Elizabeth Franklin, founder and chief executive officer of the Franklin Report, an online guide to home-renovation and maintenance-service providers:
Buy a high-quality paint marketed under a decor-focused brand name like Ralph Lauren (sold at the Home Depot) or Benjamin Moore’s Pottery Barn line. These manufacturers employ designers to select the color ranges and the color schemes for the rooms in the brochures. Consider it off-the-shelf decorator advice.
Cut out pictures from an art or architecture book and frame them inexpensively. (Try www.samflax.com for frames.) “Anything looks like artwork under glass,” says Franklin.
Upgrade air conditioners in winter and heating units in summer. “You’ll be robbed if you wait until it’s hot to call the air-conditioner guy,” she says (assuming he’ll even have time to come).
Consolidate home-renovation projects. Don’t do just the bathroom if you plan to make over the kitchen and the bedrooms in the near future. “The bigger the project, the lower the margin the contractor has to make money off it,” says Franklin.