For some, home improvement is a weekend pleasure. For others, it is a life-consuming event. Whatever you do should add value to your home. Sometimes it turns into a huge failure. Below you’ll find some sage advice that can guide you towards making smart home improvement choices and avoiding the pitfalls that can turn well-intentioned projects into nightmares.

Brand new furniture, even from department stores, can break the budget. Garage sales and thrift stores offer furniture options at affordable prices. You might find great things when buying used stuff, including furniture. Some pieces will be in great condition, while others may require a little work and elbow grease to make them just right for you house.

Use clear plastic boxes to organize items in your garage by type and frequency of use. Label your plastic boxes, and make sure they’re stack-able. You’ll protect your items from pests, and you’ll make the garage look a lot neater too.

Stained wood is almost always more appealing than painted wood on baseboards. This classic look blends naturally in with almost any style of decor. The beauty of stained wood for baseboards is its ability to show fewer scuffs and scrapes. Touch-ups to the baseboards will also blend better. Wood stain comes in lots of different colors to coordinate with any color scheme.

Do not feel you need to replace a door when it gets a little dirt on it. Remove the door from its frame, then sand it down until you expose bare wood. Get some oil-based paint that you want and paint it using a paint roller. Change out your doorknobs to something fancier.

Be sure to keep your own records when you work with a contractor on a home improvement project. Do not assume that the contractor will take care of this for you. Keep all of the paperwork related to your project in a safe place. This helps everyone involved stay focused on the current task.

Improving your home truly means doing a good job. Some home improvement are worth it and can make your home tougher to sell. If you want to avoid disaster and achieve home improvement success, all you need to do is listen to savvy advice like the tips you’ve encountered in this article.

When doing home improvement, watch the highly visible improvements. Potential buyers will go by what they can see, so you need to do what you can to make your house presentable enough to sell. Sometimes, the most important things are invisible, but that doesn’t count when you are selling the home.