Before hiring a contractor to turn your house into a construction zone, you might want to consider tackling a few tasks yourself. Not only would you save on labor costs, but you'd avoid paying the mark-up contractors charge for materials. So if you have a handy bone in your body, here are some doable DIY fix-ups.
Refinish or reface kitchen cabinets
Consider either refinishing existing cabinet doors with paint, stain, or laminate; or reface them, which means putting new doors on existing kitchen boxes. But if you’re refacing old cabinets with brand-new doors, “Measure twice and cut once -- or measure three times,” says certified kitchen designer Judy Scott of The Home Depot. “I’ve seen far too many people get the measurements just slightly wrong and end up with a full set of doors they can’t use, can’t return, and can’t correct because it was custom-cut to fit.” To avoid this, order one door and one drawer front before ordering the whole set. Yes, it’ll add an extra month to your timetable, but planning ahead and getting it right can save you hundreds of dollars and hair-pulling aggravation.
Buy new knobs for cabinetry
“I’ll take off the round knob on a drawer and change it for a deep, bronzey pull handle, which works in bathrooms and kitchens,” explains Jennifer DeLonge, an LA-based interior designer. Likewise, you can replace wood knobs with modern stainless ones, or swap cold metal ones for antique colored glass knobs (Anthropologie always has a great assortment for $2 to $5 a knob).
Add track lighting
Because these are lights that go on the surface of the ceiling, as opposed to “pot” or “can” lights that are recessed into it, you can install these yourself without extensive experience in wiring.
Insulate the attic and other energy-sucking areas
"Before you renovate a single thing in your home that you think is going to make you money later," says Tom Silva, general contractor for This Old House, "you should first be fixing what's costing you money now: energy wasters." His suggestions: Caulk around the windows and spaces between the floor and baseboards. Buy water heater blankets. Service your furnace so it produces the most for the least. Insulate your visible pipes for heat loss. Buy a “draft stopper” or “draft guard” for the bottoms of your doors (a cheap fix from $10 per door) so wind or heat doesn’t slip through. “The first winter in our house, our heating bill was over $400 a month,” says Jennifer, who lives in a three-bedroom home in Maplewood, New Jersey. “One weekend, we insulated the attic, caulked the baseboards, and plugged up the drafts coming through the electrical sockets -- which I first did with duct tape. Our bill dropped to $175 a month. It was a huge savings.”
Tile the bathroom floor or kitchen backsplash
This is a definite DIY if you’re working with a flat, dry surface -- like a cement or plywood subfloor, a flat wall, or an already tiled surface you want to cover with new tiles. Just buy the right tools and follow the directions on the tub of mortar. Don’t forget the spacers for between tiles and the notched trowel to create even ridges on the mortar under the tiles.
Replace kitchen or bathroom faucets and fixtures
A new, modern faucet can make a sink look brand new again. As long as the new fixtures don’t require a smaller hole in the furniture or sink than the one that’s already there, it’s an easy upgrade. Even the smallest change can make a big difference. “I wanted to update the ratty shower stall,” says Todd, who lives in Montauk, New York. “I put in an $80 spa showerhead from Bed Bath & Beyond and some Aveda shampoo products, and the shower stall suddenly felt like a spa.”
Add wainscoting to walls
What looks like an intricate wall design is actually a straightforward DIY project, provided you’re working with even walls in good condition. Basically, you just need to purchase the wainscoting (according to your measurements) along with a coordinating baseboard and rail, and some glue or nails to put it up. Most big-box home stores, like Lowe's or Menards, sell kits to help you measure it and keep it level.
Overhaul wood paneling
If you don’t like the look of wood-paneled walls (few do!), turn it into a flat, fresh one. Just fill in the panel cracks with joint compound; then either scrape it off with a big, wide putty knife so it’s flush with the wood, or run a damp sponge over it to feather it evenly into the wood. Then prime it and paint it! Presto: A brand-new, modern wall. Don’t hastily pull off the paneling altogether, says Scott. “It may be nailed or glued to the wall which will require a lot of repair work, or it may be hiding something. People put paneling up for a reason!”
Install a new medicine cabinet
If it’s a flush mount and sticks on the wall, you’re good to go. Just buy a better one that will change the entire look of the room. If it’s recessed, you might have to cut a little bit to fit a new one, but the change can be stunning. “We just pulled ours off the wall and hung a new one that I found,” says Amy from South Orange, New Jersey. “It was a knockoff of a $200 Restoration Hardware cabinet that I found at a local hardware store for $100.”
Paint
Is it obvious? Yes. Is it an easy solution to changing the entire look of a room in an instant? Yep, that too. Paint a whole room, add a bold accent to a wall, or do some fresh, glossy white trim for the cost of a few gallons of paint.
by Amy Spencer
3/28/08
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Decor Tricks