Curb appeal means everything when you are looking to sell your home. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression. While you can’t change the size of your house, how many windows you have, or how mature your garden is, you can make your house look clean, cared for and fresh by giving it a new coat of exterior paint.

Choose a trendy house color that will give your home a bit of flare, or for an older home choose a house paint that honors your home’s historical integrity. Finish off the whole project with some nice potted porch plants and some window boxes, and presto, you have a sellable home with great curb appeal.

If you want to ensure that your home redecoration plans fit a green way of living then there are few things you can be sure to do that are environmentally friendly both for your home and the planet. First, be sure to buy no or low VOC paint. VOCs are the toxins in normal paint that cause that yucky paint smell and can give you a headache. Did you know that VOCs continue to be released from paint for years after you paint your walls? This can endanger the health of your entire family. However, today most paint brands offer a wide variety of No-VOC paint so there is no reason anymore for your paint job to pollute the air in your home. Also, to be friendlier towards the planet, be sure to only buy the amount of paint you need for the project and also try to reuse brushes from past jobs. Waste not want not.

If your bathroom tiles are starting to look dingy it doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune replacing the tiles. There are many tile paints now available for you to choose from and you can just give your old tiles a coat of paint to help them look just like new again.

Just like with painting walls, you need to prepare your bathroom tiles for painting before applying the first coat of paint. Be sure to clean your tiles really well. You don’t want to paint over dirt and soap scum because then the paint won’t adhere to the tiles. It is also a good idea to lightly sand down your tiles to create a good surface for the paint to stick to. Then, apply a good coat of primer over your clean and sanded tiles. Lastly, add one or two good coats of special tile paint. Presto! You have a whole new bathroom.

Investing in painting your home is expensive and painting supplies like paint brushes can cost a lot of money. Be sure not to waste your investment by ensuring that you properly clean your paintbrushes and other paint supplies when you finish your paint job. If treated well, your quality paint brushes will survive to help out with another paint job in the future. Water based paint can be easily washed off paint brush bristles but oil based paint can only be removed with special paint removers like turpentine. Check out our site for more information on the proper care for your paint brushes.

The EPA has issued a new law, in affect 2010, requiring all contractors to undergo training and certification for removing lead paint. Without this certification, contractors and their builders will not be allowed to work on any property built prior to 1978, the year when lead paint was banned for use in private residences in the USA. However, this new regulation will not affect homeowners doing small DYI projects.