bubblyjock The before-and-after improvement in your den, Samantha - the wall behind the tv going from coffee to apple - is AMAZING!!! soooo simple, yet so effective.

Ben Pentreath believes in rearranging the furniture to improve your outlook too; his bonus recommendation, however is to hire a couple of movers to do the grunt-work for you, an idea I support entirely. ;)

kennedytarheel If you don't want to commit to painting a wall an accent color, you can go to the local art store and get canvas and framing wood to stretch a canvas to fit the wall (less than 1" thick) and paint the canvas, then affix it to the wall. It's easy to repaint the canvas (on the driveway) or remove it for a while.
Lot of great ideas here. Thanks!

jdforney Paint kitchen cabinets in a weekend? Surely, you jest. My parents hired a contractor to paint their cabinets & it took him 2 weeks (10 working days), not including the days my parents spent removing everything & cleaning them in preparation. They have a good sized kitchen, but didn't even have the interiors of the cabinets painted- just the doors & the visible exterior frames.

Another idea is to get a few new houseplants. I got 2 yesterday & they are lovely. Today I'm going to get 2 more! I'm itching to get to work in the garden, but I'm at least 2 months away from that in the Boston area. And then it's only cleanup for a month :)

Transforming Rooms Great tips Samantha! Love the cheerful colors! I found this blog on Should I paint an accent wall? It's has tips for deciding which wall to paint, and there are some great photos. Enjoyed the article!

http://www.interiordesigngreensboro.com/search?q=paint+accent+wall

http://www.interiordesigngreensboro.com/search?q=add+color+without+painting

Peggi Worth idforney - I agree with you. I painted my kitchen cabinets once & it took me quite a bit longer than a weekend - and it was a very small kitchen! I thought maybe I was just slow but if it took your parent's professionals two weeks then I think maybe it wasn't just me.

cillisa Just in time for a three-day weekend! :) Thanks!

Sharon Mallard Nice advise. Almost everyone with any skill level can do these things.

gardendogblue Painting kitchen cabinets can really make a difference and gave the kitchen featured above a nice update. But more was just done than painting cabinets. The ceiling was changed, new lighting added, the refrigerator was trimmed out, extra stove covered and molding added. Still same great ideas to improving the look at a reasonable cost compared to a total kitchen remold.

deidrem1 I wouldn't paint cabinets in a weekend, but when something's not working, I will rearrange furniture, change pillows, change artwork , and bring in other pieces from other rooms. Typically one change leads to others and you have to be open to changing just about everything.

JAN MOYER When in doubt, clean it to the walls and the windows and within an inch of its life. Throw/donate the clutter and junk. It costs absolutely nothing......and the only "skill" required is energy. Works in every room too!

dbppamela I agree with Jan Moyer. We recently had some hardwood floors refinished, causing us to take out everything from the room including wall art and drapes. We hadn't seen those rooms empty since we moved in 20 years ago! It was a great opportunity to reconsider the entire room, de-clutter and re-arrange. It also made what started out as a chore, a chance to be creative! Now we just have to donate or sell what we didn't put back!

ModernistLighting.com "A single, dramatic light can be the main feature in a room and change the look of the entire space."...Lighting can truly set the stage for any space.

nancybrandon Another alternative to painting inside cabinets/bookshelves is to cut pieces of plywood to cover the back of the shelf, then paint it or wrap in favorite fabric. When you get tired of the look, either repaint or recover the plywood.

lazidazi Why do people think that painting natural wood is an improvement?

GAWD!...I go to great lengths to Remove paint, such that [think about it...] it doesn't have to be painted...again!
The photos above [before/after]: The Before looks Better!

Think about it: Once it's painted, it'll chip, smudge, whatever...and it will need re-doing!

POINT: Get back to the natural wood. In all its glory.

If you've got (decent) wood worth mentioning, then you've got wood worth showing - Not wood worth covering up with paint - because, once painted, it will forever need attending [=repainting].

My point: Love the wood. Don't paint it - The wood is the ideal.

frenchdecor I am totally agree, don't paint wood kitchens, floors. Wood is a noble material, so versatile in finish chooses. You can bleach, lighten up or darken it with stain , make it matte or glossier, it is practical, rich, warm looking, all better than painting it. On the other hand now plenty of man made materials around us, more than enough for painting. By the way antiques cost incomparable more if their finish was not changed, experts know the value!!! When I see "outdated" word applied to wood, metal, glass, stone, fabric, leather, all natural materials that are around since humanity exist simply unbelievable to me. It could be outdated look (tired) room, house in general, but mostly times it need some "polishing" of your space, not necessary covering, or disposing, or replacing.

rcates While I like the look of natural, stained wood, it can be outdated if the stain is no longer popular or, in the case of cabinets, the cut is no longer current. We have oak cabinets with a dark stain and cathedral profiles. Very 80's. They also are not full overlay and the openings are narrow (I can't get many a pot in mine without turning it on its side first) which I think dates things as well. To get full overlay cabinet doors, I would have to dispose of the old doors and get larger ones, you can't make them grow. And the old cabinets could probably be cut to have larger openings but that would entail taking them all out, cutting them and then putting them back in. Sometimes it is just easier to redo the whole thing. Painted wood can look very cool and current. It's not much different from stain. I think paint penetrates less deeply than stain and is easier to remove when you want a change. It's all about personal preference anyway, right? To each his (or her) own! I personally like the look of taking out the cabinet door inserts and replacing them with hammered or bubbled glass. Very cool. Might try it in my kitchen just to liven things up. We remodeled two bathrooms and the master bedroom before we moved into our current house last year so the kitchen remodel will be a good while off in the future, but man, does it need something! These are all good ideas for interim solutions for your kitchen until you can afford the overhaul.

Samantha Schoech I stick by my statement that it's always ok to paint wood. It's all a matter of taste. For some people a room full of dark wood is oppressive. Wood can be gorgeous, but it is not sacred. I've seem amazing arts and crafts and Victorian wood details much improved by being painted.
Create the space you want to be in.

ifplan I'm scared of painting the kitchen cabinets. What if I get carried away and it looks terrible?

Melissa Baxter I am so thankful for the articles in this week's houzz update! We are getting ready to put our house on the market for the second time and these little tips will help us breathe some fresh air into our "comfortable" space. I also love the article about appreciating our house for what it is- in the age of HGTV it's hard not to find fault in our average home when perfection is always in our faces. Looking at what made us fall in love with our house will hopefully help us to sell it to someone who will love it as much as we have.

Christine Pazzani Accent walls - I was told recently by a designer they are a thing of the past and not to even think about it in my remodel. I was choosing a very neutral color scheme and I'm mostly happy with the outcome. I still do like an accent wall and I agree it makes art look great. What are the other opinions out there these days on accent walls?

jojoem123 Hi Christine. I just finished painting my living room and one wall is an accent wall. It looks great. I say go with what makes you happy! You have to live there. Why shouldn't it be the way you like it?

tihr @Christine---I have an open concept that encompasses my living rm, dining rm and kitchen. If everything was the same color it would drive me crazy!! In addition I think it would be boring....I have gray on most of the walls but a buttery yellow on a couple of small walls. I think it's a matter of personal taste.

Christine Pazzani I think you are both so right! It is a matter of personal taste. We did a remodel and knocked down a wall so we also don't have good "stopping points" so I did the whole thing Devine white. Prior owners had everything way too dark for my taste so I was afraid of same thing happening. As time goes by and I settle in more here, I can see an accent wall happening. Thanks for the encouragement.