| One of the things that I am amazed at is how many | | | | branches that the color is hidden. First, trim the low |
| people allow their homes to be in such a state of | | | | branches to raise the canopy of your tree. Second, |
| disrepair and weathered looking until it comes time to | | | | add some color with shutters, flowers, garden flags, a |
| sell their home. I did this with the first home I lived in, | | | | colored front door, etc. The overall goal of tip two and |
| and after getting the house ready for sale, I realized | | | | three is to give your home better curb appeal. |
| what a nice looking home we actually had. With just a | | | | The fourth tip is to go back indoors and look at your |
| few, low cost projects, you can not only enjoy the | | | | flooring. For less than $1,000 you can usually tear up |
| home you have now, but you can increase its value at | | | | the carpet and add a nice wood floor, or even replace |
| the same time. Here are five ideas that you can start | | | | the carpet with a high quality carpet. We have a |
| on this weekend. | | | | carpet warehouse that still charges by the square |
| The first tip is always the easiest and cheapest, which | | | | yard. Beware of the popular home improvement |
| is paint. Take a walk through your home and look at | | | | stores that charge by the square foot. It makes it |
| the ceilings. I would imagine they need some fresh | | | | much more expensive. I was able to replace three |
| white paint to help brighten up the room and give your | | | | bedroom carpets with high quality carpet for less than |
| rooms a cleaner look. You may want to keep the | | | | $1,000. New flooring modernizes your home in |
| walls the same color as they are now, or you may | | | | unimaginable ways. |
| want to change the look all together with a new color. | | | | The final tip is to do some tile work. Tile work is |
| Another idea, especially in the kitchen, is to paint one | | | | actually much easier than you might think. I removed |
| wall a different color as an accent. Paint is always one | | | | the linoleum in the bathrooms and installed tile floors. I |
| of the best ways to make the biggest difference. | | | | made the bathrooms look cleaner, more modern, and |
| The second tip is to go outside and look at your | | | | greatly improved the value of our home. I also added a |
| landscaping (or lack thereof). Trim the bushes so they | | | | tile back splash in our kitchen. Both were weekend |
| are not blocking the windows. Remove some bushes | | | | projects. Each bathroom was less than $300 for the |
| if it is highly overgrown, or add some bushes if it is | | | | tile, grout, adhesive, and rental of the tile saw. The |
| bare. One thing I have done is to drive in some nicer | | | | kitchen back splash was half that cost. |
| neighborhoods and found one or two houses that I | | | | Almost all these tips can be done by yourself and are |
| liked the landscaping, and then went home to try and | | | | fairly inexpensive. It may be that you can do one of |
| replicate what they had done. Also, plant grass in the | | | | these projects ever three to six months. Within a short |
| bare patches of your yard. Dirt yards are not | | | | time you will have modernized many of the features |
| attractive. | | | | of your home and made living in them more enjoyable. |
| The third tip is also low cost and similar to the second. | | | | I can guarantee that your friends and neighbors will |
| Most homes lack color outside. They could use | | | | compliment your improvements and will inspire them to |
| flowers or other features to add color to the outside | | | | make the changes too. |
| of their home. Or, their trees have such low hanging | | | | |