Reface Your Kitchen Cabinets

Rather than redoing the entire kitchen for $25,000-$50,000, resurfacing your cabinets is an easy, cost-effective upgrade. Having your cabinets repainted will cost you between $4,000-$6,000, but handy homeowners might tackle the project themselves.

A slightly pricier option ($6,000 to $15,000 in most markets) is to have professionals refurbish your wood cabinets with a new look, giving them a darker finish (shown here) or lightening them up. While you're at it, upgrade the cabinet hardware. Small kitchen upgrades like these can recoup about 83% of the cost when its time to sell.