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With summer just around the corner, many of us are feeling more energized and are turning our attention to redecorating and home improvement activities around the house. Perhaps you’re looking to paint your house a new colour, or tackle that backyard patio project. Maybe you’re inspired to fix up the sunroom you never use or redecorate your dining room on a budget. If so, did you know there’s a home improvement expert ready and waiting to help? There is! Today’s do-it-yourself television channels make decorating projects and home improvements a whole lot easier.

One of my favourite channels is Home and Garden Television, better know as HGTV. I especially enjoy the programme Weekend Warriors, which follows homeowners and apartment dwellers as they plan, undertake and complete weekend home-improvement projects. There are many times that I have been inspired to undertake a project in my own home after watching these weekend warriors try it themselves for the first time.

Another of my favourite programmes on HGTV is Decorating Cents. This programme targets homeowners who want variety in home decor, but are trying to stay within an affordable budget. In each episode, host Joan Steffend and guest designers deliver room makeovers for less than $500. They show viewers how to turn trash into treasure and give tips on making a room feel and look fresh just by rearranging furniture and adding a few inexpensive accessories.

In a similar vein, HGTV’s Double Take looks at high-end designer rooms and then recreates them for a fraction of the cost. The programme’s creative design team reveals the principles used in the designer room, and then shows viewers how to apply the same methods to create a stylish, less expensive version. Through ingenuity, smart shopping and hands-on attention, the team recreates custom furniture, floor coverings, lighting, artwork and accessories while sticking to a firm budget in the process.

Another great channel is the Do It Yourself Network. If you’ve got a weekend project to tackle, you might like the programme Weekend Handyman. This show appeals to those people undertaking projects that are don’t take very long and have a great impact.

Host and carpenter Paul Ryan shows viewers how to prepare for home improvement and repair projects during the week so that they can be tackled (and finished!) in just two days over the weekend.

Featured projects might include repairing and improving the deck, installing new outdoor lighting, or creating a closet organisation system.

Perhaps you have a home improvement project that you’ve been putting off for a long time, or one you started that you haven’t finished (I know a lot of people in this situation!). The Do It Yourself Network’s DIY to the Rescue can help you complete the job. On the programme, teams of experts teach homeowners the tricks of the trade and the home improvement skills they need to finish their problem projects.

Terrific

One more terrific programme on the Do It Yourself Network is DIY Tools and Techniques. Host David Thiel calls upon his extensive knowledge as the Senior Editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine to give step-by-step demonstrations on how to choose, use and maintain all the tools in your workshop. It’s a necessary programme if you’re ever going to become truly handy!

Finally, The Learning Channel, or TLC as most of us know it, also features home renovation and design programmes. Who hasn’t heard of or enjoyed watching Trading Spaces? It’s hard not to get hooked on this programme which has homeowners swapping houses and redecorating each other’s rooms with the help of a designer. While most of the design projects turn out well, there are times when the homeowner is less than pleased with the end result. And that keeps us on the edge of our seat!

No matter how big or small your project, there’s a home improvement expert at your fingertips with today’s ever expanding lineup of home improvement and do-it-yourself television channels.

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