An Englishman’s home is his castle, and as home prices soar so to does our fascination with improving them to the point where it has become a national pastime.

I’ve lost count of the number of themed programmes on television from Changing Rooms onwards which tackles the multi-million pound industry which is home improvements.

How things change. Fifty years ago we were watching black and white television and along came a man called Barry Bucknell who had a lasting impact on many of us. He would stand in his shirt sleeves, performing live mind you, and taught us how to use a hammer, a plane, a screwdriver and embarked on endless DIY projects. How to hang a door, building a canoe, repairing your window frames and many more in a great programme called Do It Yourself.

Of course Do It Yourself became abbreviated to DIY and the great man, who only died a couple of years ago in his nineties, left a legacy which has evolved over the years from Blue Peter (Here’s one I prepared earlier), to the flamboyant and, no I won’t say it, Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen, whose Changing Rooms projects have left us all in a cloud of fluffy fabrics, garish colours and wondering how to make granny’s chamber pot look less like a “po” and more art nouveau!

Along the way we’ve had Carol Smillie and countless slightly dodgy presenters telling us how we should drape our living rooms, paint our balustrades and make the bathroom a place where you want to be, rather than need to be at certain natural points in your life.

We have always been keen to do things to our homes but in recent years there has been an explosion of interest in home improvements on a scale never before seen. Technological advances have meant that there are now so many ways to plan it, design it, change it, buy it and then do it all over again for every room in the house.

The demise of the individual shopkeeper led to the superstore and you can now indulge your home seven days a week, often 24 hours a day. The list of products is mind blowing, and the tools and accessories equally so. The spin off has spawned books, CDs and specialist equipment and we quite simply can’t get enough of it.

If you don’t want to do it yourself you will most certainly find design consultants, home doctors and a range of other specialists who will advice what you should do with your decorations, room layouts, gardens and colour schemes.

When you have decided on the master plan there are specialist tradesmen out there to make your dream come true, and you can sit back and let it happen.

If you go for a major makeover for your home consider putting the cost onto your mortgage. Expensive store loans with high APRs can take huge chunks out of your monthly budget. Bearing in mind that you are putting value onto your home by improving it, it makes sense is you have equity in it to use it now for it will repay you tenfold over the medium to long term, or alternatively be an attractive increasing legacy for your loved ones to inherit.

Extensions, garages, double glazing, new bathrooms, central heating and cavity wall insulation are sources of increasing the value of your home by the largest amounts. Leave enough over for decoration but remember if you are planning to sell soon that your taste and others will differ widely and often wildly.

Some consultants advise especially on how to prepare your house for the market and a few pounds spent with them could put thousands in your hands when you move. If you are improving for your own pleasure and are looking at remortgaging seek advice from an expert, most of whom are stringently policed under the new Financial Services Act.

Traditionally there is always a rush to start DIY projects and improvements around the Easter period when Spring is in the air and nights are lengthening. But, you may find that a trip to the January sales is worthwhile for bargains in decorations and many things which you can store away while you plan your own Changing Rooms project on dark winter evenings.

Whatever method you choose it is important to enjoy what you do. If a task is beyond you, call an expert, we can’t all be Llewellyn-Bowens, or take advantage of the many books and by products of the boom in home improvements.

Graham Smith for Third Age.