Anybody every done any DIY remodeling?

My kitchen is in dire need of a remodel.  It has this mustard yellow countertops with chrome trim circa the 1970s and they are in horrible shape.  I also have vinyl tile flooring that has tears in it and don't even get me started on my cabinets.  I bought my house for a song and the I planned to remodel the kitchen and bathrooms.  Well, I've got my income tax refund and I'm ready to start a project.  A guy friend of mine said we can do it ourselves (he, myself, and my teenaged son)and he took me to the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store which I had no idea even existed and there was just all this really cheap granite and marble which he claims he can cut to fit with his miter saw and install. 

So I'm wondering am I biting off more than I can chew?  I'm also looking for ideas for my remodel.  I have no idea about color schemes, etc.  Any good magezines or books I should get to help spark my imagination?

• Anybody every done any DIY remodeling? - RockinMT
  • Doesn't have to be "all or none". (sm) - TechSupport
    • See that's why I need you guys! I knew I should be skeptical about my friend and his miter saw! - RockinMT
  • DIY - home improvement
  • I have been there - Tab
  • If your friend is good at measuring... sm - Moo
  • Do you mind me asking where you live? sm - penny
    • I live in the Kansas City area. If you google habitat for humanity website - RockinMT
      • Thanks for the tip. I'm near Atlanta, and I'm sure there is one here. - penny

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We've been making plans to do some repairs to our home like new flooring, painting, cabinets, etc.  Plus we'd like to do something different to our bathroom and possibly even eventually add another bedroom onto our existing home.  Buying a new home is more of an expense than we want to take and honestly I'd rather just do some improving to the one we have.  We can have the flooring installed and do the painting ourselves but we'd really like a little guidance as to what would look nice in our house especially in areas we want to change.  I'm sure hiring an interior decorator is very pricey.  All of those home improvement shows and the internet have a lot interesting information and ideas but hard to really visualize what would be best in our spaces.  Is it really that expense to hire someone to give advice on remodeling?  We pretty much know what to expect when hiring someone to actually do the work but we need someone with some good decorating/remodeling experience.  Thanks for any suggestions. 

in fair condition about 10 years ago, got into some medical problems, and have just now paid off the mortgage.  Hubby and I agreed we would do nothing to the house for remodeling because we wanted to pay it off first, then the medical bills.  I need to know of some websites/magazines/books to start researching for how to go about this.  These will be major repairs - roof, septic, basement, windows, pretty much everything except wiring.  Where do we start?  Maybe hire a general contractor just to do an evaluation and give us recommendations?  Hubby is a handyman but cant seem to get a handle on where to begin.  We would like to do as much of the work ourselves as possible - labor of love and all that...   

Thanks for any and all kind suggestions!