100 DIY Upgrades for Under $100

Invest a little cash and get a big improvement in how your home looks and feels. The editors of This Old House give you their top tips

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

How to do it: Display your flat-screen TV on a tabletop easel with adjustable clamps.

Estimated cost: Academy Deluxe Table Top Easel, about 80; Madison Art Shop

Wallpaper a Door

How to do it: Use paper and paste left over from a big job to dress up door panels, letting stiles and rails frame the decoration. For slab doors, trace a shape on the back of the paper, cut it out, and center it on the door.

Estimated cost: Nothing

Hang Natural Fiber Shades

How to do it: Use natural fiber shades to highlight the transition between indoors and outdoors and help insulate windows.

Estimated cost: 23-by-72-inch Bamboo Roman Shade, similar one shown, about 26; Target

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

Turn Upper Cabinets to Instant Shelving

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: The Lighted Visitors Button shown here will impress your guests.

Estimated cost: About $70; Rejuvenation Inc.

Add a Doormat

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

Raise the Lighting

How to do it: Flank your sofa with matching pendants to open up space on end tables.

Estimated cost: Two Eden pendant lamps with drum-style fabric shades, about $99; CB2

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

Doorway Display

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

Clear the Counter

How to do it: Build in a soap dispenser beside the kitchen faucet to keep that Palmolive bottle out of sight.

Estimated cost: Whitehaus's Beluga Soap/Lotion Dispenser in polished nickel, about $90; KitchenSource.com

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.

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