Who said that diamonds are a girl's best friend?

According to results of its fifth annual Kilz Roller Report survey, 85 percent of women would prefer a $5,000 home makeover to a pair of diamond earrings of the same value. (And 88 percent of men would prefer a $5,000 deck or garage makeover to an expensive watch.)

The report was sponsored by the maker of wall coatings and hyped by Lisa LaPorta, an HGTV host and designer who makes her living pushing home improvement. Still, the survey of 1,071 male and female homeowners in the United States and Canada is just a large enough sample to note the results.

"It's shocking, isn't it?" said LaPorta. "The economy is a big factor. People are recognizing that home improvements and do-it-yourself is hot right now. ...The biggest investment is your home, and makeovers will improve the value," LaPorta said.

Well, the idea that people view their homes as investments does not quite qualify as shocking. But there were a few fun nuggets buried in the report, conducted this past spring with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percent:

• While 51 percent of women don't like the decor in at least one room in their best friend's home, only 55 percent would tell them so.

• Sports memorabilia and posters are a turnoff to 39 percent of the women surveyed; 63 percent of them consider home decor a key indicator of a man's maturity level and personality.

• A whopping 88 percent of men say they would invest in home decor to appease a current partner.

• Just more than 50 percent of those men would spend money and invest time on home improvement projects to impress "a new love interest."

• Sixty-six percent of the men surveyed prefer neutral walls to bold colors in a woman's home decor.

And finally, green is apparently the new pheromone. Thirty-three percent of women and 41 percent of the men surveyed said they would rather date someone who uses "eco-friendly" products than one who does not.

Staff writer Kim Yeager contributed to this report.