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Here are the latest month's daily tips from Right at Home Daily.
 Take tin cans that are to be recycled and transform them into outdoor lanterns. Peel off labels, hammer a nail pattern around the can, and place votive candles inside to illuminate a pretty evening.
Make your home family-friendly by buying new videos or CDs and purchasing a new board game (or replacing your beat-up versions of such old favorites as Scrabble or Monopoly), and set up a play area.
Create a "mud room" area by the garage or back door so boots, scarves, hats and heavy coats are easy to find. Also, supply the area with paper towels for drying.
Before you furnish your home, head to a large home center store such as a Restoration Hardware, Home Depot, or Expo to explore ideas.
Buy a new set of breakfast dishes. Look for unique tableware at estate sales or a store that sells seconds.
Keep an extra cordless phone in the house that you can get at easily in case you need to work outdoors or be in the basement.
To add an accent of sunshine to your new kitchen, fill a wrought iron bowl with ceramic lemons.
If your home has a back staircase, consider covering it in a dimpled diamond plate vinyl -- to mimic the sturdy steel treads of loading dock steps -- for a fraction of the cost. It keeps the steps slip proof and offers a high tech look.
If you love tea, start collecting tea items that will enhance your tea-drinking experience when the weather turns a bit cooler. There are tea strainers in various shapes, all sorts of teapots, cups, and trays to make the ritual of sipping tea more fun.
If you have an extra closet in a study that you don't use, remove the door and form a cubbyhole office with a desk and filing cabinet. Cover the closet walls with corkboard so you can pin reminders and messages.
Unleash a wild color to draw eclectic objects together in a room. Try lipstick red on a small chair.
Look for an inexpensive sculptural floor lamp. The incandescent light will give the entire room a warm glow. Sconces can add depth to a room, too.
Turn a blank wall into a focal point. Place large objects such as a boxy bureau stacked with books, tall containers with flowers or hatboxes to create a visual inverted triangle.
Paint your entry hallway a playful color that will convey a warm greeting, such as Mediterranean blue or pumpkin.
To create the look of old world charm in your kitchen, apply hefty hinges reminiscent of those on old iceboxes. Install antique leaded windows found at a local salvage yard. To convert a new refrigerator into one that looks vintage, find crimped steel panels from a restaurant supplier and wrap them around the refrigerator to disguise it.
Set up a coffee center in your kitchen with a new coffee maker, mugs, sugar, creamer, and fresh coffee beans. If you're a tea drinker, do the same with tea accessories.
To give your kitchen a makeover without breaking the bank, consider inexpensive laminate countertops. For a bit more money, you can turn the counters into a focal point with clever edge treatments, perhaps in a contrasting color.
Treat yourself to an automatic garage door opener. These come with instructions and are reasonably easy to install yourself. It provides convenience and safety at night.
Make a list of all the antiques and valuable accoutrements in your home and call in an appraiser for estimates.
If you have an empty corner, consider filling it with a pedestal with a bust of the head of a favorite artist or composer, or a vase with dried flowers.
Convert an old hutch into a television hideaway by cutting out a spot for the plug and removing the shelves. Then, re-stain or paint it a color that will match the mood of the new family room.
For those who live in the colder half of the country, start a craft project that you can do in the evenings while listening to music. Or, open a new puzzle with 1,000 pieces or more.
Buy outdoor furniture that can withstand any type of weather so you don't have to haul it indoors and outdoors when the weather turns cold.
Find old kitchen chairs (they don't have to match!) to place in your family room. Paint them a bright, lively color. You can buy ready-made cushions or make them yourself with a swatch of inexpensive fabric.
Spend a day with a friend at a spa. Have a massage, facial, manicure and pedicure. If a spa day is out of the budget, you and your friend should do it yourselves at home.
During the cold weather, place door mats inside and outside so you don't trek in dirt, snow and ice. Buy mats that reflect hobbies of your family members (e.g., with golf or tennis motifs).
Add elegance to a living room entrance by creating an archway adorned with ornamental plaster moldings. Add columns on either side of the arch to support it in a grand manner.
If you have a fireplace in an apartment or home that either doesn't work or doesn't have a flu, why not convert it into an electronic hearth? Another trick: fit a framed mirror in the opening of a non-working fireplace. It makes the room look larger.
Use your dining room at least once a week and not just when you host a dinner party. Set the table with your best placemats and china. Even pizza tastes better on fine china!
Have your curtains cleaned, dust all blinds and baseboards before you place your furniture, and have your windows washed. Your house will sparkle.
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