1. Create a comfy living room by getting your furniture in the right spot. For an inviting feel, place your sofa on the wall opposite the room’s entrance and face side chairs toward it. Put your coffee table no more than 18″ from the sofa so that it’s close enough to set a drink on.

2. Hang a slim shelf just below eye level to display a mix of old photos, digital pix and artwork in various size frames. Layer or rotate them whenever you like (you won’t be stuck with lots of little holes in the wall).

3. Make over a dresser by painting it a splashy color and adding stylish new drawer pulls. Plan on two coats of primer (after sanding) and two coats of paint, then apply a coat of polyurethane for extra protection.

4. For safety reasons, decorators suggest not hanging anything over the bed. Combat blank walls by using wallpaper as art. Paper the wall directly behind your bed to create grandeur in a small room or to cozy up a large one.

5. Reupholster dining chair seats
Measure and cut fabric, allowing an extra 2″ all around. Wrap fabric around cushion, pull fabric in starting with corners and affix with a staple gun.

6. Streamline your home office
Get rid of clutter by putting a system in place. Invest in enough boxes, magnetic strips and files so that everything has its own home.

7. Create curb appeal
Revamp your front door by painting it a fun color like teal or orange.

8. Swap all your incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)
They burn less electricity and last longer. While you’re thinking green, change your kitchen faucet to an eco-friendly low-flow tap.

9. Fake an entryway. All you need is a bench or table and coat hooks. Adding these elements ensures you have a place to put the things you drop at the front door.

10. Frosted adhesive plastic applied to bathroom windows is a great-and cheap!-way to add privacy, yet let in natural light best for putting on makeup).

11. Stencil a design onto window shades
Lay shade flat and tape on stencil. Starting at the bottom, apply paint to shade with a stencil brush. I choose to stencil only the bottom third of this shade with a vine design.

12. Make any room cozy
Put up decorative wainscoting topped with chair rail around the room’s perimeter for a quaint country look.

13. Install laminate flooring
It looks like hardwood but simply snaps together-you can install several hundred square feet in a weekend. It’s easy to clean, too.

14. Organize your bathroom for good!
Try this easy-to-keep-up-with system: get a few attractive baskets or bins that you like looking at. You can toss everything in them, stack them in a shelf or in the corner and the bathroom still looks sleek.