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Got a Minute?
Quick Fixes for the Home
By Kelly Burgess
On the Inside
- Install new cabinet hardware. It's quick and easy – especially with cordless screwdrivers and drills.
Look for ways to be more organized, such as installing roll-out trays in cabinets. - Install a chair rail. As Lipford points out, this can really change a room. Today, chair rails are not just for dining rooms. People install them even in halls to protect the walls or to provide a relief point for two different paint colors or contrast for paint and wallpaper.
- Install crown molding. Lipford notes that crown molding is now sold with miter-less corners, making it very easy to use.
On the Outside
- Build a simple walkway or path, perhaps where the grass is worn because people use it as a cut-through. Lipford suggests using patio stone.
- Paint the shutters, either with a new color or just to refresh the existing color.
- Build a simple trellis using five strips of treated wood, and plant it behind a vine.
- Install low-voltage landscape lights. Lipford says they're very user-friendly and look terrific around a front porch or along a walkway.
- Clean and stain a deck or patio.