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Should You Hire a Painter or Do It Yourself?
A good painting contractor will produce better results than most DIYers—and finish faster. But because they don't have to pay for their own labor, lots of homeowners grab rollers and brushes. Before taking the painting plunge, consider the following.
How to Choose Paint
Eggshell. Latex. Semi-gloss. Oil. There are so many vocabulary words surrounding types of house paint, you might think you need a dictionary. Consider this our primer on figuring out what’s in the can and where to use it.
Swatch Your Step: How to Pick Paint Colors
Visit any paint store, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the rainbow coalition of colors—most paint manufacturers produce hues by the thousands, not dozens. So how do you choose?
Tips for Planning Furniture Purchases
Start by plotting out various furnishing arrangements. Consider your budget, how you will use the furniture, and how long you expect to keep it.
Where to Buy Furniture
At some furniture stores, well-informed helpful staffers make shopping pleasant and guide you to good choices. They quote accurate delivery time frames, and your stuff arrives as promised and as expected. But subscribers send us many, many complaints about abysmal furniture-shopping experiences. Fortunately, you can avoid common pitfalls.
How to Get the Best Furniture Deals
Price comparisons are extraordinarily difficult for furniture. Many products are sold exclusively by a single chain or by only one or a few stores per region. But there are some strategies you can use to save on furniture purchases.
Best Places to Buy Carpet
You’ll want to do your shopping at stores where you can get good advice, good selection, quality installation services, and honest business practices—at reasonable prices.
How to Avoid Getting Floored on Carpet Prices
Comparing carpet prices is not easy, largely because many retailers change carpets’ style names from the names bestowed by the manufacturers. But taking the time to do some shopping will pay off big.
How to Find the Right Carpet for Your Space
Because carpeting affects the look of a room, lasts a long time, and can cost thousands of dollars, take time to make good decisions about many issues, including: color, style, pattern, texture, padding, and price range.
How to Shop for Window Treatments
When it comes to decking out your windows, you’ll find so many choices, optional features, and price ranges that it’s easy to get blindsided by the process. Here’s our advice on how to buy the right stuff.
Which Window Treatment Is Right for Your Window?
Plantation shutters. Roman shades. Good ol’ curtains. There are so many ways to cover your windows that it’s tempting to just tape newspaper over the panes and be done with it. Here are the best options to block light, keep prying eyes at bay, or just dress up the joint.
Getting Good Prices on Window Treatments
For many types and brands of window treatments, it pays to shop around. We report here costs quoted to Checkbook’s undercover shoppers when they sought prices for several types of window treatments at a sampling of local stores and online outlets.
