St. Paul Kitchen Remodel by Sletten Interior Solutions, LLC

Need something to do with your time in quarantine? A couple of home improvement projects are bound to keep you busy! The lockdown is a great opportunity to turn your home into a more comfortable and inviting place for your family, as long as you can avoid meeting with contractors during this time of social distancing. Focus on home projects that you can tackle on your own, such as landscaping your yard or giving your kitchen cabinets a makeover. When you’re ready to get started, check out the following tips! Funding Your Improvements How are you going to pay for your home projects? While funding small upgrades shouldn’t be too costly, larger projects—like a bathroom or kitchen remodel—will require some budgeting. Refinancing your mortgage could be a good way to pay for those more expensive upgrades, especially since mortgage rates are low right now. According to PennyMac, a cash out refinance involves replacing your mortgage with a higher-balance loan and receiving the difference between the two in cash. This is a great way to use your home equity to pay for improvements! Talk to your lender to learn more about your options, and discuss whether refinancing your mortgage is the right decision. Home Maintenance Projects If you’re not sure where to go with your home projects, start with important maintenance projects. Maintaining your home will help you avoid expensive—and even dangerous—problems in the future. Some essential maintenance tasks to tackle regularly include vacuuming your dryer’s exhaust duct, replacing furnace filters, cleaning debris from your outdoor AC unit, and inspecting your window weather stripping. Now that spring has sprung, HGTV also recommends examining your roof shingles, cleaning out your gutters, and checking your lawn equipment to make sure it’s all ready for summer yard work. Enhancing Your Curb Appeal While you’re outside, think about ways that you could improve your home’s curb appeal. Working Mother suggests giving your home exterior a little life by updating your patio with pavers, repainting your front door, investing in outdoor lighting, and installing window boxes. When it comes to your landscaping, keep it simple with a low-maintenance design. A yard consisting of native plants, shrubs, and paths will be much easier to maintain—and cost less to water—than a large expanse of lawn. When you’re done designing and planting your yard, add a layer of mulch to your garden beds to help the soil retain moisture and neaten up the overall appearance of your new landscaping. Easy Room Makeovers There are also plenty of upgrades you can make to the interior of your home. Start by giving your kitchen a makeover by hanging some new art, laying down an accent rug, adding a stick-on backsplash, or replacing your faucet. You can make many of these same improvements to your bathroom. If you really want to make your bathroom feel luxurious, install a spa-like shower head and a dimming switch on your lights. Don’t forget about your bedroom! A relaxing bedroom environment will help you wind down in the evening and sleep better during the night. There are plenty of easy ways to make your bedroom feel cozier and more inviting. For example, try positioning your bed against the longest wall in the room and painting your walls in calming colors. Just be sure to avoid energizing red and orange hues. When you’re happy with your new bedroom, tie it all together with some crisp new bedding. Tackling home improvement projects can be a very rewarding way to spend your time during the coronavirus lockdown. Make your projects as simple or involved as you like—it’s completely up to you! When you’re finished, you might not mind spending the pandemic hunkered down in your home.

The quickest fix is to not have the problem in the first place. Here’s a checklist of items every homeowner should get to regularly. Test your garage door opener monthly to ensure that it reverses when it hits an obstruction or when its sensor beam is interrupted. Vacuum the clothes dryer’s exhaust duct at least once a year. If the duct is plastic, replace it (it’s a fire hazard). Rigid sheet-metal ducting is best. Replace furnace filters quarterly, or as recommended by the furnace manufacturer. Test all GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets monthly. Press the test button and use a voltage tester to make sure the power goes off. Clean leaves and debris from the condenser of a central air conditioner seasonally. Once a year, vacuum the refrigerator coils underneath the appliance. Have the fireplace chimney inspected and cleaned annually. Inspect window and door caulking and weather stripping yearly. Replace the batteries in smoke detectors yearly. And remember, even recent hard-wired smo ke detectors have backup batteries that must be replaced. If you have never checked yours, do so.

NOTE: Tax credits that were 30% up to $1,500 EXPIRED on December 31, 2010. New tax credits were passed, but at lower levels. Please note, not all ENERGY STAR qualified products qualify for a tax credit. ENERGY STAR distinguishes energy efficient products which, although they may cost more to purchase than standard models, will pay you back in lower energy bills within a reasonable amount of time, without a tax credit. What is included in the Tax Credit?