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My husband and I just completed our first remodel. It was a period renovation of a Victorian Gingerbread Craftsman. (I’m so thrilled I can talk about it in the past tense). We haunted architectural salvage houses for just the right windows, bid on eBay for period-correct light fixtures, spent an entire afternoon driving all over L.A. for a screw that they stopped making in the thirties and generally worked to the point of insanity. Tiptoed up to the line but never crossed it.

So here, ripped from the headlines so to speak, are my
Top Ten Tips for Remodeling. Read ‘em and weep.

1. There is a solution to every situation. But it’s
not necessarily yours. You go where the solution is - it
doesn’t come to you.

2. There is no medicine for whatever ails you quite like hard, exhausting, purposeful work.

3. Chew your own food. Don’t make your
problems other peoples. They’ve got their own.

4. I’m not psychic. Maybe you are.
Guesstimates of time and money are just that.
Reality has a way of intruding. When in doubt - go
with Reality. (I don’t know when I’m going to die
either).

5. Pain fades with time. Remodeling is like giving
birth. When you’re in the middle of delivery you
swear you’ll never do it again. But then the kid turns out to
be a looker, a few years go by…..Yadda yadda yadda - you’re in escrow.

6. There are no problems - only opportunities
for creativity, action and collaboration.

7. You’re born alone, you die alone - you don’t
have to win alone. Everyone can win. Some win more
than others but there’s enough in the pot to spread
around. If you squeeze a vendor to bid a job so
low that they can’t make money, harbor
resentment and cut corners - you both lose.

8. Nobody owes you anything. If they help you
it’s because they’re generous people. Acknowledge
them.

9. Everything comes to an end. And then it starts
up again.

10. Remodeling really is like Improv. You show up
without a script. You have no idea what’s going to
happen next ( except you can be sure that whatever
you think it’ll be - you’re wrong). You’re dependent
on others for their performances. So help them shine.
You make it work by paying attention to everything
and dealing with whatever Reality presents to you. Do
the best you can with the resources you have and don’t forget to enjoy the ride.

11. Okay, I lied. There are more than Ten Tips to Remodeling. There are actually thousands. This last one, though, is the most important. Don’t forget to put yourself on your own Punch List. No pressure of work or money is reason enough not to eat right,sleep enough, monitor your health and appreciate your
family.

Mary Rosendale is a Certified Life Coach, Author, Speaker and serial remodeler. Visit her on the web at http://www.TheConstructedLife.com and sign up for her one-of-a-kind newsletter.

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Nothing can rejuvenate the exterior of a home quite like a fresh new coat of paint. A good paint job can make even the oldest home look like new, but it is important to make sure that the color you choose matches not only your sense of style but the surrounding landscape as well.

It is important to pay careful attention to the exterior landscape of your home when choosing the right color. It is also important to assess how you feel about the current color of your home. If you like the color of your home as it is, perhaps all you need to do is brighten it up a bit with a fresh coat of paint or a lighter shade.

If, however, you have always hated the exterior color of your home and wondered what the previous owners were thinking, it may be best to make a radical change. We have all seen those houses where everything is attractive except the color, and a radical departure may be in order. After all, if purple and pink is not your style it may be best to make a complete change, from the paint to the exterior landscape.

As you search for the perfect color for your home, it is a good idea to bring along a picture of your home and its current color scheme. Doing so will help you match your new exterior color to your existing landscape. For instance, if you have a dramatic landscape element like a red rosebush, you may want to accent that feature by using a contrasting color like yellow or white.

Likewise, if the exterior elements of your home are light, you may want to use a dramatic and dark color like brick red when remaking the exterior of your home. Either way, it is important to take the landscape elements of your home into account.

It is also important to shop carefully when buying your paint. It is important to buy the best quality paint you can afford. After all, no one wants to repaint their home every few years. If you skimp on the quality of the paint, you will end up repainting your home more quickly than you want. In addition, the color of poor quality paint will not hold up to sunlight, so your dramatic red house could end up looking somewhat pink in years to come.

Buying the best quality paint you can afford, and taking care to paint well, is the best way to improve both the beauty and the value of your home. Few home repairs are as effective, and as inexpensive, as a fresh new coat of paint.

For more information on home improvement and help with kitchen remodeling, take a look at our comprehensive home improvement guide at http://www.get-home-improvement.com. You can also chat with an expert contractor in our forum at http://www.home-improvement4u.com/forum/.

Brooke Sikula is a freelance writer based in Ventura, CA and maintains her own website at http://www.brookesikula.com. She is also a regular contributor to http://www.homesfix.com.

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Over the last 7 years or so we have gone through a barrage of different DIY programmes on TV, representing the countries need to be different within our homes. There was a time when, keeping up with your neighbours was the thing and wanting to have the “in colour scheme” or bathroom suite was the way to live our lives, but the DIY show revolution, gave us the confidence to be different from our neighbours and show our own personality through our home.

But after the “zillionth ” show (if there is such a word,) there was obviously going to come a time when the ideas ran out and we the public got bored with seeing the same things done with just a shade different here or there. But rather than giving up the ghost, there seems to be an upsurge in DIY houses, yes forget about the small jobs within an existing house, the British have now taken a bigger interest than ever in DIY, by building their own home.

Being pushed on from new TV programmes that show what is possible for the same money, as a ready-made home, has stimulated the entrepreneurial minds of many of the British public. Knowing that if they do it right, their home would immediately be worth more than they paid for it the day they moved in and have a home where every part of it was part of them.

Of course there are many countries out there, where building their own home is a common as fish and chips, but the “Brits” have up until recently left this mainly to the bold and brave, within a small island where land is more at premium than others and where new families don’t necessarily want a house next to their parents.

The positive point I see with the new TV programmes and magazine articles is showing the downfalls of taking on such ambitious projects. In most cases it ends up costing more than the initial budget and taking longer. Trying to get workmen to do what you want, keeping the quality of build together, dealing with weather issues, getting deliveries on time and even points you did not consider are all part of the trials of building your own home. But rather than putting people off, there is almost a feeling that this enormous challenge actually encourages a normally boring “9 to 5er” to get off their butt and do something with their lives. They can then not only show off their new beautiful home but feel good inside about the personal challenge they overcome to get there. They really do want their home to be their castle, built from sweat and tears.

Understanding that you can build your home from more than bricks, is doesn’t have to be square, it doesn’t have to conform to normal popular building practices, so long as it is safe and conforms to planning permission, really does open the mind to what can be achieved. The cost of the project is only market driven by the cost of the land. Then materials drive the rest of the project costs and labour costs, rather than house prices, which do mean if you get everything, right a very good investment opportunity. However DIY does not mean do everything yourself. Having professional support through the design stage and management of the project might seem expensive but could save you much more in lost time and correct building procedures in the long run. Because if you get this project wrong, a dream home can become a nightmare building site.

Mark is wbmaster for Home And Contents Insurance and Distance Learning and Spanish Car Hire

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