Home Improvement Projects Perfect For Women | SouthGate Chamber

Ladies, let?s get real for a minute. We?re not that handy. Is that shocking to any of you? It shouldn?t be.

Think about the last time there was a home improvement project going on in your home ? did you hire professionals? Did your husband or boyfriend do it? Did you enlist the help of your kids? What about friends and family?

It?s not too many home improvement projects that we do by ourselves without failing or giving up (not trying to insult those of you out there who are GREAT with the drill or hammer ? more power to you, ladies!) before the job is done. Wouldn?t you say it?s about time to change all of that?

Just because we don?t particularly enjoy getting down and dirty in our home improvement projects all the time like the men of the house usually do, certainly does not mean that we are unwilling to or incapable of doing it! Here are some impressive (yet very realistic) feats to tackle by yourselves to impress your man, your family and most importantly, yourself.

Kitchen Back Splash Project

Getting tired of the back splash that?s in your home, or just feeling the need for an update back there? Don?t hire anyone to come to your house to install new tiles for you ? there?s a much easier, and much cheaper, way to do it yourself.

PVC is a type of plastic that looks and feels very similar to tiles but is available at a fraction of the cost. You can head to a local hardware store to either have tiles cut from PVC, or purchase an entire sheet that?s already in a pattern of tiles so it looks like they?re all individual, but they?re really on one giant piece.

All you need is a simple adhesive and voila ? a new kitchen back splash that looks like a pro did the job. And the best part ? no power tools required!

Build A Walk-In Closet

Ah, every woman?s dream ? a giant walk-in closet! If you have a large closet to begin with or a room with some extra space to fill, consider installing a walk-in yourself. It?s easy and, when done correctly, inexpensive.

The most important part of this project will be measuring your space so you can make sure you get the right hardware and lumber (two by fours work perfectly, or pre-cut shelving will do the trick, too). A typical walk-in closet will have two shelves on the top, a hanging rack and one shelf towards the floor for shoe storage.

Then just buy the lumber (have it cut to your measurements at the hardware store, if you have to), purchase the most inexpensive metal shelving brackets you can find, gather up a drill and some screws and get to work.

Start by installing the top shelf at a reasonable enough height to reach, and work your way down, attaching brackets where the shelves will go and finishing with a shoe rack. Voila ? an easy walk-in closet.

Textured Walls

Every room could use a little extra color or texture, and it could be something as simple as a new coat of paint, but let?s show off your awesome home improvement skills a bit more by adding just a bit more texture than anyone would expect.

A little bit of wallpaper can go a long way. If you?re going to do a whole wall, pick one accent wall in the room you?re targeting and wallpaper it with a funky, different print that stands out and adds some design to the room.

If you don?t want to or can?t wallpaper the actual walls themselves (as is the case with many rental properties), think about finding a cool print that?s worthy of framing. Throw a sheet of wallpaper into a cool, antique frame and you have an inexpensive, beautiful piece of pop art to hang on your (perhaps otherwise bare) walls.

Fake A Fireplace

Maybe your home already has a fireplace, but maybe it doesn?t. Or maybe you love the look of a fireplace in a room and want to mimic that look in a room where there isn?t a fireplace and you don?t want to install one.

The solution is easy ? fake it. Building a fake fireplace is simple. Always start with measuring, so measure how big you want your new ?fireplace? to be and go out and buy wood to surround the area that you?ve mapped off.

Choose wood that?s decorative ? it may be unfinished, and that?s OK, but make sure the ?bones? are there, as they say. You can always paint and finish it before you install it at home.

Start by installing a ?mantle? in a similar way that you installed the shelves for your walk-in closet. The mantle can be just a plain piece of wood since it only acts as a shelf. Attach a piece of decorative wood directly below the mantle, and do the same for the ?sides? of the fake fireplace.

Get some brass (or other material) sheets to line the fireplace ?grate? so it creates the illusion that you could actually reach into it and build a fire. Paint the space black to further that illusion, and place a large candle display in front of the black ? something that pops against the dark color to make it look like it?s really a fireplace.

Finish it off with a traditional 3-panel fireplace screen in front of the grate to make it look even more realistic. You can even place a hearth rug in front of your new fireplace if you?d like.

Install A New Bathroom Floor

If you?re dying for a new bathroom floor to replace the nasty, old vinyl one that you currently have, but can?t afford to hire someone to come in and tear it up for you and replace it, just replace it yourself. Well, don?t replace it, just cover it up with some new flooring.

Most vinyl floor tiles are self-adhesive and you can purchase them in boxes for much cheaper than real tiling, and some vinyl tiles feature fake grout lines to make them look really great on your floor. So pick some up from your hardware store and get them home to start your project. Make sure the vinyl that you?re going over is clean before you begin to adhere to the new stuff.

Start in the back of the bathroom so that you can work in front of you, and work from the center toward the outsides. Lay down one whole row, then move on to the next, lining up the tiles as closely as you can to eliminate cracks between the tiles.

Once the floor is completely laid down, go back through with a caulk gun and line the cracks between the tiles with caulk, wiping the excess away with a wet paper towel. Allow the tiles to dry for an hour before standing or walking on them. And there you have it ? a brand new bathroom floor for a fraction of the cost and at a fraction of the time.

So ladies, don?t be afraid to pick up the drill and the hammer and get to work on improving your home. You?ll save a ton of money by tackling these projects yourself, plus you?ll have the gratification of knowing that you did it, no one else.

Jackie Ryan is a freelance writer who loves home improvement projects. Though she is still weary of the huge material handling devices that the pros often use, she loves tackling small DIY projects in her house all on her own.

Source: http://www.southgatechamber.com/home-improvement-projects-perfect-for-women.html

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