As a Senior Editor at BuzzFeed, I cover lifestyle topics including books, work and money, health, and home.

"I had beautiful walnut cabinets with fussy knobs. I replaced them with sleek brass pulls, and the kitchen looks totally different."

"Toilets especially. I put in nice Kohlers with soft-close seats in our old house. We sold, and the short-term rental we were in didn't have them. 6 months' worth of slammed toilet seats."

"The only downside is once you get used to it, you'll find yourself slamming toilet seats at other people's houses."

"When I sold my last house, the realtor told me it’s a priority to consider what you can see from the street, and then everything you would go through as you put your keys away after a workday.

Do you touch the side door? Do you touch a drawer? Do you have a coat rack area? Use the main bathroom first or walk right into the bathroom off the master bedroom? Care about the touch points you use daily when you first come home. 

And then care about the touch points you use on a Saturday when you wake up late and have a nice, lazy schedule."

"We put motion switches in our walk-in closets and the laundry room. We also added switched timers to all the bathroom fan switches. Set it and forget it."

"I did this with my kitchen and bathroom. I used mmwave sensors that are sensitive enough to detect breathing, so the lights stay on even if you're standing or sitting still. Also, you can select how close or far someone has to be to trigger it."

"I have cheap plastic crap, but I bought some stick-on wallpaper that matches my paint. Now I have nice floral switch and outlet plates.

You can buy samples, much cheaper than yardage. Buy a couple of samples and get out your Xacto knife. Trace the shape of the switch cover on the back of the wallpaper, cut, peel, and stick. Voila!"

"Layer your lighting. Layered lighting means not just one light source per room. You can do a lot with table and floor lamps. Hit up Home Goods or even a thrift or garage sale. Use warm 2700k lights, please. Avoid overhead only lighting almost everywhere. When you look closely at premium high-end places, you will find lots of lighting tucked away, creating that layering. We can’t all install under lights and spots everywhere, but we can get the mid-layer lighting dialed in with floor and table lights."

"This. Under-cabinet models are not terribly expensive. Makes a noticeable difference in your drinking water and in cooking. It's also great for keeping houseplants alive."

"No joke. My mum visited us twice, 6 months apart, and asked if we'd renovated. We hadn't changed a single thing. I'd just been on a mad decluttering spree for a few months, and apparently, that made the place unrecognizable. Highly recommend, it was the cheapest upgrade I've ever done."