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The Lee County Ledger, Thursday, November 29, 2001 - Page 5B Is There a 'Handywoman' in the House? Look Out Weekend Warriors - Ladies Are Now Doing It Themselves! Move over aerobics, shopping and cooking ... a new Home De- pot/Yankelovich Partners study reveals that home improvement is the new "trendy" leisure time activity for women. Of the 1.012 survey respondents. 37 percent of women said they would prefer to spend their weekend leisure time working on a home improvement project, such as gardening or painting, rather than shopping in a mall (28 percent) or cooking/ baking (25 percent). Another sur vey by the American Hardware Manufacturers Association said women accounted for nearly 38 percent of all do-it-yourself prod uct purchases last year. And, with more single women becoming homeowners, the trend seems destined to continue. So just what projects are most appealing to women? The list is long and sometimes surprising. 1. Painting In the Home Depot/Yankelovich study, painting was tied with gar dening for the top spot. Gone are the days when the paintbrush and roller were the only tools of the painter. Today's techniques call for bold, colorful designs with faux finishes often using sponges and stencils. Many women are now looking at painting as a form of expression and look at their walls as their canvas. Workshops held at home centers and paint dealers are teaching women to paint like pros using some of the latest color options, including denims, dark blues, greens and maroons. Painting is also one of the easiest projects to take on in a home and one that can be ac complished at a relatively low cost. Painting a room is also one way to make a dramatic differ ence - quickly - and color can re ally open up the living space or give a ho-hum room character. Plus it provides immediate satis faction and boosts a woman's confidence to tackle other home improvement projects. 2. Garden ing/Landscaping Gardening and landscaping provide a perfect ex cuse to be outdoors - and get something accomplished at the same time. In addition, the results of these efforts produce beautiful flowers, foliage, shrubbery and plants that can be enjoyed all sea son. For a woman looking to make an impact, home centers and greenhouses offer a multitude of options that allow a DIYer to spruce up her own yard by add ing mulch, new shrubbery or flowers. Other options include adding a small hedge for extra privacy or a brick flowerbed bor der for some additional yard defi nition. 3. Wallpapering Many of today's wallpapers are pre-pasted, which means the woman DIYer only has to wet the roll in water and position it on the wall. Even if a room is already painted, a decorative border can add just the right touch of style and color. These borders are popping up on all areas of the wall - not just near the ceiling. Try a waist-level, chair-rail border or even some thing at eye level to break up the room. Another option is to put a border around a window to give it a "framed" look. Much like painting, wallpaper can change the look of a room in just a few hours - and if you do it yourself, it is a relatively inexpensive proposition. 4. Installing a New Kitchen Faucet Creating a func tional workspace in the kitchen is a must for most women and changing and upgrading faucets are increasingly popular kitchen DIY projects. Often, they opt for a pullout faucet that offers the ability to easily fill up large pots, water plants or clean all areas of the kitchen sink. Not only are these pullout faucets functional, they are stylish as well. Moen's extensa pullout offers elegance and a host of finish options to complement any kitchen decor, including today's hottest stainless looks. There are also pullouts available that offer the ability to filter water, such as the PureTouch filtering faucet. And, one of the best things about pull out faucets is that while they look complicated, they are actually easy to install - just like a regular kitchen faucet. 5. Putting in a New Floor Carpet and vinyl are becoming a bit passe. Women are opting for new tile options that not only look great, but clean up well too. An inexhaustible range of patterns, colors and textures make tile a great way to enhance a room and add a little self-ex pression, plus, tile is easy to in stall. Once a pattern has been es tablished, simply add adhesive to the back, position it properly on the floor and tap the tile with a rubber mallet to set it in place. Hardwood is also making a come back as a popular flooring choice. New parquet floors are installed in much the same way as tile and are much easier to work with than older-style hardwood strip floor ing. Specialized kits provide ev erything the woman DIYer needs to install the floor herself. 6. Up grading Lighting Fixtures or Ceil ing Fans Since outdated fixtures give away the age of your home, many women are upgrading their lighting. Relatively inexpensive and easy to install, changing out existing lighting fixtures can make a world of difference to brighten up a home. Another op tion is to change the look of an older ceiling fan by simply changing to new blades. 7. Add ing New Window Treatments A tab top valance, sweeping swag or new blinds... women can eas ily add some warmth and beauty to their walls with new window treatments. Once thought of only for function, window treatments are now a focal point in most rooms. Women are integrating their room's design elements by having the pattern of their furni ture complement or even match that of the window treatments. And, so many styles are now available to fit individual prefer ences - maybe a simple valance in the kitchen or a swag posi tioned on a brushed nickel deco rative rod. Many of the new styles only require material that is sim ply draped over a rod for position ing - no sewing skills are even required. 8. Turning a Bathroom Into a Suite Rather than live with a bathroom featuring mismatched fixtures and accessories, women are turning their bathroom into a suite with coordinated and inte grated products. These suites pro vide a continuity of style and color throughout the entire room. Catching on to this trend, manu facturers are now offering a full assortment of products that allow consumers to produce this full suite look without having to go from store to store looking for just the right products. For example, Moen now offers faucets, tub/ showering products, and accesso ries such as towel bars and tooth brush holders, all available in the same style and finish. Its M-Pact valve system even allows for easy upgrades once the fixtures are installed so that changes can be made without going under the sink deck or behind the shower wall. These quick changes allow any woman to create a whole dif ferent look in the bath by easily changing from traditional chrome to the elegant look of polished brass, or even to a more contem porary brushed nickel or matte black look. 9. Improving the Home's Exterior Aside from gar dening and landscaping, there are some other items that a woman (ARA) - As the air turns cooler and the days grow shorter, our backyard gardens surrender their last fruits and vegetables of the year, and the last leaves fall from the trees. When we pull out the yellowing vines from the garden and bag leaves from the yard, we're a little saddened that we must wait until spring to see new growth again. Autumn, however, is the perfect time to begin a project that will ensure a bountiful garden next year: a compost pile. Harvest time is a great opportunity to start a compost pile because decaying vines, vegetables, leaves and grass clippings contain excellent nutrients that break down over time to recharge soil with nitro gen for spring planting. Building a compost pile is simple with these easy tips from the lawn experts at John Deere. First, find a place for your com post. Drive four 5-foot wood or metal stakes one foot into the ground. Fence in three sides with chicken wire, leaving one side open for easy access. If you like the idea of a compost pile but don't have time to build one, pur chase a prefabricated compost unit. Next, collect chopped tree leaves, grass clippings, and all the vines and fading plants from your vegetable garden and build a pile that's at least three feet in diam eter and three feet high. This will build a hot internal temperature that gets nutrients "cooking." Flowers also contain many nu trients that are great for composting. If your annuals have gotten "leggy," pull them up and toss them in the compost pile and till the bed. Leave the fall peren nials while the leaves are green, and then mow them down once they turn brown and compost the leaves. Add the material in five- to six- inch layers and sprinkle a 10-10- 10 fertilizer - ten parts each ni trogen. phosphorus and potas sium - on top of each layer, and can do to the exterior of her home to make the most out of it. Chang ing the color of the shutters is something that is very affordable and doesn't take much effort - just some paint. Women may even want to paint the front door to match the color of the shutters, add a decorative kick plate or per haps change out the doorbell. 10. Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets Many women might not be able to completely replace their kitchen cabinetry - but refinish ing is definitely a job most women can accomplish. With re finishing, cabinets can be sanded, stained or re-painted. It is amaz ing what this simple facelift will do for the look of a kitchen - a dark kitchen can suddenly see the light of day with white paint or a light oak stain on the cabinets. Even changing out the handle hardware is an inexpensive way to create a new look. So the next time you are looking for a gift for that important woman in your life ... maybe she'd like a hammer, some nails, a paintbrush or a fau cet ... these are the gifts today's woman homeowner can truly use (Uh, but you might want to check with her first!) Courtesy of ARA Content, www.aracontent.com, e- mail: info@aracontent.com MARy KAy skip the Holiday rush This holiday season, enjoy fast, convenient online shopping and unbeatable customer- service. Just visit my Web site to find fabulous Mary Kay- 1 gifts. What could be easier? Beverly L. 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John Deere also suggests waiting at least four mowings after the lawn's been treated before composting grass clippings. Instead of having the autumn blues, turn your attention to a fun and easy project that will ensure a healthy garden next year. Com post now and in the spring, your garden will get a shot of nutrients that have been cooking all winter long. A-l Wrecker Service Your Towing Connection from the Largest Trucks to the Smallest Cars WE GO ANYWHERE ANYTIME HEAVY DUTY SPECIALISTS AIR CUSHION RECOVERY When you are looking for help in an emergency situation such as an automobile accident or breakdown, let one of the 1st numbers you dial be that of A-1 Wrecker Service. A-1 Wrecker is your number one source of help for you and your family. The company prides itself on being both timely and trustworthy. 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