Please name a very simple, inexpensive home improvement that changed your life for the better

[Anonymous]

I love this thread.

In our guestroom, we took a super cheap Ikea bed and made a padded headboard for it. Looks so lovely. We then decorated the room around the color of the headboard, and happened to own already a painting that fit great in the room! Is so much better than it was previously with just a plain bed.

[Anonymous]

new toilet seats...blind for skylight...handpainted drawer pulls for my dresser

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a rental - replaced bright brass kitchen cabinet knobs with "vintage" Anthropologie ones. And when I moved, I took my knobs with me!

Question for you!

I notice many specialty knobs bought a-la-carte have very long bolts. How do you install them so they are tight and so that the bolt doesn't stick, like, an inch beyond the interior of the cabinet. Know what I mean?

Take the bolts that came with the knobs. Go to Home Depot (or probably even Target) and buy a little package of new bolts that are the same diameter but shorter in length. Bolts come in every combo variation of diameter and length. They come in a little plastic package for a couple of bucks for about 8 of them.

[Anonymous]

Electric bidet.

[Anonymous]

I think you can also saw off the end of the bolt if it's too long and you can't find shorter bolts in the same diameter. There are saws that will cut through metal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a rental - replaced bright brass kitchen cabinet knobs with "vintage" Anthropologie ones. And when I moved, I took my knobs with me!

Question for you!

I notice many specialty knobs bought a-la-carte have very long bolts. How do you install them so they are tight and so that the bolt doesn't stick, like, an inch beyond the interior of the cabinet. Know what I mean?

Take the bolts that came with the knobs. Go to Home Depot (or probably even Target) and buy a little package of new bolts that are the same diameter but shorter in length. Bolts come in every combo variation of diameter and length. They come in a little plastic package for a couple of bucks for about 8 of them.

Or buy breakaway screws and cut to the needed length- we had to do this in our kitchen recently.

[Anonymous]

I refinished the nasty oak bathroom vanity with espresso stain and added brushed nickel hardware. Cost maybe $50 and looks new. Also spray painted the hinges and doorknobs with rustoleum oil rubbed bronze paint. So much better than 1980 brass.

[Anonymous]

I refinished the nasty oak bathroom vanity with espresso stain and added brushed nickel hardware. Cost maybe $50 and looks new. Also spray painted the hinges and doorknobs with rustoleum oil rubbed bronze paint. So much better than 1980 brass.

Saw this on Pinterest and really want to do it. I think mine is veneer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a rental - replaced bright brass kitchen cabinet knobs with "vintage" Anthropologie ones. And when I moved, I took my knobs with me!

Question for you!

I notice many specialty knobs bought a-la-carte have very long bolts. How do you install them so they are tight and so that the bolt doesn't stick, like, an inch beyond the interior of the cabinet. Know what I mean?

Cut the bolt to length with a hacksaw.

If you plan to cut with a hacksaw, screw a nut on the screw first. This way when you cut the bolt you can back off the nut to help re-thread the bolt. You can also buy a screw cutter; go to any hardware store and tell them you want a screw cutter. You thread the screw in, cut it, and back out the screw - one of the best tools I own...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I refinished the nasty oak bathroom vanity with espresso stain and added brushed nickel hardware. Cost maybe $50 and looks new. Also spray painted the hinges and doorknobs with rustoleum oil rubbed bronze paint. So much better than 1980 brass.

Saw this on Pinterest and really want to do it. I think mine is veneer.

Yes! That's where I saw the idea/instructions. Used the General Finish Java stain and foam brushes (not the tube sock the original blogger recommended) and it turned out beautifully. The veneer side on the end doesn't look any different from the rest- I was so surprised (and totally prepared to replace the whole thing if needed- happy I didn't need to). Go for it!

[Anonymous]

Mcmansion

[Anonymous]

Bought a Groupon for a chimneysweep and finally started enjoying our woodburning fireplace, four years after moving in. Would like to convert to gas eventually, but in the meantime, we had a cozy winter.

+1 on good ceiling fans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:replaced painted over, bent vent covers throughout the house. Cost about $300 but HUGE improvement

I really want to do this but am skeptical about being able to find all the random-seeming sizes we have around; where did you get yours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:replaced painted over, bent vent covers throughout the house. Cost about $300 but HUGE improvement

I really want to do this but am skeptical about being able to find all the random-seeming sizes we have around; where did you get yours?

home depot

[Anonymous]

Custom drawer inserts in the kitchen. I love having a happy place for stuff. Plus it keeps my spatulas and whisks from having sexytime when I need them for baking.