My first experience in home improvement was with my mom. She was a single mother of three and always had us building something, whether it was a shed or adding on a room. Regardless of the project, one of us would always inevitably hit her in the head with a 2x4. She always said it was our subconscious way of fighting back for having to help her. But, looking back, I now realize how she taught us that no matter what situation we were in we could always make it great.

I chose to redo this room for my cousin because it really needed a warmer feel. I know who she is and I wanted to create a beautiful space that she would love.

One of the most common wall treatments people want is referred to it as the Tuscan look. No surprise there really, as it adds depth and a sense of age. With the technique I use to achieve this look, I can usually take a bland white wall room in any home and make it look like a museum.

The first thing we did was to remove the popcorn from her 14 foot ceilings. We did this with a spray water bottle, a scraper and lots of plastic.

Next it was time to texture the walls. The first thing I did was to apply taping mud with a large trowel to the walls. You can create a large or small pattern depending on how you apply it. I applied it rough with the trowel and then smoothed it down leaving some of the roughness for texture. Once it was dry, I painted all of the walls with a light colored latex paint. The trick in this application is to try not to fully cover the new mud with this coat. It's best not to apply excessive pressure when painting so that you can allow some of the taping mud to show through.

Once this was dry I went over the wall with an oil based stain like you would use on a piece of furniture -- such as Minwax oil based stain -- making sure to wipe off any excess. In the corners I left more stain and wiped more thoroughly in the center of the wall to add a sort of oval shape to the room. Where ever the taping mud was unpainted it appeared darker and gave the wall more of a 3 dimensional feel. I have done this procedure many times and have found that you can get different looks with different colors. If you add more than one stain it adds to the richness of the wall. For example if you choose to paint the walls with a caramel colored latex paint and cover it with cherry stain first, wipe it down and then walnut stain afterwards, you will be surprised at how beautiful it turns out. The best way to think about this process is applying the colors like a woman would apply make-up. Certain colors cause highlighting and others contouring, this is the same concept to use to change the shape of your room.

Once that was finished we put up crown molding and I painted the same flowers she had on her bedspread on to the wall behind her headboard and around a mirror. The real inspiration for this room came from that mirror. My cousin had gotten it from her grandmother who had owned it since the 1930's.

I have been doing home improvement projects for so long I could say I've done most things you could possibly do around a house. I even built a 1500 sq foot 2 bedroom/2 bath house with my 72 year old mother. That was a project I loved. Most of the materials we used were recycled and to this day people comment on how well we used them. We found an old building and asked if we could take it apart. The owner said that it was old and unused. She allowed us to use the materials for my mother's home. We used reclaimed ship lap and used the windows and wooden flooring from that building. Using these materials was exciting as the building we took them from was built during the early 1900's so they added so much character to my mother's home.

Though, I have to admit, the best part of this project was that it allowed me to see my mother as a friend and someone that I enjoyed working with. For the first time I saw her as someone other than my mother. That experience allowed us to start a new relationship.

It has allowed me to find myself and learn about others in the projects that I've done. It was the most obvious to me when I built the home with my mom.

I believe that everyone is entitled to feel safe, protected and calm and home improvement is the only way to create that atmosphere for yourself. Living in a box just won't do. Once I chose my colors that were me, it became my haven. That's what most people want from their homes to begin with. It allowed me to feel so calm and peaceful in my own home that it gave me a new sense of self. No matter how much I would've paid an interior decorator it wouldn't have been the same. I honestly feel that every woman who turns to Be Jane for help and advice has the same potential, to create a home that makes her feel safe and secure; she just doesn't know it yet.

Best advice I could offer is to know your tools. Just go down to your local hardware store and look at all of them. It doesn't make a difference if you are planning to work on a project that you'll need this tool for now. When the time comes you'll know what you need and how to take care of it. Due to the lack of physical strength that many women face, it's always important to know which tools are the right tools. Because remember, the right tool will make any job that much easier!