Wake up a tired piece of furniture by giving the legs a glossy enamel finish. We updated a classic wing chair with sunny yellow oil paint. 

Sand the legs lightly with medium-grit sandpaper. Apply 1 coat of oil-based primer, followed by 2 coats of oil-based paint. Allow plenty of drying time between applications. 

If you're not planning to reupholster the piece, protect the fabric well with plastic sheeting; attach it with painters' tape, smoothing the tape into the creases where fabric meets wood.

If you can peel and stick, you can bring a natural note to your home office with coordinated wood-grain accessories. All it takes to make a matched set of mouse pads, file boxes, and straight-sided glass jars is self-adhesive shelf liner.

Cut the paper just larger than the surface you want to cover, apply, and trim excess with a craft knife. 

You won't have to bother washing your paint pan if you line it with heavy-duty aluminum foil before using it. This trick is especially helpful if you're painting with different colors -- for each new hue, throw away the old foil (after pouring excess paint back into the can), and put in a fresh sheet, molding it to the inside of the pan.

Storing baking sheets, cutting boards, and sturdy platters upright on kitchen shelves frees space and keeps you from having to lift a heavy stack when you need only one item. Create dividers for them using tension curtain rods. Buy rods to fit the space, and position pairs of them at intervals. Twist to tighten.

Don't let your matching sheets get lost in the linen closet. Use this simple trick: Tuck the sheet set inside one of its pillowcases, and then stack according to size (twin, full, queen, king) or by the room you use the sheets in (master bedroom, guest room.)