If youre planning to invest in some home improvements before you put your house on the market, choose your projects carefully.

Thats the takeaway from Remodeling Magazines annual Cost vs. Value Report, which compares construction costs with resale values for the most popular home-improvement projects.

In todays market, it makes sense to concentrate your spending on the things buyers see first.

Smaller exterior projects that boost curb appeal recoup more of their cost at sale time than big-ticket remodeling, such as additions, luxurious kitchen and bath overhauls.

In the West North Central region, which includes Minnesota, the project with the best return on investment was replacing an entry door. Homeowners who made that simple fix saw an 86 percent return, the report found.

Other projects with the highest payback included enhancing the exterior with manufactured stone veneer (82.2 percent return), vinyl siding replacement (81.5 percent) and wooden window replacement (80.6 percent).

The project with the lowest return (approximately 50 percent) was a master suite addition.

As a general rule, the simpler and lower-cost the project, the bigger its cost-value ratio. So, replacement projects such as door, window and siding upgrades tend to generate a higher return than remodeling projects.

And home-flippers beware: Theres not a single remodeling project that returns more money in home resale value than it costs to hire a pro to do the work, at least in our region.

Heres another note of caution: What buyers say theyre looking for in a home may not be what theyre willing to pay for.

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Will your remodeling project pay off?

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When the Street of Dreams comes to Lake Oswego in August, the 65-year-old Shaw House will be its centerpiece

Marylou Colver of the Lake Oswego Preservation Society walked across the wood floors and past the paneled walls of the historic Shaw House back in July, examining the details of the mid-century modern home that was then up for sale.

Designed by Portland architect John Yeon and built in 1950 for Lawrence Shaw of Modoc Lumber Company, the home at 12800 Goodall Road had undergone several alterations and add-ons over the years, but the integrity of the house was still intact, Colver said.

When Brian Bohrer of Cornerstone Construction Services toured the house last fall, though, he had a different experience.

You could see ceilings leaking, said Bohrer, who co-owns the company with his brother, Jeff. You could see exterior softness and windows leaking.

The house, which is undergoing a luxury remodel as part of the 2015 Street of Dreams in Lake Oswego, lacked the flashing, ventilation and tempered windows needed to meet modern code requirements, Bohrer said. And as he and his crew began to peel back the homes outer paneling, they discovered rot throughout the house.

Going layer by layer, the crew stripped the home to its studs.

To local preservation advocates like Colver, the skeleton of the historic home which was featured in Classic Houses of Portland, Oregon, 1850-1950, by William J. Hawkins and William F. Willingham is a shocking sight. To Bohrer, the deconstruction is evidence that his team is committed to keeping the home, rather than tearing it down to rebuild even if that means investing in a $1 million remodel.

The goal was to save the house, and thats exactly what weve done, Bohrer said. You can build new houses for less than what weve spent to remodel this house.

This years 40th annual Street of Dreams at The Highlands in Lake Oswego will focus on detailed craftsmanship rather than sprawling mansions, according to Rachel Trice, vice president of marketing, membership and events for the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland.

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Remodeling history

Food Lion has announced the company will be remodeling its lineup of 25 Fayetteville market grocery stores this year.

A couple of locations have already begun construction to transition to the new format, which is expected to be completed in all the local stores on a rolling basis between April and October.

At this time, the stores at 7071 Raeford Road and 1738 Bingham Drive are under construction, according to spokeswoman Erin DeWaters.

"However, customers at other locations may also be experiencing changes," she said in an email Friday. "In all stores, we are taking steps to minimize any customer disruptions."

The Salisbury-based Food Lion first announced plans for the do-over initiative last May, dubbing the strategy "Easy, Fresh and Affordable. You Can Count on Food Lion Every Day!"

"We announced we would remodel stores in markets over time," DeWaters replied when asked if the store enhancements and addition of gourmet items are in response to The Fresh Market coming to Fayetteville.

To date, the company has remodeled 76 stores in the greater Wilmington and Greenville markets. The greater Raleigh-designated market area, which includes Fayetteville, is third in line.

"It's really part of a larger strategy and larger plan," she said.

Among the planned changes to be incorporated into the Fayetteville supermarkets, according to a company news release:

New register systems that are expected to make checkout faster.

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Food Lion remodeling its 25 Fayetteville stores this year

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Spring springs eternal at Louisville's Home, Garden and Remodeling Show at the Kentucky Exposition Center this weekend.

"I like the way the water flows in," said Harvey Smith, admiring a backyard fountain with its own model railroad layout. "I got one part down in my yard that I could possibly put that in. But it'd be heck putting in all those rocks."

Smith was waiting while his friend was negotiating. The goal: cabinetry for the electronics in his Man Cave.

"It's definitely worth our time and effort to come here," said Pat Ballard, of Bardstown's M&H Custom Cabinets. "We tracked about 15 jobs from last year and that translated into about $200,000 worth of work."

Return on investment explains why the show is in its 65th year, drawing more than 350 vendors in grills, floors, windows, mowers, and almost all supplies and equipment in between. It's a reminder than more and more of us see our getaways as journeys that begin and end in our own backyards.

"You get great ideas out here," Smith said, as he showed off photos of his back deck, a testimonial to do-it-yourself projects.

"It would be nice if people would say that upfront," landscape sculptor Ardie Greenamyer said. "Because then we can help them to do that."

Greenamyer was glad that his custom fire pits were drawing raves and double-takes from passers-by.

One, a globe with cutouts in the shape of continents, took 155 hours to create. The downside? More than a few admirers were asking him how they could re-create it, rather than hiring him to do it for them.

"It's how I earning my living," he explained. "But more than that, it's cheapening the result. You can't go to school-grade school, high school or college, and get the answers to the tests and learn anything. Sometimes you have to go through and learn things the hard way."

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Home, Garden and Remodeling Show offers a spring break for grownups

Residential architecture is more than just making a house look pretty. Function is a critical feature of any home and must be given equal or even greater billing than aesthetics.

Residential architecture is a unique branch of architecture because clients are also the end users. When designing a large commercial or institutional building, architects have the end users in mind but rarely talk to them during the design process think bank officers versus bank tellers or school district authorities versus teachers. Design is directed with an eye to policies and procedures, rather than to individuals. With a home, the design can be tailored to individuals.

In our office, we discuss what we call life-centered design. We work to design spaces that improve the everyday life of those who live in and visit the home. Personal life, interpersonal life and social life interconnect in a home, so it functions best when each of these areas is addressed in the design process.

Personal life relates to places in a home that are frequented by specific family members, such as parents in the master suite, perhaps one or both parents in a working office area and whoever takes charge of everything that happens in the laundry room.

Interpersonal life refers to how the family functions as a unit or, in other words, refers to shared family spaces. Childrens bedrooms may be in this category, along with areas such as the kitchen, dining area, living and family rooms, mud room, and so on. When these spaces are sized and organized to accommodate all who use them, it makes for a more calm and peaceful life.

A familys social life will affect the public spaces in a home. This includes some of the areas listed above, such as a family room, but not areas that are unavailable to guests, such as a mud room. Understanding which spaces will hold many people as opposed to just family members helps to create them in the right sizes.

There are many ways a home functions. Some people store toys in individual childrens bedrooms and use them as play areas when friends come over, making the bedroom a social room. Others reserve these functions for a designated playroom, which keeps the bedrooms in the personal category.

It is therefore critical that a client and architect spend time discussing and analyzing how each family functions to create a life-centered design. These conversations lead to adding unique spaces and interesting elements to homes that change and improve the way people live.

It is best if these conversations happen during programming, the beginning phase of design, when architechts and clients can discuss what is and isn't working in a home. The architect should get to know clients and their personal situations. This is the time to do a little dreaming, to discuss interests and hobbies as well as laundry requirements.

A few years ago, we worked with a family with school-aged children. The busy moms number one complaint was that her laundry room was in the basement. She also struggled with not having a place of her own to organize the family, pay bills and keep everyones schedule straight.

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Renovation Solutions: Life-centered design improves lives through remodeling

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Liberty church Remodeling Mount Vernon Part 1: Painting - Video