Remodels: Little ways to save big

Chris's formal dining room came with nice top rails and battens on the walls. However, before the remodel, the trim was finished in a dark stain and just looked like applied molding on the white walls. By painting the moldings white and the spaces in between them a coordinating warm beige--different from the pale-blue field above the rail--the bottom half of the wall looks more like it's actually paneled. Real wood or even MDF paneling for the room would have run as much as $4,000. The paint job was a mere $700.

What They Saved: $3,300