Raise your hand if your home remodeling plans have taken longer than you expected. Plans to build a new home? Plans to redecorate? Now take a look around the room. Almost every hand in the room is up, a few of you with both hands up, and one lady trying to hold a foot up too, she must have planned on all three. The few without hands up have trust funds. Ignore them.

It’s been a tough time for lots of people and it’s taken longer than anyone expected. I actually remember hearing a news report that said it “could be early 2009 before we see a full recovery in the US economy”. Hah! Even funnier, I didn’t buy it. That was like ten months away at the time. Surely things would be normal before that. Hah, hah.

So here’s what happens. Most people keep the excitement alive for a little while. They tough it out. They keep thinking about that remodel or new house and they keep picking colors and browsing catalogs for the perfect lamp. Right? But that only “naturally” lasts so long in most folks. It starts to fade a little over time.

We’ve all heard the phrase “Out of sight, out of mind.” True, right? You know what else is true? The reverse. This is something we all know works, and it works both ways. So what about “In sight, in mind.”, or even cooler but just as real, “In mind, in sight.” That’s my favorite because it reminds me that when I focus on something persistently, it usually appears. It’s just a matter of time.

So I say all that to say this: Keep your remodeling inspiration alive! Keep those pictures in your mind. Tear them out of magazines, print them from websites on good photo paper and pin them on a wall. Go look at model homes and browse furniture showrooms.

And while you’re online, check out all the cool posts here on RemodelingGuy.net! Here are ten more places where I find inspiration jet fuel with just a click!

• TheInspiredRoom.com
• TheNester.com
• CoastalLiving.com
• HouseBeautiful.com
• Sunset.com
• Pinterest.com (me…just learning) (Kim…professional pinner)
• SouthernLiving.com
• Google Images (search for your term or a site, like this)
• BHG.com
• HousetoHome.co.uk

This is all part of the remodeling process anyway… see my post about getting “Hooked on Magazines“.

Have fun!

- Tim

While I’m working away on some posts about paneling, and kitchens, and stuff, I thought maybe you would like to look at some beautiful spaces. So I’m going to point you to some. Over at EverythingEtsy.com, Kim has a whole category of posts dedicated to inspiring art studios and craft rooms! You should see all the beautiful spaces she’s found!

Stay tuned… I’ve got some stuff coming!

Regular readers know that I don’t do a whole lot of “selling stuff” here at Remodeling Guy. I see my job at Remodeling Guy as building a resource for both good useful information and major doses of inspiration related to home remodeling. So that doesn’t often include selling things.

But I have something to tell you about that you might want to buy. If you consider blogging as either a business or just something you do personally that you want to get better at, then I’ve come across a great resource for you. It’s a new eBook by Ali Hale, entitled The Blogger’s Guide To Effective Writing, and it is full of very practical insight and helpful education toward being a better blog writer.

Blog writer? You bet! Blog writing is unique because the medium is different than other mediums in a number of ways. Just because you’re a great writer in-general doesn’t mean there isn’t much to learn about writing for blogs specifically.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have to read through this ebook a couple of more times and implemement a slew of great ideas before I can really call myself a great blog writer! But I have the tools in Ali’s new ebook.

How I Met Ali Hale

I first became aware of Ali through a post she wrote on CopyBlogger. I then found her personal blog, Aliventures, which is also a great place to get lost for awhile. I found out more about Ali there and quickly realized that she is a true expert on blog writing.

My First Impression Of Her New eBook

Ali sent me an advance copy of her new eBook for my thoughts. I thought, sure, I’ll give it a quick read.

This is no quick read. This is a very in-depth resource covering all aspects of blog writing. It took me awhile because I was so engrossed in so much of the content. Like most great eBooks, the links to resources the author draws inspiration from are almost as valuable as the actual content and I spent hours and hours following those links. A simple list of those links would have real value!

In short, the bottom line was that I had found one resource that covered most of what had taken me months to find in bits-and-pieces all over the blogosphere. When I was done, I sent Ali my thoughts, which must have pleased her because they’re quoted on the sales page for her eBook.

I Jumped At The Chance to Be An Afilliate

I sent my thoughts over just as a blogging pal giving my two cents. I didn’t know that Ali was planning on having an affiliate program, but when she said she was, I jumped in. So if you buy her eBook, I’ll get a commission on the sale. But it’s important to me that you know, I would have written this post suggesting you take a look at The Blogger’s Guide To Effective Writing either way.

I think it would help you and I think it’s worth the $29.00 she’s charging for it. It would have saved me months of learning. The best part is that Ali has a money-back guarantee so there really is nothing to lose! Hard to beat that.

While I begrudgingly admit that the world does continue to function in the absence of my personal opinion, I offer it anyway. At least if it’s positive, which in the case of these great links, it is:

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Believe it or not, I didn’t see the movie, Nights in Rodanthe, that featured this awesome house. If I hadn’t read about it at Hooked On Houses, I wouldn’t have known of it at all. Julia has written about a pretty amazing effort to rescue the house from the encroaching sea.

I post it here because, well, it just totally rocks my world in every way.

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I’m not sure what to say. This room has a long list of things I love:

• Beautiful wall paneling
• Awesome beadboard ceilings
• Really cool and unique window treatments
• A natural fiber rug, looks like Sisal
• Two heart-stoppingly wonderful tables – I think the blue one is my favorite.

Melissa had this at The Inspired Room in a post about Decorating With A Hint of Spring Green. I think I’ll be stealing that picture again soon when we get started on the Remodeling Guy’s Complete Guide to Paneling.

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Speaking of pretty greens and blues, I used those same colors (amid a few dozen others) in a new blog design I just completed for EverythingEtsy.com

It’s well known that I love color and thankfully so does Kim (the proprietor of EverythingEtsy.com, and lucky-for-me, my wife). We love the new look and hope you do too.

But while you’re there, don’t miss the category on Art Studio Inspiration! It’s full of amazing spaces, like this one:

Amazing Designer Studio – Heather Bailey

Enjoy! ~ Tim

Hey! Big announcement! I’ve talked for at least two months about setting up a Forum for all of the great discussions we have here at Remodeling Guy!

Well… I did it! It’s a technical work-in-progress, so please come back and let me know if you can’t register or see anything on your screen!

The point is this… I have over twenty years of knowledge as a general remodeling contractor and I know that all of you have a combined knowledge many times greater than mine! We need a place to ask questions, get answers, and discuss ideas, amongst friends where we feel comfortable!

The Forums have been up and running for almost 24 hours now and it seems like everything works!  I’ve answered a number of questions already and I think I’m going to wonder why I didn’t do this long ago!  I can’t really promise you that I’ll be able to answer every question, or that the ones I can answer will get answered immediately. But I’ll do my best, and I hope you know by now that I really do care about your project, your home, and your life! So I’ll help if I can.

We’ll see how it goes… here is the link Remodeling Guy Forums

Many categories have no threads yet…start ‘em up!

Please offer feedback, both in the forums, and the comments!