Freshen up your walls

Are your walls or trim outdated? New paint, paper, and trim can take your exam room from ughh to ahhh.

Think about the trim when you think about the paint, says Wayne Usiak, AIA, Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member and senior partner with BDA Architecture in Albuquerque, N.M. And consider adding a chair rail, crown molding to the ceiling, door casing, or base trim where the floor meets the walls.

If you install a chair rail, you can paint different colors above and below the rail, which would typically be between 30 and 42 inches high, says Usiak. Use dark colors below the chair rail and lighter colors above it. You could also paint one entire wall a darker color if you paint the other three walls a lighter color to keep the room from feeling closed in.

Calculate the cost

You could also wallpaper below the chair rail. "If you go this route, use Type 2 Vinyl covering," he says. "It's washable, antimicrobial, and can stand the abuse of animals and scrubbing cycles."

You don't have to pay a fortune to update your walls. Keep in mind, the more work you give a decorator or painter at one time, the lower the cost per square foot.

"Rubber trim costs the least," says Usiak, "and some extrusions look like wood molding—these don't dent, and you don't have to paint them." It's a full-time job keeping up to speed with available materials, so Usiak recommends hiring a creative designer who can research the perfect materials.