There has never been a worse time than now to spend more money than you have or can pay back. That once large disposable income has now been demolished, and most probably your clothes are the same ones you had on 3 years ago. But what exactly should you spend money on, and if you could, what assets of yours would you increase the value of first and foremost?

Take this as an example; If you own or buy shares then you invest in those. If you like to modify your car then you invest in that. If you enjoy art then you buy sketches or any variation of the ones that take your eye. And if you are a home owner? Then you should invest in your home. Simple.

Home Improvement projects can be carried out under various objectives, with the top one being  increasing the value of your home – however there is another key objective to home improvement projects and that is better living. Home Improvement projects will make your home a better place to be, make your guests feel more comfortable and yes in the long run pay off down the line.

First of all you should pay attention to areas of your home which need genuine improvement, which could be your hall way, kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms or any other room – bringing every room up to the same standard will give you a genuine outlook on what could be improved or made ‘better’ within your house.

One of the best ways to create an instant lift within any home is to use neutral colours within rooms of an actual neautral nature – so hallways, and then move over to warm hues where the home starts to get more personal such as the living room. A nice deep shade of amber is usally a good bet for living rooms.

On a recession note this recession will not last forever, of course there will most probably be more (hopefully not in our lifetime) but investing in a home improvement project is one fire proof method of increasing an assets value in the long term whilst being happy  there in the short to medium term.

With the iPhone marketplace growing and growing daily it should come as no surprise that there are quite a few iPhone and iPod touch apps which can help during home improvement projects. Having tested a lot of home improvement apps, and in the process drawing out the very best ones, here is Real Home Improvement’s recommended home improvement apps for your iPhone and iPod Touch.

1) My Measures Lite (iPhone only)

My Measures Lite is a fantastic tool for anybody within an industry trade and also a fantastic app for anybody carrying out a home improvement project. Quite simply put, My Measures Lite allows you to take a photo of any object building or wall and then add dimensions afterwards – a little bit like a photo editor. With this app, you will never mis-measure anything again!

2) Ben Color Capture (iPhone only)

Ben Color Capture allows you to take a picture of any colour or any surface colour and match to to over 3300 hues which can be re-created in store. Very simple to use, highly intuitive and also completely free, Ben Color Capture is a fantastic app which could save you a lot of time when trying to find that perfect shade of paint!

3) Tapemeasure!

Tapemeasure! does exactly what is says on the tin. The app itself starts up straight away with no load time, and displays a vertical and horizontal ruler in either inches or centimentres. The only draw back to this app is that the maximum length the ruler / tapemeasure displays is 7 cm, or rather 3 inches, which can be toggled through a simple shake. A nice app for a quick measure.

4) Advanced Bubble Level Free

Advanced Bubble Level Free is a pretty handy app for the home improvement fiend in you as it does exactly what is says on the tin. It provides a rather accurate level guide when your iPhone / iPod Touch is placed in a flat surface and lets you see if anything needs tweeking or changing. It also loads up fast and has a quick download time.

5 ) Drywall Calculator ($0.99)

Okay admittedly this app is not free, but this application assists you in easily figuring out square footage of a room. Whether you want to calculate just the walls, ceiling or a slope (triangle), or any combination of the previous you would like to figure. This is a good app which does its simple purpose well.

So there we have it! Five (almost) free home improvement apps for those of you who have an iPhone and are going through a home improvement project .

Living areas are for guests or friends the most important room of your house as it is what they will most probably spend the most time in (bedroom excluded as they will be asleep). Having a modern living space is one thing, and an eclectic one another, however for a living space to feel ‘homely’ then your best bet is to try and make one which is as cozy as possible to both you and your guests.

First of all it is important to decide for yourself how your living room is designed out right – so is it modern? With glass tables a corner sofa and 42″ LCD TV, or is it traditional with a big fabric lounging sofa wooden beams and traditional furniture? Your home might also be eclectic though with a mixture of both elements.

After you have decided this then there are a range of things you can do to make your living room more cozy. One of the best things for this is to use light dimmers to create a mood straight away and to also, where applicable, have a fireplace which is scuffed full of photographs and little ornaments which you may or may not have. Although more homely than cozy, this tip is built on the principle that your home should splash out your personality and not other peoples.

Scatter cushions and bean bags are also a great way to invite guests in to your home, and bean bags are actually highly looked upon by people as they usually associate them with childhood (thus bringing them at ease in a sense, a bit like a child does when they are content). Bean bags can be picked up at any home improvement store or there are a range of stores online which specialise in them.

Now lets talk colours: Cool light colors naturally enlarge the look of a space, and warm hues make a large space feel cozy and welcoming. Instead of painting or papering a living room in neutral or cool light colors, consult the warmer side of the color wheel and choose a color or a grouping of colors that will make the room feel warm and inviting. A rich shade of orange, amber or gold will help draw the walls inward while providing a cozy atmosphere to you and guests. Visit a local home improvement store, and take home sample jars of paint that will enable you to choose just the right colors to make your living room look as warm as it naturally feels.

Other ways in which you can make your living room more cozy are to have a fish tank, have a comfy and bouncy carpet, a fruit bowl ith plenty to offer, a magazine deck for all your newspapers and last but not least mirrors to put a visual perspective on how you look in your room.

Metal Sheds

Painting can be a gruelling and time consuming task. With many people skipping it and paying for a professional because they find it too boring, painting your interior walls can also be an expensive way of improving the value of your home.

But what if you are not actually looking for a professional and want to get stuck in your self? What if it is your first time painting interior walls and you want to get it just right? Well alas my friends, as Real Home Improvement has you covered!

Below is a list of the equipment you are going to need in order to fully create beautifully painted walls:

- Suitable interior paint of a colour you like

- Small brush (for cutting in)

- Large Brush (or a roller and tray)

- Fine sand paper (for if you paint something by mistake and need to take it off when dried)

- Damp cloth

- Masking Tape

And thats it! The equipment listed above is on an as needed basis, with sand paper not really being ‘required’ but recommended as an extra tool for removing dried paint.

First step

The first step to painting your interior walls properly is to prepare the wall first using a damp cloth or sugar soap which you can mix at home or buy from any megastore. This is to remove and dirt, grime, debris or cobwebs from the surface before any paint is applied. It is also hugely important that you move any furniture away from the wall being painted, although if you can not do this then cover all your furniture which might become damaged with dust sheets to protect them from your fingers or the odd splatter of paint flying from your brush. On sensitive or particular areas such as door frames use masking tape to cover the edges to create a clean straight look to your finish.

Second Step

The base coat you apply to your wall is the most important as it sets the overall tone of the higher layers. Using a big brush, or as many people pot for a roller, swiper up and down in the same direction until the wall is completely covered and leave to dry. Note: It is very important that your first layer is not too thick and you make sure that there are no ‘loose’ fibres from your paintbrush stuck to the wall. Leave the wall to dry for approximately 90 minutes (unless otherwise specified) and go make yourself a cup of tea, or better, grab a beer (just joking, RHI can not be held responsible for you painting drunk ).

Third Step

Once your wall has dried and its first coat is there for all its glory, it is important to step back and decide whether or whether not you will need to apply one or two more coats to get the finish you need (this will save you money or time). If you are happy to proceed, then again take your roller to your wall and paint away, paying particular attention not to get paint on the ceiling. After the second coat is on, you can now set to work with a smaller brush cutting in on the ceiling (squaring the finish off).

There are many designs that you can put your home through – but one question always comes up within home improvement and home redesigns > Paint vs Wallpaper: Which suits your home best?

Of course there are many rooms in one house, with bathrooms obviously opting for paint over wallpaper for water damage reasons, but exactly what are the advantages and disadvantages of both materials and what can you do with them both?

Wallpaper Advantages

Wallpaper offers a huge variety of patterns to choose from as well as a huge selection of textures and colors which can be picked up at any home improvement shop or megastore. Plus, textured wallpaper can add more oomph to your walls which paints cannot offer (unless you get a professional painter which can be costly). Some new wallpapers even have beading, sequins, lace and ribbons that add more drama and style to a bare wall.

One of the main advantages to wallpaper is that it can easily hide holes in a wall or deep scratches which could have been caused from a variety of reasons. Also, if you are selling your home and have cracks in your plaster walls from general heating and cooling, a wallpaper session  can add new value to your sell.

Wallpaper is also your only option for fire damaged walls, unless the fire damage is light or you have arms of steel to get the soot off.

Wallpaper Disadvantages

The main disadvantage to all wallpapers is that they are horrible to clean and maintain as they (unless special wallpaper) soak up grease and stains quite easily. So if you have kids armed with crayons and chocolate covered hands your once beatiful wallpaper will quite simply become a mess.

Wallpaper can also be expensive, and the actual ‘putting it on’ time consuming if never done before. Wallpapaer generally also has a lower shelf life as they can fade under sun light.

Paint Advantages

Paint is a low maintenance, cheap and easy-to-apply interior treatment – Having painted walls means that you need not be so worried about maintaining and cleaning your walls. Most kinds of dirt and stains can easily be cleaned of a painted wall or when the stain does not come off completely, you can easily paint that area in the wall the same color to cover up the stain. While cover up stains and fixing unsightly marks on wallpaper can be quite difficult and expensive since you might have to remove one entire panel of wallpaper and replace it just because of a small stain.

Paint has a huge shelf life once applied, and if well maintained will last for years (ceiling paint excluded if you smoke as it will discolour due to nicotine stains).

Paint Disadvantages

Paint doesn’t really offer much texture or design and unlike wallpaper which can instantly create illusions, designs and texture where there are none, using paint to achieve the same effect can be a difficult task. If you want walls with flower designs without using wallpaper, you have to paint the flowers yourself which would take a lot of time and effort and usually only look crap anyway. You can also use stencils to paint designs although these designs would not be as detailed and flawless as those in printed wallpapers.

So which suits your home best? You now know the advantages and disadvantages to paint and wallpaper so take your pick . To be honest a mix of the two is always nice, and if you have a bedroom perhaps paint all round apart from the wall your beds headrest is on would be a good option.

All comments welcome.