Over the past couple of years, many of us have spent the extra time at home learning new skills. From making sourdough from scratch to home improvement projects like laying flooring or painting our spaces, many of us have picked up new hobbies that improve our lives.

For homeowners, a surprisingly rewarding aspect of home ownership can be the ability to invest sweat equity that improves your largest investment. When you undertake DIY projects, your efforts result in immediate, tangible benefits in the way your home functions, and can result in real financial gains, as your work adds to your home's value. And, with the resources available to ambitious DIY-ers, learning to do work on your home has never been easier. However, there are still some aspects of home maintenance and improvement that are always best left to professionals, whose training, experience, and accumulated knowledge means that you and the other members of your household stay safe and comfortable. Check out three satisfying home improvement projects you can tackle yourself, and a few others that are best left in professional hands.

Buying a home is a complicated process, and each home transaction is unique. As a result, it can be tough to know exactly what a buyer should ask for after an inspection has been completed but before the transaction has closed. As with all aspects of the home buying process, the answer is going to be dependent on a number of factors, all of which the buyer must understand before entering into negotiations over the inspection's results. Learn what you should think about after the inspection, and what home buyers should reasonably ask for between inspection and close.

It may not seem like it quite yet, but the Chicagoland spring is right around the corner, and it's time to start thinking about the little details that help get your home ready to welcome in the change of seasons. As our homes have become ever more vital to the way we live, work, and play, our home decor choices have become more important than ever. Even little changes have made a big difference in how our homes make us feel — bringing a sense of security, harmony, and calm to our hectic lives. As we approach the end of winter, it's time to turn our homes into spaces that celebrate the vibrant and vital colors, warmer weather, and longer days of springtime. We've brought together three design ideas to help you welcome spring into your home.

When you're a homeowner, it can seem like there's always something that needs to be done around the house. And there's no question that some projects are more fun than others — most home improvements, after all, don't result in big, instagram-worthy transformations or glamorous upgrades. In fact, most home improvement projects are about routine maintenance and avoiding bigger problems down the line. However, there are some home projects you simply should not put off. Tackling these potential problems on a regular basis can save you both money and time, making them worthy investments of a spare weekend hour or two.