New parents spend hours thinking of ways on how to welcome their baby into their new home. They imagine what kind of person the child will be like. What kind of toys will they like? What will they choose as their favorite color? A million questions run through the mind of new parents in anticipation of their little bundle of joy.

The big question is how will you decorate your new baby’s room to make it welcoming for them. Deciding on a layout is just as difficult as choosing what to put in it. There are many options out there and it makes it hard to agree on anything.

In this list, we will show you 10 nursery room design trends of 2020 to help make your decision a little easier.

Unique design that reflects personality

Make it a room that reflects your personality and character as a new parent. It’s your home, so why not make it a room that is tailored to your needs and your baby’s. Ask yourself what your expectations will be when using and interacting with the room, as well as your habits, routines, and personal taste like for example you’d like custom neon signs to make everything just for your baby. You’ll be spending almost as much time in there as you do in your bedroom, so make it comfortable.

Small is in

Work with the limited space you have and make it seem like you have more than there actually is. It’s all about placement and how you style the room. Select smart furniture that can serve a purpose as well as fit that design you envision the room to be. 

Countryside chic

Give the room a touch of style and a dash of rustic feel by mixing up patterns. A room design with farmhouse wall signs, antiques, new decor, and colors of green and muted tones can make the room feel timeless. The thing to remember here is that rustic accents can offer themselves to be varying in style and themes from shabby chic to country farmhouse.

Gender-neutral nurseries

We can expect gender-neutral nurseries to rise in more popularity as society grows to be more open to different family dynamics. It won’t always be that you’ll see an all pink or all blue nursery now that these styles of nurseries are in.

Multipurpose nursery furniture

That dresser in your nursery room can serve a dual purpose as a changing table. Use the chest where you store the baby’s toys as a baby needs station. Get creative with the furniture and find ways to make efficient use of the space you’re given. 

Changing baskets

It looks charming, stylish, and practical on top of providing you a natural change station option alternative to the traditional changing pads. The changing basket is portable for you to bring around the house. Additionally, it can also serve as an adorable caddy for stuffed toys when they’re not being played with.   

Rattan/Wicker is making a comeback

Rattan and wicker provide a natural and earthy feel to a room. You’ll find many nurseries designed with these materials because of the warmth and texture it adds. 

Green like a forest

It may not be your cup of tea but give some consideration to painting your nursery a nice, deep shade of green. It brings a sense of intrigue to the room as well as sophistication at the same time. Decorate the room with a touch of brass and vintage accents and millwork to break the monotony. It has become quite a popular choice because of how versatile it works across many different nursery styles.

Back in Black

A simple option to make the nursery more stylish is to use black. Black walls, black prints, black furniture, and fixtures, it will give a commanding presence to the room. If that’s a bit excessive, you can find a wallpaper with an interesting design to match the color.

Attraction to florals

Not exactly a new trend but it still has shown popularity as a design choice for nurseries. It’s no surprise as to why. Floral wallpaper can make a room feel soft and sweet, vintage, whimsical, or anything depending on how you want it to feel. 

Travelling is what brings many of us joy. Being able to break away from the nine to five, leave work and non essential responsibilities behind us and get away for a while. Whether you like kicking back and relaxing on a beach holiday, exploring new capitals through a city break, trekking in rural areas with stunning landscapes or skiing down snowy peaks in mountainous regions, getting away is a great opportunity to do the things you really enjoy! Now, if you are a regular traveller, you may be looking for ways to save on your routine trips. Anyway who travels regularly will know that one of the biggest expenses associated with travel tends to be accommodation. So, what can you do to cut accommodation costs? One option is to invest in or build your own holiday home! Here’s a little more information on the subject to help you determine whether this is a feasible or sensible option for you or not!

The Benefits of a Holiday Home

Holiday homes come hand in hand with countless benefits for the regular traveller. If you love a set location, having a holiday home can ensure that you always have somewhere great to stay while you’re away. You needn’t worry about whether the accommodation you’ve booked is going to live up to your expectations and standards. You won’t find yourself in the common situation of finding yourself somewhere that has been misold. Instead, you’ll know where you’re heading and you’ll know that it will be comfortable, cosy, practical and homely without having to fork out a fortune. What’s more? When you’re not on holiday, you can let the place out to others, helping to cover the costs of the property, or even generating a profit!

Building Your Own Holiday Home

One way to go about securing a holiday home is to build your own from scratch. This will entail buying a quality plot of land in your chosen location and working with professional builders to create the property you’ve been dreaming of. Alternatively, you can simplify the process and make things easier and more straightforward for yourself by opting for house and land packages, which seal the deal in one fell swoop – no messing about. Make sure you always view the plot and the builders’ portfolio to ensure you’ll be entirely happy with the end result.

House Hunting for a Holiday Home

Alternatively, if you want to buy a house that already exists, you’re going to have to do a fair amount of house hunting. Always view any property you’re interested in before handing over any money or signing any contract. Sure, the property may be far away and you may have to take a flight or elongated trip to view it. But this is a big investment. You need to make sure that everything genuinely is as it seems!

Holiday homes really are ideal for regular travellers with favourite destinations. Why not consider one? It could save you money on your getaways and even make you some extra income on the side!

Have you ever taken a look at your energy bill and wondered whether you could lessen it?

Making an energy-efficient home can help you use less energy while saving you plenty of money. It’s also good for the environment.

Don’t fret if you don’t know where to even begin. Here’s our guide to help you learn some tips and tricks on how to make your home energy efficient.

Switch to LED lights

Traditional incandescent light consumes plenty of electricity. The best solution for this is to replace your light with LEDs, CFLs, or halogen incandescent. Your best choice in making an energy-efficient home is by replacing your lights with LED lights.

LED lights can greatly reduce the energy it uses by 75%. Although LEDs are more expensive than all the other light bulbs, it has a longer lifespan. These lights also have no moving parts and no dangerous elements such as mercury.

Switch to Solar

Perhaps the best way to make your home energy-efficient is to switch to solar power.

Now you won’t rely on the fuels burned to create traditional electricity. You can even live off the grid entirely. You can even earn a small profit by selling the excess electricity your panels generate.

Not sure how to do so? Simply search up “solar providers near me” to find the right company to provide and install the panels for you. 

Install A Smart Thermostat

Having a smart or programmable thermostat will help you in reducing your bills while your away. It either automatically reduces heating and cooling or turns off when you are away or asleep. With a smart thermostat, you don’t have to go through the trouble of upgrading your HVAC.

Investing in a smart thermostat can save you about $180 per year. Smart thermostats have features where they indicate when you need to replace your air filters. It also warns you about HVAC system problems, which helps you improve the efficiency of your HVAC.

Buy Energy-Efficient Appliances

If you have old and broken items, it’s time to replace them with more energy-efficient appliances. Appliances with an energy star label use 35% less energy. It also saves about 8,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions every year.

Insulate Your Home

Insulation in each room in your home plays a key role in having an energy efficient home. It helps retain the heat during the winter season and keeps the heat out when it’s summer. Consider adding insulation in five main areas: floor, crawlspace, basement, attic, and walls.

Now You Know How to Make Your Home Energy Efficient

Now that you know some tricks on how to save money on your energy bills, be sure to help your friends and share this knowledge. We hope you enjoyed our tips on how to make your home energy efficient.

Thanks for reading! Are you looking for more practical tips on how to be energy efficient, say for your office or school? Consider checking out our other tech posts for more information!

You might consider yourself an expert when it comes to investing in property. Maybe you are a Mark Ferguson and are already making $7,000 per month from rental properties, but what if I told you that you might want to consider investing in property overseas.

8 Reasons Why You Should Be Investing In Property Overseas

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1) Portfolio Diversification

Overseas investment provides you with portfolio diversification. We have all heard the saying – don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. It is far more sensible to diversify. If you invest in property in just one country then you will find that your money is all tied-up in one place. Therefore, if that country hits hard times so will all of your investments. If you’re looking to diversify your portfolio to overseas investment properties, have a look into international mortgage brokers such as Simon Conn or others to get started. Branch out and invest in other economies. That way if one country hits hard times, you have your other countries to fall back on. There is a reason why companies expand overseas, they are spreading the risk. You need to think like a company!

2) Expanding Markets

You can get yourself into an expanding market. Put some research in and find out where the powerful economies are predicted to be. PwC has produced this report http://www.pwc.com/world2050 which looks at the predicted economic powerhouses for 2050. Get in now and you could be cashing in later. However, this is only a route for those who are prepared to play the long game. It is a get quick rich scheme. But then is there really any such thing as a get rich quick scheme? If you want to get rich then you have to be prepared to work for it and to invest carefully.

3) Tax Advantages

You don’t need to report your overseas real estate to the IRS every year. This is just one of two remaining asset types where you are able to do this. That makes an overseas investment very much a private affair! This means that you can grow your overseas wealth and property portfolio privately

4) Planning For Retirement

An overseas property investment could always become your retirement home later in life. Who says that you have to stay living where you. Perhaps you fancy moving to a warmer climate. Studies and articles like this one https://inspiyr.com/warm-weather-is-healthier/ make a convincing case for retiring to somewhere warmer. Buy somewhere hot and you could rent it out as a holiday rental now. You can then retire there later when you are ready. You don’t need to worry about leaving the family behind either. If you move somewhere warm then the whole family will want to come and stay with you!

5) Your Money Goes Further

You get more bang for your buck. Taking your home search overseas means that your dollars will often go further. Websites like http://rumahdijual.com/medan/perumahan-murah illustrate just how much further your money goes abroad. This also means that cost of living is probably much cheaper. If you choose to retire somewhere like this then you could be much better off in your retirement. You could be living a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget! You will be amazed at the stunning properties you can buy abroad. That mansion you have always wanted for you and the family could be yours if you buy abroad.

6) Claim Back Money

You can claim back those travel costs. The cost of visiting your overseas properties for management and inspections is tax deductible. Get claiming those air fares back!

7) More Options

It opens up options for you. Buying a house abroad opens up many new options for you. You can decide exactly what you want to do with your investment. Perhaps you want to rent it out as a long-term rental or a holiday rental. Perhaps you want to renovate it and then cash in on a rising market. Maybe you see it as being part of a bigger picture and you have plans to retire there. It is completely up to you. The world really is your oyster.

8) Less Competition

You have less competition. If you choose to invest overseas then you will find that you have less competition, especially if you get into an emerging economic market early doors. However, this might make it more daunting for you. You can employ a company to help you. There are companies who can help you with the legals and offer you support and guidance when investing in overseas property. There are also companies who can offer support for managing the property.

Questions You Need To Ask Yourself

Before you take the plunge and start investing in property overseas, you need to ask yourself some questions. You

need to ask yourself whether you see this as being a long-term investment. Is this somewhere you picture yourself

retiring to in the future? If so you need think about what your requirements will be in the future. Ask yourself the

following –

• Will I want a garden or a pool?

• How many bedrooms will I need? Will I be having the children ( possibly grandchildren) to stay?

• Do I want to be on the beach, in the city or in the country?

• How close do I want to be to my home country? A couple of hours by plane or am I happier to be further away?

• Is it a safe neighborhood?

• What is the healthcare system like?

These are all important questions you need to be able to answer. They will help you determine where the best

country for you to buy is and what it is that you want from your property. If you are still keen on investing abroad

then congratulations! You are about to go on an exciting adventure and not only are you investing in your future but

you are also investing in your family’s future. Get researching and find that dream home of yours! You will encounter

difficulties and it will be challenging at times but remember that this isn’t a process you need to go along on your

own. There is plenty of help out there and also other people who have invested abroad too. Use these people as

they will be a great source of help and support for you.

Good luck!

Buying a property is one of the biggest investments you will make and so it is critical that you do so with a huge amount of care and consideration. Your property search is not something that should be taken lightly. Not only do you need to make sure you are satisfied with the villa or apartment itself, but you need to remember that you are also investing in the location. Plus, you need to consider the housing market and whether your purchase makes sense financially. It’s a lot to take into account, which is why working with an experienced and reputable property agent is a necessity. 

Everyone has different needs, so you need a real estate agent who understands yours

There are many agents that can assist you when looking for townhouses for sale. However, they do not all provide the same level of service. And, of course, the buying process can differ from person-to-person. Sometimes acquiring a property can be complex and lengthy due to financial or legal issues. A good quality agent will ensure that hassle is minimised as much as possible.

Put as much effort into your property search as you did saving for the deposit 

People spend all of their lives working hard so that they can afford a property. When you have put so much effort in to get to this stage, it’s only right that you give the property search the commitment it deserves. You don’t want to fall at the final hurdle. You need to consider all of your options carefully so you can be certain that you make the right investment for you. 

What should you consider from your location?

With that being said, when it comes to location, it is all about what works for you! If you’re purchasing for investment, you may want to look overseas, such as the likes of Mallorca. Mallorca is a place that offers the best of the Mediterranean, with its sunny weather, beaches, and numerous attractions. More and more people move to this part of the world every year so that they can enjoy a better standard of living. However, you need to know how to navigate the property market effectively so you can find the best deals and stay away from inflated prices if you are going to go overseas. If you are looking for your forever home, you need to think about where you want to put down roots and what sort of location is going to be right for your family.  

When looking for the best property for sale at affordable prices, make the time and effort to find an estate agent with a lot of care. Make sure they gather all of the best properties in your area of choice in one place, so you can easily and conveniently conduct your property search. You should be able to easily read about the property and the facilities it offers, as well as looking at photographs and assessing the price. This is the best way to find your dream property.