Have you ever walked around your house with a critical eye toward home maintenance? Chances are, you’ll find a few home improvement projects that need your attention. Whether it’s fixing broken steps or painting the exterior, you can always find a project that will boost your curb appeal.

Here are three easy steps to add curb appeal to your home:

• Paint, paint, paint: This is the most cost-effective home improvement project around, but it doesn’t have to be labor-intensive. Look for areas where touch-up painting will get you through until the spring. When in doubt regarding color, take a few chips to a paint store and ask someone to color match it.
• Landscaping: A new sidewalk, a patio or deck, or a row of ornamental trees can do wonders. If now’s too late to plant in your climate, make a plan for your spring landscaping. Here are some ideas from HGTV
• Replacement windows: These can add curb appeal and give potential buyers a reason to relax about the purchase. Windows are an investment, so it helps to take care of these types of projects before putting your home on the market. Replacement windows also help with energy-efficiency and make the house a whole lot warmer in the winter! Here are a few factors to consider:
  • The number of window panes: The more the merrier, but the price goes up a little with each pane of glass
  • Argon insulating gas: It’s nice to have, but compare prices to see if it adds value for your situation.
  • Tax credits: Many replacement windows, like these from Pella, qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $1,500.

If you’re leaning toward adding a patio, you’ll need to think about which material to use. Among the most popular for contractors to install are bricks, concrete and stone. Being an old house lover, I’m a big fan of “real” bricks, the clay ones that have been around for a long time. There also are concrete pavers shaped like bricks that can do the trick with any home improvement project.

Patios: Color is Important
If you’ve never shopped for bricks before, look out. The contractors may try to warn you, but the color selection is almost too much. From red to orange, blue to gray, the choice of colors is almost unlimited.

Take a few samples home and live with them for awhile. Also, realize the boxes often come with mixed color ranges, so if you want mostly red or orange, ask the contractor to focus on those bricks. You may have extras left over or have to buy another section of bricks, but if color is important, it’s worth it.

Selecting Materials for Your Patio
With any patio material, look for a color that will blend in with your exterior housing material or create a contrast. Also coordinate the color with your driveway and walkways so it all blends together.

If you prefer concrete, there is the poured slab type, which definitely should be done by a contractor, and the concrete squares you can find at a home improvement store. Either should do the trick–it just depends on your remodeling budget and tastes.

Natural stone is another great product and one that many high end contractors use. Stone can be pricey, however, so talk with your contractor about ways to contain the cost. Perhaps you do a concrete patio with a raised stone flower bed along one side?

Shop around, look at pictures, and talk to a few contractors. This is a big home improvement investment, so take your time and get the look you want.

One great way to shape your outdoor entertaining is with a patio or deck. Both home improvement projects can do wonders for extending your reach into the outdoors while providing a good place for lounging and entertaining.

Installing a Patio: Some Thoughts
We once installed a slate patio ourselves, with several friends helping, and it was worth it in the end. We picked a patio because it fit in with our landscaping and allowed us to walk from the patio to the yard. If you nestle shrubs and flowerbeds around a patio, they can become a natural part of the landscaping, surrounding your patio with life and bright colors.

However, if you are thinking of installing your own patio, remember that both the preparation and building of the deck take time and preparation. You may want to enlist the assistance of a contractor, as patio installation typically requires design work, the right tools and labor, as well as significant amounts of heavy lifting.

Should You Install a Deck?
Decks can also be a great addition, but may fit better in a setting where the terrain is not so even and you want to come out from a kitchen that is raised up from the ground. Deck contractors do not always build patios, so you may need to interview different contractors depending on which route you take. For the do-it-yourselfers, I always recommend caution when it comes to building a deck. Do you have the time, materials, and carpentry skills to make it work?

Get Creative When Installing a Patio or Deck
Regardless which home improvement project you choose, look for quality materials and get a little fancy with the shapes. Many people do rectangular patios, which can seem stark. Try adding a few curves where you can add a fire pit or small seating area.

If you are looking for ideas, pictures of decks and patios can be a good place to start. Using the ideas of others can help you refine what you want in your deck or patio–from size and shape, to style and color.

Selecting the color of your patio, walkway or driveway is a lot trickier than it seems. There are probably a few hundred options when you get into colors, borders and accent colors. This is true for remodeling projects that involve clay bricks or concrete pavers. Here’s a fun color selector!

That’s one reason why it pays to work with a good landscaping contractor who knows the various landscaping materials and can offer advice. Your contractor may suggest an orange brick to blend with the blue trim on your house or a gray brick if you want a more subtle look.

Ask the Contractor 

One key question is whether you want to blend or contrast. Do you want your house paint colors to stand out and the patio to blend into the overall landscaping? Or, do you want the bright red walkways and patio to be the focal points? If you wanted to blend, select the same brick as the house in this image. read more »

If you’re leaning toward adding a patio, you’ll need to think about which material to use. Among the most popular for contractors to install are bricks, concrete and stone.

Being an old house lover, I’m a big fan of “real” bricks, the clay ones that have been around for a long time. There also are concrete pavers shaped like bricks that can do the trick with any home improvement project. http://www.unilock.com/products/

If you’ve never shopped for bricks before, look out. The contractors will try to warn you, but the color selection is almost too much. http://www.pinehallbrick.com/ ….red, orange,gray, black tones, on and on. read more »

Many homeowners buy a house with the intention of making additions or updating it soon after they are moved in. Are you thinking your house needs some renovations, but aren’t sure what? Take a look at some of the choices homeowners today are making when it comes to their homes:

• White interior walls. Many painters find that homeowners are selecting white paint for the interior of their homes.

• Earth tones outdoors. For the exteriors of their homes, homeowners are choosing brown, gray, and other earth tones.

• Large additional rooms. Homeowners are requesting sunrooms, exercise rooms, screened porches, and larger, more detailed bathrooms.

• Tile floors. The most popular type of flooring is tile, though there is a growing, gradual selection of natural materials that can be recycled for floors.

For you forward-thinking homeowners, some hot new features already present in a few homes are starting to slowly become more popular and affordable. Dare to dream when it comes to what you would like to see in your home. Here are some features you may be seeing more and more of in the future: read more »

It’s easy to see why homeowners select concrete driveways. Concrete is durable, low maintenance, and has a quality appearance. A variety of colors, patterns and texture give the homeowner a selection. All of these choices are useless, however if a short while after you invest in a quality driveway it becomes cracked and stained.

Pouring concrete correctly is crucial to an attractive and problem-free driveway. Here’s a few of the most important points to consider when installing concrete:

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