1. Paint Scheme. A unique paint scheme can really transform a room. This is the most affordable way to change the room. Try out those color combos you might be too shy to try en masse… go for it here!

2. Lighting. There are some bad ideas you can also learn from. Don’t pick an oversized lamp. It will look silly as you can see in the picture and come on. Mom: Jenny. Sit down and do your homework. Jenny: But, mom! There’s a big stupid lamp in my way! Mom: Deal with it! HGTV said it was the new trend!

3. Accessories. They don’t have to be expensive. You can make these yourself, if you’re crafty. If you’re less than crafty. Who are we kidding? If you a clutz with a glue gun, check out the Thrift Stores.

I just got back from the Las Vegas World Market yesterday. I really wish I had planned on staying there longer, but not this time.

My husband and I drove out there. I noticed they had the Bodies exhibit there. I have been wanting to see this exhibit for a long time now. If you don’t know, I am really interested in things that either involve death, celebrity death, grave hunting and mortuary science. If the dead needed an interior designer, I would be it! After, my husband and I had dinner at Morton’s. I know, seems kinda weird to go see dead bodies then eat at a steak house. I’ll just say that the dead bodies looked more like pork than steak.

Here’s the view from our room at the Monte Carlo. Wish I could have taken a better picture, but I could only open the window a whopping 1/2″. Only enough room for the rats and a Flat Stanley to commit suicide. It was really convenient with a bus to shuttle you over and back. Next time, if I went alone, I wouldn’t even need to rent a car!

This was my first residential trade show and, for me, more enjoyable than any of the commercial trade shows I had gone to before.

There was a showroom that had lighting by Candice Olson and they didn’t want any pictures taken of it. Okay, whatever. I will say that I didn’t know how many products Candice Olson had her name on. It was like she was stalking me at every showroom! You could have played Where’s Waldo just replace Candice for Waldo.

It looks like a lot of the showrooms were big into the following products… industrial furniture and lighting, lighting with bling, blingy animal heads, upholstered headboards with bling, retro lighting, crown and tiara artwork and chandelier artwork.

Next time I go, I will spend more time there. I only go through maybe 20 floors. I didn’t see it all or get to fully absorb it all. I’ll finish this post with some of my pics from the show.

So, after looking at these pictures, what do you think? Love  to read your comments…

Here we go again with completing a space for not a lot of money, but it will have major impact.

This could be your average apartment living room. Plain and simple.

Nice color on the wall, but really, the room is pretty bunk.

Now we have a couple of accessories, but nothing spectacular. Looks like someone when shopping on the curb, again.

Now we got it going on. Added a few pillow, some window treatments, an area rug, flowers and a large piece of art. Simply put, much better! Now, I know some of you might say that this looks like an updated retirement home living room. Well, nuts to you!

This is the continuation from my first post on developing your own design plan. Set your National Enquirer to the side. Finish your tweet later.

1. Is there enough storage space in your home? (If not, figure out where you can utilize space to function as storage.)
2. What are your favorite colors? What colors do you just hate? What colors do your family member love and hate?
3. Does everyone in the house have the same design taste? If not, are the tastes similar or polar opposites? If they are different, have you figured out how you are going to reconcile the differences?
4. What style do you want the furniture and accessories to be in? Modern, traditional, formal, casual… the list goes on.
5. What is the style of your current home? (Is your house Modern, then perhaps Country would look silly as a design style to choose)
6. Do you have a favorite piece of furniture or artwork you absolutely love? (Maybe you can use this as the starting point for your design)
7. How much are you going to invest in this project?(At an extra 20% to that figure to cover the incidentals that always pop up)
8. Is this based on real prices or total guesswork? (If you haven’t done the leg work to see what items really cost, you may be unable to complete this project once you start or you may have to downgrade your selections.)
9. Is anyone in your home a handy person? (If so, you may be able to save yourself quite a bit of money if you can do things like painting yourself.)

With your design plan question and answers done, you will be well on your way to figuring out what you really want to accomplish.

1. Plants. Plants are an awesome solution to bring life, literally, to your space and to fill those “What in the world do I put in this space” areas.

2. Non-matching furniture. Please, I implore those who are looking for a new living room furniture set, don’t buy the complete set. It is so not creative. If you already have furniture that doesn’t match good for you! (Or, I’m sorry you’re the one that took my sofa from the curb and that’s why you’re furniture doesn’t match.)

3. Artwork. How awesome is this piece of artwork. Perfectly contrasted colors and telling by the art, you probably could find some kid on Craigslists to paint something similar with a bribe of a McDonald’s gift card.