New Year's Resolutions for Your Home

Your house can’t make its own New Year’s resolutions. Those silent, solid walls and floors and fixtures have to find another way of giving you a hint of what’s needed to improve things for 2006.

If they could write a list, it might read something like this:

1. I need new paint for my peeled, faded siding. In a color that fits into the neighborhood — not lavender. And don’t forget to update my inside, too.

2. Clean out my closets. They are filled to the brim and need some organization.

3. The refrigerator quit making ice in 1997, the glass shelves are sagging and no one has cleaned the coils in the back for two years. The cupboards are scratched and nicked. Get busy.

4. How about a bathroom in the basement? We need another shower to cut down on morning traffic upstairs.

5. One solitary tree in the front yard and a scraggly bush by the door isn’t landscaping. More plants, please.

Sound familiar?

It should. That list of resolutions addresses some of the top items that will be changed or redone in America’s homes next year.

Bathrooms. Kitchens. Organization. Painting. Landscaping.

Homeowners are expected to spend more than $175 billion on home improvements this year, according to a survey on home trends by the Interior Redesign Industry Specialists.

A variety of things get us motivated, but the survey found moving (both in and out), kids leaving for college, simply being bored with their space or finding it outdated are some of the top reasons Americans remodel.

Here’s a breakdown of each category and some of the trends in the marketplace for the upcoming year.

* Paint — There are more color predictions for 2006 than you can shake a paint stirring stick at.

Consumer optimism of brighter days ahead will lead to the selection of more brilliant, cleaner paint colors, according to Lou Manfredini, Ace Hardware’s spokesman.

Sherwin Williams’ color marketing specialist, Sheri Thompson, predicts four separate trends, from great escapes to the great outdoors.

The two agree on a few main color families. Serenity and close-to-home comfort can be seen in calming colors reminiscent of the sea or sky and soft colors like palest peach, spring-fresh greens and pale yellows.

Luxury colors and fabrics, such as tapestries with clear jewel tones, put a focus on ornamentation and embellishments, said Thompson. Velvets, silk and damasks work with dark chocolate, bright yellow, deep plum and spicy copper.

Global themes for the home color palette include natural elements like wicker, rattan and bamboo with floral prints. The colors are rich corals, curried golds and blue-greens.

And don’t forget the blend of home and technology. Although a computer brings a metallic coolness into a room, colors such as soft grays, warm blues and rosy pinks can soften that look.

Be careful here, however. Paint is the most common item couples disagree on when decorating a room, according to the Roller Report by Kilz.

* Organization — At the top of most resolution lists is the vow — again — to get organized.

This year, start small and begin sorting small spaces one at a time.

Lack of organization, experts agree, does not help your focus and productivity.

Every person defines organization in his or her own way. It might mean a stack of clear-plastic storage bins to one homeowner and a complete reworking of the garage and basement to another.

If you want to start with closets, Mark Nash, who wrote “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home,” suggests using closet organizers to maximize storage space and painting the closet a neutral, washable color.

When you are done, make sure you can see the back of all closets. Lighting is an often overlooked feature in closets, he writes, but good lighting will help make a closet more accessible.

* Kitchens — More men cooking and having input in kitchen design has changed the way kitchens are designed, according to information from Wilsonart Laminate.

Farmhouse casual kitchens, complete with the newly styled farmhouse sinks, soapstone countertops and wood floors, are a rustic trend.

Mediterranean and Tuscany influence in the kitchen often includes dark, rich woods with straighter lines than the farmhouse style. Fixtures have simple lines and flooring may be tumbled stone. Color has more of a presence in this style of kitchen.

Modern kitchens featuring high-gloss finishes continue to be popular, with stainless steel appliances, sinks and even countertops. Lighting is not just utilitarian, and exotic woods, such as bamboo, makes its own design statement on the floor.

* Bathrooms — Size does matter when it comes to bathroom trends. Making the room larger is the number one trend, and homeowners are knocking out walls to accomplish it, according to bath- room remodeling experts. This year, look for bathroom furniture, including armoires or chaise lounges and vintage pieces that are being used for vanities. Separate showers and bathtubs and above-counter sinks that look more like art than a place to wash your face are going in more and more homes.

Combining surfaces, such as glass tiles, china, wood, chrome and natural stones, continues to be popular.

White is still the most popular color, but other colors are making their way back into the bathroom. Look for natural colors and more terra cottas in everything from fixtures to paint.

* Landscaping — Four out of every 10 consumer households with a yard or garden plan to do a landscaping project this year, according to a recent survey done by the Garden Writers of America Foundation.

That’s a lot of trees and shrubs.

The top three projects are a new or expanded deck or patio, a path or walkway and a fence or enclosure.

Two-thirds of households plan to add plantings this year, and the top choices for those is a tie between more perennials and vegetable gardens.

All of this translates into popular landscaping projects — sprucing up the entry, replanting your yard with more perennials and less turf or developing a specialty area, such as a floral cutting garden or a shade garden.

It’s new year — time to pick one of the most popular home resolutions and get started. Your house will thank you.