These Four Walls
New home-improvement column sheds light on making your house your home.
By Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, D.O., M.A., with James Calderwood Jr.

Home redecorating, remodeling, renovating, and repair - these words engender a range of emotions from excitement and hope to fear and dread. Whether you're in a home you have recently purchased or one you've lived in for many years, you probably have a wish list of home improvements ranging from simple, weekend, do-it-yourself projects to major structural changes. The easy-to-fix projects usually are done first, and the more complicated projects often remain at the bottom of the list.

In conceptualizing your project, consider the range of possibilities. Redecorating involves changing the appearance of a room but not changing its basic structure. It may include new wall or floor coverings, window treatments, or furniture. It generally results in less family disruption than projects requiring significant structural changes.

Remodeling and renovating usually involve some internal structural changes, but the footprint of the house remains unchanged. For example, a closet may be removed to enlarge a kitchen; an extra bedroom may be converted into a master bath and closet; an attic may become a finished bedroom; a garage may be converted into a media room; or a basement's walls, floors, and ceilings may be finished and windows added.

An addition increases the size of the house and adds new exterior walls. The addition may be to the front, back, or sides of the house, with or without a basement. You also can add to the top of your house - a rambler may gain a second floor.

When you begin work on a larger project, the first step is to specifically define the project. Does "redo kitchen" mean give it a fresh coat of paint and new curtains, replace cabinets and countertops, or add an entire new space for a kitchen and great room? Though the scope of the project usually changes throughout the design process, adequate planning and design will save you time and money in the end.

This first step often involves several family discussions. It is critical for the adults in the family to understand each other's desires and work together to develop a similar vision. Though the final project is certainly the adults' decision, including children in some of the early conversations is a learning process for them, and their ideas can be surprisingly perceptive.

As you refine your vision of the finished project, ask several questions and write down the answers. What do you want to change or add? What do you really need? What would be your dream result? And, what is your budget? Look at your house in the context of the neighborhood. What are the other houses like? What changes have been made to them? For resale purposes, it is generally better for a house to be average within the neighborhood rather than the biggest or most expensive. Talk with friends, neighbors, and local real estate agents to get helpful advice.

After some preliminary decisions are made about the scope of the project, the next step is to get focused.