Refinish your cabinets-you can quickly change the look and feel of your kitchen by refinishing your cabinets. Your cabinets might have once been wood but the wood is now lost under layers and layers of paint. Remove the old paint and return your cabinets to their original glory. Use a stain or clear finish to give the wood the right look to match your kitchen and house.

Buy funky fixtures-keep an eye out for unusual fixtures. You will be surprised at the variety of light switch covers and outlet covers that are available. You can look at the available options at the home supply store but you might also encounter fun fixtures at consignment shops and antique shops.
Other fixtures that can really change the look of a room are light covers. Replacing your dirty old light cover from the seventies with a modern, multifaceted light cover will change the lighting in your room and update the entire look.

Replace or refinish doors-bedroom doors might also be made of beautiful wood that is covered with layers of old paint. Look at your doors to determine if they are made of real wood. If they are, you might consider sanding off the old paint and restoring the wood. Wood is a great, earthy look that is usually an improvement on paint. Plus, wood never goes out of style.
Besides refinishing old doors, you might want to consider buying a new one. Your door is the first part of your house that a guest will see. Nice door are expensive but they last forever and they can really add a lot to the look of your home.

Add a doorknocker-of course, if you get a fancy new door, you will also want to get a fancy new doorknocker. There are so many knockers available. Find a knocker that reflects your personality. This update can really add to the charm of your house for a relatively small amount of money.

Switch to a gas-burning fireplace-gas-burning fireplaces are becoming more popular all the time. True, you will lose the charm of a "real" fire but gas fireplaces have their own charm and they are used a lot more than their wood burning counterparts. This means that even if the fire is less charming, it is still somewhat charming and much more frequently. It seems that for most people the charm factors evens out.
Switching to a gas fireplace is getting cheaper as it gets more popular. However, it is probably a job that exceeds most people's do-it-yourself skills so you will probably have to pay to have it installed. Still, even having someone switch your wood burning fireplace into a gas-burning fireplace will probably only cost around $500. This is "chump change" compared to the prices you would pay to remodel your home.