If home improvement were a competitive sport, Shannon Tucker could win a tool de force.

The 46-year-old office administrator totally gutted and remodeled the kitchen in her Smyrna townhome, updated the powder room, landscaped the backyard and built a new fence by cutting one picket at a time, all with her own manicured hands.

The kitchen turned out so well that a friend entered it in a contest sponsored by "BeJane," an online do-it-yourself community for women. Tucker not only won the "Jane of the Month" contest for her kitchen in August 2005, but she's also featured in the book "BeJane's Guide to Home Empowerment" (Clarkson Potter, $29.95), released last month.

"It was a great compliment," recalls Tucker. "I even had a woman, they told me at BeJane, who copied my kitchen. It really made me feel proud. It was worth all my effort and sweat."

BeJane was created by Heidi Baker and Eden Jarrin, two Los Angeles women who own their own homes but who had no home improvement experience when they purchased them.

BeJane visitors share tips with one another and empower other budding DIY'ers to find their inner Jane. Tucker was in a situation similar to that of the authors. Like many of the 18 million women in the United States who own their own homes, according to 2005 census data, Tucker realized she had to do more than screw in a light bulb to improve and maintain her investment.

But a good handyman is hard to find.

"I've had repairmen come out who've done shoddy work, so I decided to learn how to do some of the projects myself," says Tucker.

Although she describes herself as a go-getter with a creative knack who's never been afraid to tackle new jobs, she still encounters some weird looks when she shops for tools.

"I'll still walk into a Home Depot and the guys there are like, 'You're going to take on this project yourself?' Like we don't have a brain," says Tucker. "I'm like, 'Yes, I'm doing this. Now give me the parts I need.' "

Check out her story.

TO GIVE THE KITCHEN A MODERN/CLASSIC LOOK, TUCKER:

• Stripped off the old wallpaper and painted the kitchen a warm lime green.
• Removed the old cabinets and had new ones made that she painted and installed herself.
• Installed a window over the kitchen sink after taking out a cabinet.
• Ripped up the old linoleum and laid black and white tile.
• Removed the old countertops.
• Put crown molding at the top of the cabinets and around the kitchen walls.
• Installed new appliances and connected the gas stove, using a connection kit she purchased at a hardware store. "My dad was like, 'you're doing what?' " Tucker recalls. "Apparently I did it right, because nothing's blown up yet."

TO LIVEN UP THE POWDER ROOM, TUCKER:

• Ripped up the linoleum and replaced it with tumbled marble tiles.
• Primed the forest-green walls and hung leopard-print wallpaper.
• Installed a pedestal sink.
• Took the toilet out and replaced it after she completed the flooring.
• Installed a new light fixture, hung mirrors and did the plumbing work.

Total time: About one month, working evenings and weekends. The hardest part was removing the toilet. "The first time I did it, I said God was with me," says Tucker.

TUCKER'S TIPS

• Start small. "Don't make it an enormous project and expect to have it done in a day," she says.
• Have an end in mind before you start a project. "Picture in your mind what you want it to look like when you're finished. That is your goal."
• Check out online chat communities like BeJane (www.BeJane.com). "They really are there to help women who are afraid to take on projects."

I DID IT MYSELF

I Did it Myself is an occasional feature in Home & Garden highlighting the renovation projects of handy homeowners. If you have a project you'd like to tell us about, please e-mail H&G editor Susan Wells at swells@ajc.com or call 404-526-5322.