100 DIY Upgrades for Under $100

100 DIY Upgrades for Under $100

100 DIY Upgrades for Under $100

You don't need a fat budget to give your home a noticeable boost. Invest a little and get a big improvement in how your home looks and feels. The editors of This Old House give you their top tips

Add Carved Corbels Under Your Breakfast Bar

How to do it: Check salvage yards for Victorian-era ones with patina for an extra flourish in the eating area.

Estimated cost: Two 30-inch-high-by-19-inch-deep Queen Anne–style corbels, about 95; Capitol Salvage

Plant an Evergreen Screen

How to do it: Plant an evergreen screen on the north side

of your house to block winter winds. Arborvitae 'Green

Giant' can climb 3 feet in one year.

Estimated cost: $92 for two; Jackson & Perkins

Laundry-Room Chandelier

How to do it: Suspend a chandelier in the laundry room for a bit of sophistication in an unexpected place. White Capiz pendant with cord kit.

Estimated cost: similar to shown, $80; World Market

Hook Yourself Up

How to do it: Wall-mount a row of hooks above your kitchen counter to keep dish towels and measuring cups at the ready.

Estimated cost: Polished chrome Alno utility hooks, about 8 each; Knobs and Hardware

Make Your Sink Do Double Duty

How to do it: Fit an undermount sink with a cutting board for more prep space. Measure the length and width of the basin, adding ½ inch to each side. Trim a piece of butcher block to size with a jigsaw. Then create a lip around its underside so that it will rest on the edge of the counter.

Estimated cost: 18-by-12-inch maple block, about 86; Butcher Block Co.

Display Your Display

Hang Natural Fiber Shades

Turn a Closet Into a Home Office

How to do it: Unhinge the door and trade hanging rods for shelves—a deep one for the desktop and two shallow ones above for storage.

Estimated cost: One 20-by-24-by-¾-inch and two 12-by-24-by-¾-inch white melamine shelves, metal standards, and shelf brackets, all by Elfa, about $95; The Container Store

How to do it: Remove the doors on a bank of upper cabinets, then paint the interiors for instant open shelving.

Estimated cost: 1 gallon of Elements Zero VOC 100 percent acrylic paint with a washable semigloss sheen, about $35; California Paints

Create Cubbies in a Bookcase

How to do it: Cut vertical dividers to the depth of the unit minus ¾ inch, and secure them in place with glue and finish nails. Face dividers with 1x1 trim flush with the shelf fronts.

Estimated cost: One sheet of ¾-inch plywood and three 1x1 strips,$26; Home Depot

Install a New Doorbell

How to do it: Polish up an entry hall with a dirt-grabbing doormat to protect the finish on wood floors.

Estimated cost: Chilewich woven vinyl mats wash out in the sink, about $50; Crate & Barrel

Tone Down Brassy Hardware

How to do it: Take the gleam off like-new brass hinges and doorknobs with a simple rub of a darkening solution.

Estimated cost: 8-ounce bottle of Brass Antiquing Solution, about $7; Constantine's Wood Center

How to do it: Add a shelf above a doorway, paint it to match the trim, then use it to display pottery.

Estimated cost: 40-inch-long 1x6 red oak shelf and two 7-inch Classic Oak Brackets, about $32; Rockler

Install a Ceiling Fan

How to do it: Install a vintage-look ceiling fan to recirculate warmed air in winter. Reverse the blades' spin to lower summer cooling costs.

Estimated cost: 52-inch Energy Star Capri with "tarnished" oiled-bronze finish, shown at right, about $90; Lamps Plus

Cover Your Lawn With Flowers

How to do it: Plant a mass of bulbs with grasslike foliage in your lawn. Early-spring bloomers will be ready to mow when your turf perks up.

Estimated cost: 100 scilla siberica bulbs, similar to shown, under $20; John Scheepers, Inc.

Add Floating Shelves

How to do it: Add floating wall-mount shelves in place of a bookcase to free up valuable floor real estate. The shelves' hidden hardware gives them a sleek, airy look.

Estimated cost: 3-foot-long wood Chunky Wall Shelf, about $34 each; West Elm

Conceal Your Air Conditioner

How to do it: Hide a through-wall air conditioner inside a stock kitchen cabinet you can close when the unit's not in use. Paint the cabinet the same color as your walls so it'll "disappear," or choose wood-veneer doors to mimic a pricey built-in.

Estimated cost: 36-by-18-inch Akurum fan cabinet with oak-veneer doors, about $88; IKEA

Waterproof a Kid's Bath

How to do it: Adhere rubber floor tiles to the wall for a lively waterproof backsplash in a kid's bathroom. Coat the tile backs with adhesive and stick them up.

Estimated cost: BR Profile Studded Tiles in 20 colors, about $4.25 per square foot; ACTiVA Rubber Flooring

Paint Your Front Door

How to do it: Brush on a vibrant color, such as a rich red, for a more welcoming entry.

Estimated cost: 1 gallon of RedSeal Exterior Latex Eggshell House & Trim paint, about $25; Pratt & Lambert

Add Vintage Sparkle

How to do it: Swap out a plain powder room doorknob for a vintage glass sparkler. Leave the hallway-facing knob in place for a unified look with the rest of your doors.

Estimated cost: Multifaceted 1900s glass knob with a brass shank that fits most spindles, about $38; Liz's Antique Hardware

How to do it: Mount it on the wall, stick letters and bills in the slots.

Estimated cost: Unfinished 12-by-41-inch Western red cedar fixed-louver shutter, about $91; JCPenny

Hide Home Office Wiring

How to do it: Run wiring behind a beadboard panel in the knee-hole at the back of your desk. Velcro the panel to blocking mounted on the rear legs or sides of your desk so that you can pop it off to access the outlet.

Estimated cost: 4-by-8-foot sheet of plywood beadboard, about $20; Lowe's

Cover a Scuffed Toekick

How to do it: Mask a messed up kitchen toekick with stainless-look peel-and-stick laminate strips.

Estimated cost: 6-inch-high toekick cover, about $12 per linear foot; Doors2Me

Unclutter Your Workbench

How to do it: Organize workbench clutter on a simple pegboard rack.

Estimated cost: DPI's 4-by-8-foot white perforated pegboard wall panel, about $16; Lowe's. Crawford's 43-piece pegboard organizer with hooks, baskets, and jars, about $11; Ace Hardware

Paint a Tile Backsplash

How to do it: Brighten up a dark, dated tile backsplash with cheery paint. Scuff the surface with sandpaper and apply two coats of adhesion primer. Let dry and roll on two coats of oil-based semigloss paint.

Estimated cost: 1 gallon each of Adhesion Primer and ProClassic Alkyd Interior Enamel, about $96; The Sherwin-Williams Company

Crown Your Roofline with a Weather Vane

Decorative Stair Brackets

Trim out your staircase with decorative brackets fastened to the outside of the stringer just below the treads. For more on this and other affordable upgrades, see 100 DIY Upgrades Under $100.

How to do it: Install a dimmer switch in your dining room to set the mood—and save energy. You can even get them in colors to match your wall or trim paint.

Estimated cost: Lutron's Diva C.L dimmer, starting around $31, including a tinted switch cover; Pro Lighting

Brighten Cabinet Insides

Give Bookshelves the Once-Over

How to do it: Group hardcovers and paperbacks separately and sort them by size for a tidier look. Use heavy decorative items, such as a stone bowl or vintage cast-iron tub claw-foot, as bookends.

Estimated cost: Salvaged tub foot; about $20; The Old House Parts Company

How to do it: Put a trellis over an exterior window for clematis to climb on. Coat decorative wood brackets with primer, then paint and secure them to the studs on either side of the window with deck screws. For the top, rip a piece of 5/4x6 red cedar decking into three strips, space them evenly across the brackets, and secure with trim-head screws.

Estimated cost: Two Victorian wood brackets, about $38; Premier Wood Products. Deck board, fasteners, preservative, and paint, about $42; Do it Best

Bring It Down to Eye Level

How to do it: Lower your art to eye level, about 64 inches from the floor.

Estimated cost: Reposition 17 pieces with the OOK Valu-Pak Pro Hanging Kit. about $9; OOK

Fix Up Your Fixture

How to do it: Spruce up a home-center ceiling fixture by swapping out the generic white globe for a colorful, vintage-look schoolhouse shade.

Estimated cost: 10-inch opal drum shade with a painted blue stripe, about $62; Schoolhouse Electric Co.

Use a Ladder as a Bath-towel Rack

How to do it: Lean it against a wall and sling bath sheets and washcloths over its rungs. The white metal ladder shown here is new.

Estimated cost:For even more character, try a colorful, vintage five-rung wood ladder, about $43; A Rustic Garden

Bulk Up Door Trim

How to do it: Build up a wimpy entry door casing in your foyer with applied moldings to create a more substantial first impression of your home.

Estimated cost: Four 6-foot-long-by-3¾-inch-wide primed white miterless moldings, about $80; Van Dyke's Restorers

Faux Your Floor

How to do it: Paint worn vinyl flooring to look like stone tile. Use two similar colors for the "stones" and white paint to create faux grout lines. Seal the surface with three coats of polyurethane.

Estimated cost: 2 quarts of Valspar latex Porch and Floor paint and 1 quart of Cabot Water Based Polyurethane, about $54; Lowe's. One 4-ounce tube of Pearl Acrylic Artist Paint for "grout," about $3; Pearl Paint

Skirt a Sink

How to do it: Wrap a pedestal sink with a skirt and conceal your waste bin and toiletries below. Stick fabric to the basin edge with adhesive-backed Velcro.

Estimated cost: 60-by-32-inch white ruffled cotton sink skirt, about $60; Simply Chic Slipcovers & Simple Linens

Strip Paint-Caked Door Hardware

Install New House Numbers

How to do it: Add eye-catching house numbers to make sure your address isn't missed.

Estimated cost: Arts and Crafts 2¾-by-3¾-inch glazed ceramic tiles $14 each; Pewabic Pottery

Ornament Your Newel Post

Create a Luxe-Look Bathroom Shelf

How to do it: Support a 4-inch-wide marble door threshold with decorative metal brackets.

Estimated cost: 36-inch-long threshold, about $28; at most flooring retailers. Two Mini Pennsylvania Dutch Motif 3-by-4-inch cast-iron brackets, about $11; House of Antique Hardware

Tear Out Old Carpet on Your Stairs

Add a Stained-glass Window in Your Bath

How to do it: If you can't find an exact fit to replace your existing window, simply hang one from chains in front of it.

Estimated cost: eBay store Bell Antique Mall has Art Deco windows similar to shown, starting at $69; Ebay

Screen Your Fireplace for Warm Weather

How to do it: Retool your fireplace for spring with a screen made from a salvaged section of iron fence. Get one that's slightly larger than your firebox opening so that you can secure it to the surround. Add hook-on hangers to hold potted blooms.

Estimated cost: One 50-inch-wide-by-36-inch-tall iron section with a fleur-de-lis detail, about $75; Sarasota Architectural Salvage. Ace flowerpot holders, about $9 each; Ace Hardware

Shine Some Light on Your Work

How to do it: Brighten countertops instantly with battery-powered LED undercabinet puck lighting.

Estimated cost: Four adhesive-backed Bell & Howell Mini Power Pods, about $20; The Survival Store

Make Candlesticks from Wood Spindles

How to do it: Use a spade bit to drill a recess in the tops for the candle. Group sticks of varying heights for a stunning tabletop display.

Estimated cost: Two 12-inch and two 7½-inch turned redwood spindles, about $9; Vintage Woodworks

Create a Sense of Uniformity

Get a Stencilied Look in Your Kid's Room

How to do it: Decorate the walls with easy stick-on decals in fun animal shapes.

Estimated cost: 22-by-30-inch elephant design, about $25; Janey Mac at Etsy

Assemble a Wall Display

Group small prints, photos, and vintage plates and hang them together for the look of a large, expensive piece of art. Arrange the display on the floor first to limit nail holes. For more easy upgrades like this one, see 100 DIY Upgrades Under $100.

Fill the Paver Cracks

How to do it: Plant low-growing English thyme to prevent weeds from sprouting between pavers. Just sow seeds in early spring so that they'll sprout as the temperature rises.

Estimated cost: 400-seed packet, about $2; Diane's Flower Seeds

Brush On a Welcome Mat

How to do it: Make this diamond-patterened ruglike mat on your stoop by mapping the design with painter's tape and using a

roller to put colors in their places.

Estimated cost: 2 quarts of Valspar latex Porch and Floor paint, about $24; Valspar

How to do it: Change the hardware on your kitchen island to give it the look of custom furniture. Leave the existing knobs and handles on the cabinets alone.

Estimated cost: Melon Knob and Melon Handle, about $26 for both; Anthropologie

String Dazzling Lights

How to do it: Run rope lighting along the bathroom vanity toekick for a soft ambient night-light.

Estimated cost: SuperBright's 2-foot strand, about $8; LAMPS PLUSiles $14 each; Pewabic Pottery

How to do it: Build a wall-mount bedside table with wood corbels topped by a slate roof shingle.

Estimated cost: Two 6-inch oak Legacy hand-carved corbels, about $80; Van Dykes Restorers. 7-by-13-inch salvaged shingle, about $5; Recycling The Past - Architectural Salvage

Install a Cross-Handle Faucet

How to do it: Swap in a cross-handle faucet to warm up a bathroom. A compact, centerset design—for basins with holes spaced 4 inches apart—preserves sinktop space.

Estimated cost: Randolph Morris 4-inch centerset bathroom faucet in chrome, about $84; Vintage Tub & Bath

Mount a New Mailbox by Your Front Door

Use Bin Pulls as Sash Lifts

How to do it: Screw classic bin pulls onto double-hung windows to keep frames free from fingerprints. Twenty Victorian-style cast-iron decorative bin pulls will outfit 10 windows in first-floor rooms, where guests are more likely to see them.

Estimated cost: About $82; House of Antique Hardware

Give Your Porch Some Space

Protect Your Corners

How to do it: Put turned wood corner moldings on the outside corners of foyer walls to protect paint and add architectural detail.

Estimated cost: Traditional 22-inch cherry Corner Guard, about $15 each; Van Dykes Restorers

Give a Wall a Glimmering Two-Tone Effect

Free Up Your Sink

How to do it: Hang a wall-mount cup and toothbrush holder in the bathroom to declutter the sink deck.

Estimated cost: Banner Concave Design Porcelain Toothbrush & Tumbler Holder in chrome, about $23; Vintage Tub & Bath

Frame Your Reflection

How to do it: Transform an unadorned mirror by wrapping it in wood molding.

Estimated cost: A simple frame kit containing four mitered Pemaquid Slim molding strips in a distressed silver finish, the clips and glue to secure it together, and hardware to mount it, about $97; MirrorMate

Bring the Outlet Closer

Help Guests Be Heard

How to do it: Install a chair rail in your bedroom and paint the wall below a serene accent color.

Estimated cost: Enough red oak Colonial-style moldings to wrap the walls of an 8-by-10-foot room, about $75; Baird Brothers

Flank Your Front Door with Sconces

How to do it: Try barn-style caged lights to accent a traditional entry, then screw in outdoor-rated CFLs to save on your energy bills.

Estimated cost: Two cast aluminum vapor-tight lights, about $99.60; Warehouse Lighting

How to do it: Connect two rooms with a pass-through carved out in a nonload-bearing wall. Frame the opening with 2x4s, cover with drywall, and finish the edges with corner beading.

Estimated cost: Lumber, sheet of drywall, beading, and 5-gallon bucket of joint compound to coat it all in mud, about $55; Do it Best

Design a Mudroom Area Rug

Fit a Window Seat in an Alcove

How to do it: Support a ¾-inch plywood seat deck on 2x6 hanging strips anchored into the side and back walls. To form the cubbies, glue and nail in place two plywood dividers. Face the unit with 1x4 poplar.

Estimated cost: Materials for a seat similar to this one, about $60; at lumber yards. 16-by-26-inch Gripper Sensations Microsuede Window Seat Cushion, about $30; JCPenny

Shine in the Darkness

Add a Ceiling Medallion

How to do it: Highlight a hanging light fixture with some decorative interest at the ceiling.

Estimated cost: Paintable 18-inch polyurethane medallion with floral-and-leaf pattern, similar to shown above, about $57; Creative Trim

Build a Wood Planter

Tone Down the Contrast

How to do it: Paint trim lighter or darker than walls, rather than bright white, for a more subtle contrast.

Estimated cost: 1 gallon of Farrow & Ball's Water Based Eggshell yields a saturated color and a slight sheen. About $99; Farrow & Ball

Blur Room Lines

How to do it: Affix mirrored tiles to the soffit above kitchen cabinets. The reflective surface will bounce light around the room, making it appear bigger and brighter.

Estimated cost: Twenty 4-by-4-inch peel-and-stick tiles, about $10; Amazon.com

Lock Up in Style

How to do it: Create an accent wall in the living room by papering the fireplace or sofa wall with grasscloth. Choose one with a tone that picks up the surrounding paint color.

Estimated cost: Double roll of Oriental Grasscloth Knot Textiles, about $70; Creative Wallcovering

Cap Lamps with Colored Shades

Flower Box Boost

How to do it: Mount flower boxes planted with colorful perennials to front-facing windows to boost your home's curb appeal.

Estimated cost: 18-inch cedar window box with liner, about $29; Hooks and Lattice. Flat of flowers, about $10; at garden centers

Whitewash Interior Exposed Brick

Recess Electronics Wires

How to do it: Banish flat-screen TV wires using a recessed outlet and an open-back wall plate to route wires behind the wall.

Estimated cost: Vanco Rapid Link Power Dual Recessed Outlet Flat Panel TV Power Kit w/Romex and Signal Cable Wall Plates, about $66; Amazon.com

Seagrass Hallway Runner

Keep Small Appliances Out of Sight

How to do it: Trim the wood vent hood cover above your range with a tile border.

Estimated cost: 6-by-6-inch Interceramic Antique Metals Hammered Ceramic Tiles in bronze, about $10 each; artofceramic.com

How to do it: Nail an easy-to-clean panel on the wall or right over tired tile.

Estimated cost: 1½-by-4-foot stamped Design 204 panel, about $70; Classic Ceilings

Get Fido's Bed Off the Floor

Original article and pictures take www.thisoldhouse.com site