subject: Bored With Your Home? Tips To Improve Your Home! [print this page] Making home improvements doesn't have to mean completing complex tasks. It also doesn't have to mean spending big bucks. There are many projects that you can complete with just a little guidance. In this article we will provide tips on some simple and cost effective improvements that you could do this weekend.
Plant some trees around your home. Trees increase in value as they get bigger and will shade your house and help to save energy. The shade they provide can keep your house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. When planting trees, they can be the walls and roofs of outdoor rooms.
Painting is a perennial task. Water-based latex paints make for the easiest clean-up. You only need soap and water. But sometimes oil paint is best for a job. It is longer lasting. When cleaning up from oil paint, use cooking oil on your brushes to dissolve the paint. Then you can use soap and water.
If you have watercolor paintings hanging in your home, try to place them where they do not receive direct sunlight. The sun, or any bright light, will cause the colors to fade over time. Your treasured paintings may lose their vibrancy--and value. Keeping them out of the sunlight will help preserve their colors.
To save on your energy bill, try changing your light bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs and LED light bulbs cost more than regular light bulbs, but use less energy to light your home and last longer. You should see returns on your monthly energy bill in no time after replacing all of the normal bulbs in your home with these.
When doing a DIY home improvement project, put safety first. Make sure you wear protective equipment such as a hard hat and goggles when needed. Use power tools (especially ones you are not familiar with) with extreme caution. Read the directions and ask for help when needed. Home improvement stores are a great resource of information.
Spend some time in your prospective neighborhood driving and walking through. You should have some idea about the kind of maintenance your new neighbors apply to their homes. If the area seems run down with overgrown yards and untidy homes, you will want to rethink moving into the area.
Before you start painting a room, it is best to know about how much paint you need. Measure the length of the walls in the room you plan to paint and add them together. Next, measure the height of the room. Multiply the height by the length. The square foot of the room is the answer you get. One gallon of paint will generally cover 350 square feet.
So there you have it, several simple and inexpensive tasks that will improve the value and quality of your home. Tackle one or two at a time, make them a weekend project, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Follow the tips we have provided and you'll be on your way to improving your home like the pros.
