The first story is about a 1912 stucco Tudor home:

The first couple bought their home in 1981 for around $53,000. Built in 1912, their stucco Tudor home had two bedrooms and a full bathroom on the second floor and contained 800 square feet on the first floor, 750 on the second, and 700 in the basement.

Immediate Repairs Needed

Unfortunately, when they first bought their home, they were faced with repairs. The house had been sitting vacant for a year before they purchased it. During that time, water pipes and heat radiators had frozen. The house also had an old oil boiler.

They removed the oil boiler and installed inner thermal electric water radiant baseboard heat. But the baseboard heating system did not prove to be efficient; there were no storm windows, and the house still had cold spots. They contacted the local electrical utility company to have their home converted to gas (hot water and furnace) and to qualify for the Weatherization Program. They sold the radiators and some of the thermal baseboards to a used building supply. The rest of the inner thermal baseboards were sold to a friend and donated to a local charity.

The Weatherization Program helps customers identify and repair areas where energy may be lost due to inadequate insulation and inefficient doors and windows. Financial assistance may be offered by the electrical utility company to qualifying customers for taking weatherization steps. For example, grants may be offered to help cover a portion of the cost of insulating attics, walls, and floors over heated areas. A small grant may be paid toward replacing existing windows with more energy efficient windows. An energy audit determines the exact amount of each grant, and the grant does not need to be repaid. Any remaining balance after the work is completed and the grant has been awarded is the homeowner’s responsibility. There may be a weatherization program in your area—you will want to contact your local electrical utility company for more information.

While the house appeared large, the rooms were small. With children still at home, it was time for an expansion. The thought of moving never entered the picture—they liked the neighborhood—but they didn’t know how to add on without losing the integrity of the home. An architect friend drew some plans that the couple liked so well that they hired a contractor and started their project in September 1993.

The Remodeling Experience

The contractor was to be responsible for excavation, foundations, framing, plumbing, roofing, insulation, and drywall. In order to save money, they purchased the windows which the contractor installed. They also did the demolition with the help of their 13-year-old son, and they did their own wiring—all 4,500 feet of it!

Another area where they saved (or in this case, made) money, was by putting their detached single-car garage up for sale. They ran a classified ad in the local newspaper that read “Garage for Sale,” which most people read as “Garage Sale.” Boy, were these people surprised when they showed up looking for furniture and trinkets! Once sold, the garage was relocated and the couple didn’t have to go through the process of tearing it down.

The completed addition is a dream come true as it gives the homeowners the extra room they need and want. The square footage of their home was increased by 800 square feet per floor, including the 800-foot double-car garage at basement level. The addition includes a new kitchen, full bathroom, and a mud/laundry room on the first floor. The second floor has a master bedroom, an extra bedroom, a full bathroom, and a rebuild of the original bathroom.

Final Thoughts

This house finished out with four bedrooms and three baths, not to mention the original sun room, a deck over the garage (using a special membrane material so water will not leak into the garage), and the original basement that incorporated extra rooms. The new addition was finished to match the existing home, both exterior and interior.

By the time the job was completed, the couple put between $80,000 and $90,000 into the project. For a time, their home outpriced the rest of the neighborhood, but this was of little concern to them. They like the neighborhood and plan to stay there, and that was their main reason for doing the project.

Stay tuned for stories two and three…

The question then is how to pick your colors. A great place to start is with your own preferences. Think of place or things that please you and the colors they have or evoke. The inspiration may come from a fabric, food or place. Color is everywhere, pay close attention and you can find ones that excite, or calm you.

You can also make a trip to the paint store where there are hundreds of paint chips to choose from along with small sample cans for purchase. These small samples allow you to try the color at home on a larger area and can be a great way to test your final choices before committing to them.

Designers use a storyboard to create a mock up design of a room. Create your own storyboard using pictures or clippings from magazines that illustrate designs and colors that you like. Add to this your paint chips, fabric swatches, floor plan, photos of accessories and any other decorating and remodeling ideas you would like to use in the space. Pooling these items allows you to see how they will all work together.

In this economy, though, who can afford to give their teenager the room decor of his or her dreams? Actually, you can – if you get your teen involved in the planning and execution of her room redesign.

What’s more, involving teens in redesigning their own rooms teaches them valuable budgeting and home improvement skills that will serve them well when they own homes someday. Focus your teen room redesign project on teaching a handful of important skills, including:

* Budgeting – Allowing your teen to update her decor is a great way to teach her budgeting basics. Start out by deciding how much cash you’ll contribute to her efforts and how much she’ll have to come up with on her own. Help her allocate her funds by deciding what she most wants to change about her room. Can she live with the carpet if she wants to buy a pricier bed? Is the wall color OK as long as she can have new linens and drapes?

* Painting – It’s the simplest, most cost-effective way to give a room a completely new look and if your teenager learns how to paint well now, he’ll never fear the job later when he has to tackle it in his own home. If you’re not confident about your own painting skills, sign yourself and your child up for a class in the basics at your local home improvement store.

* Flooring – Installing, hardwood floors, tile and vinyl can often exceed the cost of the materials. Learning how to install carpet yourselves can be a great money-saver, allowing your teen to stretch his budget and acquire a valuable skill at the same time.

* Wallpaper murals –Unexpectedly easy to install, wallpaper murals are a great, cost-effective way to make a bold, personalized statement in any room. Look for a company, like Environmental Graphics, that offers teen-friendly images and complete online instructions for installation. Visit www.DecorPlace.com to learn more.

* Linens and drapes – The lesson here can be twofold – either how to shop for and find great linens and drapes at discount prices, or how to make your own at a fraction of the cost you would pay to buy them. If you possess basic sewing skills, you can easily help your teen tackle making his or her own drapes and linens. Or, you can both enroll in a sewing class at your local community college to perfect your skills.

Helping your teenager redecorate her room can be a great way to teach her valuable skills, refresh your own abilities and enjoy a memorable experience together.

Masterpiece mirrors

Occupying a majority of wall space in most baths, plate-glass mirrors are functional, yet not very aesthetically pleasing. To solve this problem, add easy-to-install mirror frames, such as Mirrorscapes by Moen, which are available in five different styles and a variety of finishes to beautifully coordinate in your bath.

All you need for this project is a measuring tape, marker, a saw and about 30 minutes. Mirrorscapes proprietary installation system makes transforming a plate-glass mirror quick, easy and secure. Installation templates perfectly position the mounting brackets, ensuring proper alignment of the frame straights and decorative corners. No angled miter cuts are necessary.

Pretty painting

Adding color can dramatically transform any room, and luckily painting is an extremely simple project. However, success lies in the initial preparation and tools you use to get the job done.

Before you even open a can of paint, be sure to repair any holes or cracks, wash the walls, tape off trim and windows and cover furniture and floors with canvas or plastic drop cloths. Next, be sure you have a quality paint brush and roller cover – as cheap options can lose bristles, shed or spread paint unevenly. Finally, choose a quality latex paint, in your favorite color and start painting. By using preparatory steps and products like the pros, you’ll ensure your end results will look like you hired a costly professional.

Admirable accessories

Since your paper holder, tank lever or towel bars in the bath are functional, you may have never thought about replacing them. However, this simple project takes minutes, requires no special tools, and new updated styles and finishes can greatly enhance the look and functionality of your bath.

Start by choosing accessories that coordinate with the other finishes in your bath. Manufacturers offer a variety of styles that perfectly match or coordinate with the style and finish of your faucet. To keep towels off the floor and clutter off the countertops, add unique accessories, such as a double towel bar or glass shelf. To entice you to change the paper, update your spring-loaded paper holder with a pivoting paper holder. Finally, add a distinctive touch with a perfectly coordinating decorative tank lever.

Each of these accessories installs in minutes. Just screw the mounting hardware into the wall and lock the decorative accessory into place. Toilet tank levers are equally as easy – no need to turn off the water or drain the tank.

Stylish safety

With its wet and hard surfaces, the bathroom is a danger zone for slips and falls. Luckily, grab bars, an ideal way to prevent falls, are now easy to install and stylish too. Like accessories, choose a grab bar in a finish and style that coordinates with your bath. Moen’s SecureMount Grab Bars are available in a variety of styles, finishes and lengths and feature an exclusive installation system that will give even a novice DIYer peace of mind. Simply drill a hole in the location you would like the grab bar (no need to find a stud); install the SecureMount Anchor into the hole, screw on the mounting hardware and attach the grab bar.

Each of these simple projects can be accomplished with very little expertise, time or expense – but your enjoyment of your new bath will be immeasurable.

Often times, however, that itch causes renovators and weekend warriors to hastily begin projects and thus make a colossal painting mistake: not planning out the project.

Consumers who plan their painting projects from start to finish will generally save time and money. With a plan in place, there are fewer opportunities for blunders and mishaps. Consider these basic preparation skills before your next painting project to help ensure everything comes together without a hitch.

Timeline
Yes, painting is relatively quick and painless, but it is not instantaneous. If you start painting at 4 p.m., you’ll be up all night. Before beginning your project, make sure you determine how long each step will take. Allow for appropriate drying time for both primer and actual paint application. If you begin applying paint over wet primer — or a second coat over a wet first coat — you’ll have a big mess on your hands. Best practices call for at least an hour to two hours of drying time for most interior latex paints.

Start with a clean canvas
Many people simply want to slap the paint on the walls and don’t take the time to think about surface preparation. If you paint a new color on top of walls that are already cracked and full of nail holes, the new paint is not going to adhere correctly and will look bumpy and messy.

Instead, plan on washing the walls thoroughly and spackling any holes in the drywall before you apply the first coat of primer. A clean surface allows for a more even application and better quality finish. And don’t forget to use primer. Primer allows the paint to better grip the wall surface and thus helps to avoid cracking and peeling.

End with a clean canvas
If you start clean, you’ll end clean. That means you have to prepare for the final cleanup. Always be sure to secure drop cloths and painter’s tape to any area you don’t want covered with tiny little paint flecks. If you make sure to cover any exposed furniture, electronics, appliances and keep small children out of the room, you’ll spend far less time cleaning up after you’ve finished painting.

Up a creek without a brush
Consumers sometimes forget that the tools they use to paint are just as important as choosing the right paint. A good rule of thumb is to have a multi-use painter’s tool, a sturdy roller frame with multiple roller covers and a few different sized brushes.

Cheap price means cheap quality
Although the color of your paint is the most visible aspect, the quality of the paint is much more important. If you choose the cheapest paint available, and then it starts to fall off the wall, it won’t matter what color it is. Some of the best quality paints are those manufactured specifically for durability.
Make sure to research your paint selection. If you don’t plan on purchasing good quality paint, plan on a lackluster result and constant touchups.

Color conscious
There are a multitude of tools available to help you choose the right color for your space — everything from handheld color chips to poster sized adhesive sheets to actual sample size containers of paint. More importantly, don’t forget to choose colors that will flow from room to room.

Color flow refers to how the colors in each room of your home mesh and blend with each other. Having a deep red dining room buttressed directly against a soft green kitchen with white trim may eventually feel like you’re living in a Christmas tree. Make sure to stay in the same color family. If you really love browns and reds, then stay in the warm and neutral color family. Don’t paint one room blue (a cool color) and have the very next room orange (a warm color). It won’t look right.

The following is a short lesson from Dave Donovan at doityourself.com that will help you understand color and the way different colors work together.

Understanding Color

First, there are three primary colors – red, blue and yellow. All other colors have their base in one of these three primaries. Next are the secondary colors. Secondary colors are what you get when two primary colors are mixed in equal parts, such as combining red and blue to create violet. Lastly, we have the tertiary colors, which are created by combining a primary color with a secondary color. Understanding the primary base colors and their derivatives makes it easier to choose two colors that accentuate each other.

So, What are Color Schemes?

Color schemes are collections of certain colors that work together in a pleasing fashion. There are four types of color schemes – complementary, monochromatic, triadic and adjacent.

Complementary Color Schemes – Complimentary colors are two opposite colors on the color wheel that when combined create a dramatic contrast, like using red as the primary and green for the accents.

Monochromatic Color Schemes – Monochromatic color schemes are based on a single hue, like blue, but with two variations used, like dark blue and light blue.

Triadic Color Schemes – Triadic color schemes are created using three equidistant colors on the color wheel. This type of color scheme is more difficult to come develop and is most commonly applied by a professional with an experienced eye.

Adjacent Color Schemes – Adjacent color schemes are designed using two colors from the color wheel that are either right next to each other or nearby. This scheme can employ a number of harmonic colors, like blue, green and blue-green.