Ask HN: Developers-without-much-budget, how did you make your site look great?

So you're a great developer, you developed an impressive web app. But you're a one man band, or a small company bootstrapping, without alot of cash to blow on expensive designers. Maybe you've got a few hundred or a few grand to spend on design. How the heck did you get from something that LOOKS like a programmer designed it, to something that looks sexy and modern? What's your story of how you did it? Did you somehow find a designer, if yes from where and how much did they cost? Or did you take some other path? How does a developer without resources get a site/web app to look great?