benefits to the cosmetic ones.
By sitting with the family around a fire, Britons can turn down their central heating and watch their gas bills fall as a direct result.
Where to startWhen deciding on where to start with home improvements, Mr Clarke stated that it is "amazing" how easy and quick it could be to sketch out some ideas.
But as well as altering the cosmetic appearance of a home, Britons may also wish to invest in
green energy generating technology, to not only reduce their carbon footprint, but also their gas and electric bills.
Such investments may include solar panels - which use the renewable energy of the sun to heat a household's water supply and even generate electricity.
And another useful purchase could be a ground source heat pump, which can result in
cheaper gas bills as it uses heat stored in the ground to warm up a home.
By taking these steps, Britons could end up with their dream, greener home.
