It's possible to make a lot of recolors without ever touching SimPE by using Homecrafter and Bodyshop.
Homecrafter, available at the official
TS2 site, will allow you to create and package your own floor, wall, and terrain recolors.
Bodyshop will allow you to create recolors for a number of items used on the sims, in particular clothing using EA or custom meshes.
But if you are thinking recolors of many of the build mode items, windows, doors, fences and gates, SimPE is needed for those.
The MTS tutorials are very useful in leading you from the simplest projects (walls and floors) through the more complex ones. Don't overlook the Create section of the site as many tutorials and helpful tips are located there, too.