Small Changes for Big Impact

Just as jewelry is the finishing touch for an outfit, accessories such as light switches, vent covers and doorknobs can be the finishing touches in a room.  Replacing mismatched outlet covers or worn knobs costs little but can make a big impact.

The vent covers, light switches and electrical outlets in my house are beige.  The doorknobs are dull brass.  Beige and dull brass do not work with my color scheme.  Plus, the 35-year-old light switches look cruddy despite my thorough cleaning (thorough as in using a cotton swab to clean in between the "on" and "off" letters) and the doorknobs have beige spots from a previous sloppy paint job.  Overall, very blah.  Some updates are in order!

 
Doorknobs come in several styles, finishes and price ranges.  I chose a mushroom style knob in brushed nickel for about $9.  Replacing a doorknob is easy, and you only need a screwdriver.  Your knob will have detailed instructions, but the general process to remove the old knob is unscrew two screws, pull the two handles (one on either side of the door) apart, and then remove the center portion.  To install the new knob, follow that process in reverse.  For the strike plate, remove two screws and the old plate, then install the new one with two screws.  You're done!  Allow 20-30 minutes the first time; after that, you can probably finish the job in 10 minutes.

old dull brass knob

new brushed nickel knob in simple mushroom style

 For about $3 each, you can replace the hinges so they match the new knob.  This is super easy as long as your new hinges are the same size and shape as the old.  You might want to take an old hinge to the home improvement store to match it up with new hinges.  Use doorstops or shims to hold the door firmly in place, then remove the bottom hinge to take with you.  The doorstops or shims will also make it easy to replace the hinges if you don't have a helper to hold the door.  With a power screwdriver, you can replace a pair of hinges in five minutes.

Mismatched electrical outlets can be covered with a "decorator" plate.  Sold under the Masque brand for about $2.25, these plates cover the entire outlet.  Take off the old plate, put on the new, and you're done!  Easiest cosmetic fix ever.

white plate on a beige outlet = not pretty

decorator plate looks much better

 Alas, there is no Masque for light switches.  You need to replace the switch itself.  Yes, that means electrical wiring... but it's not as scary or difficult as you might think.  First, shut off the power at the breaker or fuse box.  Back at the switch, flip it to make sure the power is off.  I recommend double-checking with a voltage tester.  You don't want to give new meaning to the word "electrogoth." :P

Remove the wall plate, then remove the two screws holding the switch in place.  Pull the switch out so you can get to the wires.  Before you begin disconnecting anything, you might want to take a photo to ensure you can wire the new switch the same way as the old.

OMG electrical wires!

Replacing the switch is a matter of detaching the wires from the old switch and then attaching them in the same way to the new switch.  For step-by-step photos and/or videos of better quality than I could make, Google "how to replace a light switch."  I replaced my old beige switch with a new "Decora" style white switch for $2.

beige switch looks grubby

new white switch looks much better

For about $22 and one hour of time, the look of the room is freshened.  It's updated, cleaner and sleeker.

For an additional splurge of around $14, I replaced the beige plastic vent cover with a far nicer cover in black steel.

beige plastic looks cheap

black steel is swirly goodness