If you’ve ever heard the old adage “measure twice and cut once,” then you’re well on your way to learning the correct way of making home improvements. That isn’t all there is to know, however. So find out what you don’t know in the article below.

New furniture may be costly to purchase. Perhaps you can acquire some quirky pieces from estate sales and thrift shops. It is possible to find some wonderful furniture treasures in a second-hand or consignment shop. Some may need a lot of work, but if you invest enough time, they can greatly improve your home.

Cover power outlets using aluminum foil before you paint the walls. It is far easier to use aluminum foil than tape, and your covers will be shielded from possible splatters. Cleanup is easy! Let your paint dry, carefully remove the aluminum foil and then recycle!

Flooring can be a relatively simple home improvement project even for a novice. Focus on putting tile in your kitchen and bathrooms and replace your carpet with hardwood flooring. Home improvement stores have a wealth of information about how to make this process easy for you to complete.

If you’re thinking about putting down carpeting for your home, make sure to choose carpeting in dark colors only. Light colors such as beige, white, or light brown tend to pick up dirt and stains, making your carpeting appear cheap and used. Opt for colors like dark green or dark brown to hide what shouldn’t be seen and prolong the life of your carpet.

Improve the outside of your home by landscaping with plants native to your geographical region. Native plants are proven to do well in your climate, so the long-term results are predictable. You can plan your landscape with confidence that the look you want to achieve will be the look you get. If you choose non-native plants instead, there is a risk that the plants may not thrive in your climate.

When painting your walls, always make sure to properly spread tarps or newspaper over your flooring. You can even go as far as cutting open trash bags and laying them on the floor. Painting is messy and hard/impossible to remove from carpeting and wooden flooring. Take safety measures before you start painting so you don’t have to worry about the after effects.

Bathrooms can often fetch the most payback for money invested when remodeled properly. Bathrooms are more expensive to update than living rooms or bedrooms, and potential buyers can definitely be turned off by having to spend a lot of money updating one. Replace any worn or outdated tub, shower or sink. Replace linoleum flooring with tile.

You need to ensure there is proper ventilation in the bathroom with either the installation of a window or through some other means. The humidity created by hot showers can create very fertile grounds for mold to breed. Repainting the walls in your bathroom won’t get rid of the mold. It is better to make a change to prevent it from forming in the first place. Put in a window and make sure there’s ventilation.

Millions of homeowners decide every day to make some type of improvement to their homes, and many of them end up with poor results. Pay attention to the tips provided to you in this article so that you’re always making the best possible home improvement decisions when it’s time to spruce up your house.