At the sight of some homes, we are meant to believe that they are a reserve for the rich or those with a hefty inheritance. At the thought of a lush, luxurious compound, some are quick to dismiss the possibility that they can sit in such, not as a hotel guest or one at a rich friend’s home. However, dreams are valid and you can dream your mansion into reality. Of course, I am not alluding to day-dreaming but having a mental picture of what you want and telling yourself it is possible. Just in case you did not know, you cannot get what your mind cannot conceive.

Hoping that is settled, there are some things you can do to move towards ensuring you achieve this dream home.

Break the big project into small projects: Working with the assumption that you have your plot and house built but are looking to beautify the place, one of the things you ought to do is to break down the workload into projects. The reason why many of us fail to get anything done is because we look at the project, ‘home beautification’ as one big chunk. That way, we get overwhelmed and fail to make anything happen. However, if we start by breaking this into smaller projects such as painting, and gardening, we start to see light at the end of the tunnel. Further break these into even smaller projects. For instance, if it is painting, the smaller items therein are sanding, applying undercoat mixed with white cement, sanding for smoothness and even feel, applying undercoat and then painting. When you do this, while the work seems to feel a lot, you have a better understanding of how to schedule your time as well as know what is needed. Planning is eased.

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects: If you are the kind that would not mind getting your hands dirty, then you will gladly welcome the fact that you can do some home improvement projects yourself. We could start by looking at what you love doing. It could be gardening, painting, or even making crafts. Get the materials needed, just in case you do not yet have them and get started on a project. For instance, if you love gardening, a small shovel, a small garden fork, and a trowel will come in handy.

The next thing could be finding the ideal spot for the garden, ensuring it is levelled up, getting the ideal soil and plants and then you start planting. However, in some instances, you may need to do some reading to help you understand some things you may not know such as the right place to put your garden, the right outdoor plants, and the like. Gardening does not only mean tilling the ground as you can have container garden where you use containers to plant flowers, herbs and spices, depending on your preferences. Moreover, with containers, you have several places to have your garden such as hanging garden, a patio garden or one on the veranda. That way, you are not limited as you can do it in bits.

Put in some work: In some instances, you may not be as knowledgeable as required to carry out a project, it is better that you seek professional help. For instance, some woodwork might need a lot more knowledge than simply hitting a few nails into the wood. Another example is painting where several things must be done in a particular order lest the project fails. In such instances, to cut back on expenses, do as much work such as cleaning up rather than hiring an extra hand.

Another example is gardening where you can work with a professional gardener to pick out the right plants, learn how to space them as well as determining the ideal plants for indoors as well as outdoors.

In so doing, you will also learn more which will equip you to be able to carry your weight in future. That also helps you to be able to expand projects while incorporating your tastes.

When you follow these, your homeowner dreams will become more achievable irrespective of your budget and schedule.

Joan S, a journalist, blogger, and parenting coach