Home Renovation Paint Colors of 2011

For many home owners, large scale home renovations are not an option. According to the Quarterly Paint Institute there are three color trends will drive 2011. Paint provides home renovators with the means to revamp their houses inexpensively. By incorporating a few new paint colors, either as accent walls or throughout a room, home owners will be able to enhance their living spaces economically with paint.

Neutrals:
This color set provides versatility and allows homeowners to quickly change the look of a room just by adding a few new accessories, without spending time and money to remodel or repaint again. Neutrals are the most practical remodeling choice. These colors include warm whites, tawny tans, light corals and greens.

Blues:
Blues are predicted to grow in popularity as not just a wall color but also as a ceiling choice. Blues from across the spectrum, from dark denim to light blue-greys will find their ways into homes. The color blue is calming and will help to relieve stress. Good secondary colors include yellow or yellow-green and will add energy in open, family spaces.

Shimmers and Shines:
Higher paint sheens and metallic finishes are also predicted to be popular for 2011. Spaces such as hallways and living areas can be painted in a very glossy hue. The more gloss in a paint color will mean more reflectivity which means more light. Gloss will create a brighter, more upbeat mood in a home, while adding style.

Easy Kitchen Remodeling Tips

Remodeling your home can exponentially increase the value of your home. It is important to remember when renovating your home to begin with the less expensive endeavors. This will create a greater gain when the time comes for re-sale. Simple fixes include fresh paint, new appliance coverings and a new sink. The video below gives tips and ideas on easy kitchen renovations.

How to Protect Your Home Remodel from Con Artists

Con artists are in full swing! Steven Paley, a con artist in Palm Beach, has been arrested 47 times. One of the counts was for stealing money from a "customer" who he promised to remodel their house. In recessions, con artists are more common. Below are some crucial questions you should ask a possible contractor. They will help you to determine the legitimacy of the contractor. For more tips on how to avoid remodeling scams check out the free Remodeling Hell Salvation Guide.

How long have you been in the business?
Can you provide me with a list of references of jobs you've completed similar to mine?
What percentage of your business is repeat business?
Have you done work in my area before?
How many other jobs will you be working on simultaneously with mine?

To find out other important tips to protect yourself against scam artists check out the free Remodeling Hell Salvation Guide.

Home Renovations Gone Wrong

Home remodeling can be used to improve the value of your home, but it is important to research how the renovations will effect the value. Valuable home renovations include revamping a bathroom or upgrading a kitchen. These will increase the amount you see in return when you sell you house. Then there are the renovations that will destroy the possibility of an increase.

Possible home remodelers need to research the possibilities and the advantage to remodeling a space. In some occurrences it will cause home owners to fall into foreclosures. Remodeling Hell has current and "money back" remodeling suggestions.

Bad home renovations include a three bedroom house being converted into a one bedroom house in Los Angeles. One of the three bedrooms was made into a recording studio, a common habit in the Los Angeles area. Unfortunately, the second bedroom was made into a closet. This left the house with one bedroom intact, while this may have been perfect for the previous owner, there is not a large desire for one bedroom houses.

The second, a more extravagant remodeling faux pas, involves a moat and drawbridge being added to the house. The house eventually for fell into foreclosure and was then bought by a bank. The moat, gargoyles and drawbridge decreased the value of the home exponentially. These renovations caused the house to be uneven.

Another terrifying renovation happened in Nashville. A husband left both his wife and unfinished wall renovations. He left his wife with a plastic wall.

Again research how the renovations will affect the value of your home to decide whether your remodel project is a good idea.

5 Tips on How to Avoid Home Repair Scams

Monsoon season has officially hit many parts of the country! Rain falls in buckets, rivers swell and in some extreme cases buildings are flooded. Water damage to homes and businesses will call for costly repairs. It is in the time of small disasters like this that the con artists come crawling out.

In Chicago, many homes were flooded last month and to the despair of the residents many of them were duped into home repair scams. The Better Business Bureau of Illinois caught on and release a few tips on how to avoid being enticed into a scam. Residents all over the country should take these tips into consideration during these months of heavy rain.

1. Do not hire people who show up at your door offering discounted prices for agreements made that day
2. Get quotes from multiple contractors to ensure you are getting a reasonable price
3. Demand a written contract stating the price of the work and exactly what is to be done
4. Be wary of contractors that demand full compensation up front
5. Never pay in cash. Paying by credit card will protect you more.
   

How To "Green" Your Home

As trends come in and out of homes, a rising trend has been to "go green". From the easier fixes of replacing single pane windows with double or to upgrade to solar power. The video below walks you though simple tasks such as replacing your floors with cork to finding ways to reduce the toxins in your house. From painting your walls to "green carpet" this video will turn your home renovations into green ones.

Home Remodeling Project Unearths Mummy

A Los Angeles, California resident had his nightmares come to life last week when a mummified body was found under his floorboards! The owner of the LA residence was performing some remodeling when a construction worker found a dead man in a small crawl space beneath the floor.

Law enforcement officials believe the body belongs to the past owner of the house, a man who was reported missing over 5 years ago. The coroner declared that no foul play happened in his death and believes the man died of old age.

Friends and family of the previous owner say that it was common for the elderly man to intentionally hide in small places, such as closets or crawl spaces under the floor.

Unfortunately, my book, Remodeling Hell, doesn't have any recommendations for what to do when you discover a body under your floor; but it can help you with any other remodeling problems.