Home Improvement

Home Improvement Stuff is a collection of ideas from our network of DIY experts and do-it-yourself contributors like you. Home Improvement expert advice on remodeling, upgrades, tools, and products. Ideas, photos, how-to videos, and step-by-step projects on kitchens, bathrooms, living spaces, faucets, exteriors, lighting, plumbing, storage, heating and cooling, doors and windows, door knobs, and more..
Home Improvement

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Whether your house’s fixtures are decades out-of-date, or you bought a house that needs a major overhaul, you’ve come to the right place. Whatever your home improvement needs, this blog will address your issues and give you tips for keeping up with the most modern trends while increasing your home’s value and making it more energy efficient.

For instance, did you know that where you place your kitchen appliances can make it more or less green-friendly? And the paint color you choose can make a small room feel very roomy… or absolutely claustrophobic. The answers to these questions as well as in-depth looks at the following five topics make this blog an important resource for all your home improvement projects. Read on if you want to…

1. Improve Your Home with New HardwareLittle things like this may not take much investment on your part, but they could make an incredible amount of difference in your home. Glass and polished brass door knobs went out of vogue a long time ago. If you feel overwhelmed, however, start small, and visit here often for the latest tips.

If you’re going for the most modern look, consider door levers over traditional knobs in the following finishes: Oil Rubbed Bronze, Tuscan Bronze, or Satin Nickel. Once you’ve chosen a finish that you like, you can replace your old door knobs and transform old doors without the first coat of paint. From there, you may like the new look so much that you want to progress to your cabinets knobs and drawer pulls. New bathroom accessories such as towel bars and toilet paper holders can dress up your bathroom with just a little effort on your part.

2. Install Attractive and Energy-Saving Lights and FansIf your house’s lighting is still builder-standard, you likely have an over-abundance of cheap-looking brass chandeliers and cut-glass globes. Online home improvement stores’ lighting sections are an excellent place to start. Read labels carefully to ensure that the lights you plan to buy are energy efficient. There are many brands that boast lights that are both in keeping with modern styles and save energy.

As for Ceiling Fans, you could significantly lower your energy bill if you know what to buy. There are energy-efficient ceiling fans available as well, but there is another tip that you need to remember: if your ceiling fan is too close to to the ceiling, you won’t get the maximum benefit from it. The higher your ceiling, the longer the rod needs to be that attaches the fan to the ceiling mount. Your hardware store will have guides to help you.

3. Increase the Value of Your Home with an Updated BathroomNothing is as unattractive to guests and potential buyers as a dingy, old bathroom. Try as you might to keep it clean, the more water you run through your toilet, tub, and sink, the more rust, water rings, and soap scum accumulates. Pastel tubs and commodes that match your floral-pattern tiles and wallpaper date your bathroom, as well.

Yet simple DIY projects, such as steaming off wallpaper and repainting a neutral color or adding molding to your builder-standard mirror to give it a more professional look can go a long way toward making your bathroom feel new. And while you might balk at the cost of replacing your faucets and toilet, low-flow versions of both will save your water bill, while bringing the look of your bathroom up to twenty-first century standards.

Home buyers will overlook old wallpaper and carpets in the master bedroom if the master bath has these and other upgrades. Even if you don’t plan to sell any time soon, you will enjoy the decrease of you monthly utilities bill and the feel of a new house in your improved bathroom.

4. Make Your Kitchen as User- and Energy-Friendly as PossibleWhen whole television channels became devoted to cooking, kitchens suddenly became the most important room in any house. The roomier and the more updated, the better. But even if you don’t have much room, improving the flow of your kitchen and maximizing all your vertical space with cabinetry can make up for a lack of square footage.

Like bathrooms, an ugly kitchen is a hard sell. Keep in mind that an old kitchen, while clean, may appear unsanitary. You want guests or potential buyers to feel welcome and, even more important, at ease in this space. A tile backsplash that can be easily cleaned, a new kitchen faucet, kitchen sink combo with a water-filter attachment, and tiles with a tan or grey grout that don’t show dirt are the first steps toward a clean and modernized kitchen. From there, you can go the route of custom built-ins for display dinnerware, a corner, bench-seat table to conserve space, and energy-efficient appliances so your kitchen can be as green as possible.

Whether you prefer rich, dark woods or all white cabinets and appliances, you will find a wide variety of styles that are popular now and will continue to appeal to kitchen lovers. No longer just a place to cook, if your kitchen is inviting, it can be a place for family and friends to gather and enjoy enticing aromas and make sweet memories.

5. Transform Your House into a HomeMany people buy houses that need a little work, and although they have the best of intentions, they give up when they feel they have too many projects to complete on their own and not enough money to pay a professional. These houses become more like permanent hotels, and the people living in them are not only embarrassed to entertain but eat out and go to others’ homes as often as possible.

We’re here to say it doesn’t have to be that way. Simple fixes, starting with new paint and floors, new hardware and lights, can not only make an old house more attractive to anyone who sees it but start to bring it closer to the original dream you had when you first bought it.

Home improvement can happen over time and on any budget, and taking on a home improvement project doesn’t mean you had to take shop class in high school. If you’re willing to start with a little investment – of time, money, creativity, and so on – even small projects can make a big difference.

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