Replacing carpeting on stairs is simple unless you’ve got unusual tread shapes. With several pie shaped treads at the bottom of these stairs, we decided to have them made locally versus relying on the manufacturer’s supplier, just in case we ran into further problems. Luckily everything worked out well.

We planned for new stair treads plus removal and disposal of the carpeting and padding. What we didn’t know was the risers (vertical wood) also needed to be replaced due to builder quality stairs found. READ MORE

You know the color you need to pick up at the paint store … until you get to the store. Paint manufacturers offer hundreds of color choices that can be overwhelming so here are some tips on how you can pick your color with confidence.

• Bring swatches from home to match at the store, like a curtain, pillows that match your couch or a sheet of tile.
• Get large paint chips to audition colors in your home, like the Benjamin Moore, 5 x 9 inch chips we used in the bathroom photos below.
• Get a small sampler pint and test in the room where you plan to use it.

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This kitchen window seat was a winner, adding seating and storage for over sized kitchen pots. The homeowner originally wanted to add a matching kitchen cabinet with open shelving on the angled sides.

We looked at the framing required around the cabinet to support the weight of 2 or 3 people sitting there, and explained how much space would be lost to frame and integrate 3 components. Several sketches later and everyone agreed that a custom window seat would provide maximum storage with a white cabinet painted to match the shutters. READ MORE

Updating a bathroom can be as simple as a new coat of paint and coordinated towels to gutting the bathroom and starting from scratch, or anything in between. A common problem when remodeling a bathroom is running over budget because you start out planning to change just a few features and then you keep adding more.

In fact a small bathroom remodel can involve 100s of decisions as often one change requires other changes.We’ll look at just one bathroom remodel and show how the customer’s initial requirements grew over the life of the project. READ MORE

It’s easy to “say” you want to remodel your bathroom but understand it’s a lot of work, even if you’re only responsible for all the design and product decisions. With a bathroom remodel you might want a tile floor and maybe tile walls? Maybe it’s time to update the shower and/or bathtub and there are some exciting new choices here.  Those are the big decisions, but there are many smaller decisions that take lots of time to plan for, plus coordinating colors shopping for fixtures and materials.

Most people think working with a decorator is expensive, until you see how much time decorators can save you by recommending colors and textures they know work well together. They can also save you money by recommending  alternatives that are less costly or where to shop for the top quality materials at lower prices. READ MORE

Everyone has unique expectations of what good customer service entails. Maybe your parents own a business or your employer gives outstanding customer service. In Japan I found customer service beyond anything I’ve experienced elsewhere, stemming from a culture that works hard to never cause someone to lose face (read more).

At the same time, most homeowners have heard a horror story about contractors, the opposite of great customer service. The reality is most people deliver customer service based on their personal experience and the role models in their lives.  Your challenge is finding people and companies that offer the level of customer service you want. READ MORE

Installing wood floors is fairly complicated, even when you’re using pre-finished wood planks. At my handyman business, we install a fair amount of wood flooring but typically the customer has done all the planning, purchased the materials, arranged for delivery of the materials and we simply arrive and handle the installation.

As a homeowner, you can stretch these tasks over several months and never realize how much time went into the project. We had to work quickly and learned how complicated it can get when you look at the steps involved from initial planning to installation. Take a peak at what we did.

My handyman customers often want help installing a new floor. Sometimes the first question is whether they should go with a laminate floor, pre-finished hardwood or the traditional approach where you install the hardwood and finish (stain and coat with polyurethane) the floors after installation. For these customers, I’m able to recommend a flooring store where homeowners can review all sorts of flooring and get answers from an expert.

Other customers aren’t so lucky. They’ve already purchased the flooring and after a few failed attempts, call for help because it’s a bit more difficult than they were told. The worst scenario is a homeowner who thought they’d done a great job installing their floors but now find the floors buckling. Most often they didn’t do enough research to learn you need to leave room for the wood to expand and contract as the weather changes. READ MORE

When planning a bathroom remodel, start with a budget which tells you what you can afford, i.e.  one expensive feature like a tile floor? You might want several big ticket items but can’t afford them all this year. If you’re not sure which one is most important, taping pictures around your bathroom can help you see which feature you’ll use/enjoy most. You can also defer a big ticket item to the following year.

Any remodeling project is a huge investment of money and time. Leave time to plan the project so you maximize it’s value. Consider the value an appraiser will give your new bathroom, i.e. an $8,000 bathroom update in a home worth $160,000 makes sense but spending $25,000 doesn’t make sense. Use Remodeling Magazine’s annual “cost versus value” reports to learn the average cost for your bathroom remodel (see  Remodeling Trends here at Home Tips 4 Women). READ MORE

Picking paint colors is extremely difficult. You might want to use a blue or beige but there are literally hundreds of any one color to pick from. We worked with a decorator who created the design board at left, to help the customer pick their colors quickly. He wanted blue and picked sky blue from the multiple choices offered.

Fortunately we’ve learned to always audition new paint colors as shown below left. We painted just one wall of the bathroom undergoing renovations. Learn what happened next as the most careful planning doesn’t always work. READ MORE