Do it yourself home improvements can be a breeze

When you look around your house, condo or apartment do you take a deep sigh and say to yourself, “I wish I could fix that”? Or think, “I want to change the way everything looks; it’s not me.” Think positively and, as they say, “just do it.”

You’d be surprised how easy do it yourself home improvements can be when you’re online and access the many catalogs available to make your tasks less formidable. Of course, you might have to do most of the work, but there are so many resources to get you started. If you think do it yourself home improvements are beyond your capabilities, think again. All you need is a plan, a list of resources, and, of course, the time.

For many of us, the latter is the real problem. This is when friends come in handy. It’s more fun (and faster) when you have extra helping hands. Plans can be found online as well as easy-to-follow instructions and suggestions. Your local building supply store also has plans for doing it yourself home improvements as well as color schemes and easy-to-follow instructions. Plans can also be accessed online to make your decision-making process easier and less time-consuming.

The easiest way to change your home decor is to change your color scheme. Check out all the online catalogs that offer a myriad of home decor ideas for color schemes for a new look for your home décor utilizing not only paint but wall coverings, blinds, and carpeting.

And, you would be amazed at the difference a few new throw pillows and new slipcovers can do to make a rather worn and tired living room sparkle with new vitality. Look at the rooms you want to change and tackle one room at a time. It’s less daunting and easier to see immediate change. It’s a real ego booster too. Think about having a painting party for your friends (after the work is done)!

The fastest way to get immediate gratification in achieving a new look for your home is to paint the walls. A change in color is a rapid transformation in the truest sense. However, when you are buying paint for your new home decor ideas, consider the type of paint you want to use on each wall.

If the wall will be subjected to more cleaning (for, example, the kid’s room or the kitchen), scrubable paint would be preferable. One problem with using flat paint on interior walls is that it can be washed, but it doesn’t take kindly to scrubbing. If you scrub it with a damp cloth, you’ll remove the dirt or smudge but exposed pigment particles actually become burnished or polished – which ruins the finish. To avoid this, it’s better to choose a high-performance eggshell (not flat) paint.

For bathrooms and the kitchen, easily washed enamel paint would be a good choice. Latex and acrylic paints afford soap and water clean-up of brushes and other utensils (as opposed to oil-based paints). Discuss your needs with a paint specialist at your paint supply store. Some new high-performance finishes are amazingly easy to clean – you just sponge them off as if you were wiping off a countertop. Ketchup, food, scuff marks, mud, fingerprints…all of these things just wipe clean. For those of you with children, you know how important this is.

Perhaps the most remodeled rooms are the bathroom and the kitchen. Maybe that’s because recent home buyers’ surveys have shown that of all the rooms in a home or a condo that can make or break a sale are the bathroom and the kitchen, with greater emphasis than any other rooms. Even if you’re not interested in selling now, it’s always good to look to the future. Besides, a new look is always good for the psyche! You can find great bathroom remodeling ideas and kitchen remodeling ideas online.

However, if you start changing all the fixtures and cabinets at one time, your expenses can get very high. Look at less costly ways to achieve a whole new look—- paint (a faux finish is easy), a touch of tile for accent, or new cabinet knobs.

A new shower curtain, for the bathroom, inexpensive wall prints, and new towels can do wonders. Ideas for bathroom remodeling are numerous—from ultra extravagant to conservative. The same is true for kitchen remodeling ideas. Get your creative juices flowing and take the plunge!