In today's world of home channel popularity and all things fashionable, making your home magazine perfect and envied by all isn't such a hard or expensive thing to do. Even the smallest changes and additions can make a huge difference for less than a weekend getaway. After all, your home is lived in before and after the getaway.



- Start with space. You'll need to open up the cluttered space in your home to make it instantly appear larger and cleaner. Take a look at the corners of your rooms and you should be able to find something to store away or move into a more appropriate room. Books add brains to a home but too many can cause it to feel like a library or book store not a homey retreat.

- Decide which decorative items you really have outgrown and get rid of them! Too many eye distracting knickknacks cause the brain to feel jumbled and that certainly doesn't help with stress or relaxation.

- Tops of entertainment centers and stands shouldn't be bare but they also should show! Often times homeowners pack on the pictures and collectables too heavy leading to lots of beautiful items with no way to focus in on any. Less is more. Pick the items you want to keep or the ones that make the best statement or compliment the room's décor. Make a select few focal points and let them stand alone.

- It truly is amazing what a fresh coat of paint can accomplish. Nothing beats this upgrade for the price. It really all comes down to the color selection. If your walls are a contemporary white, spruce it up! Make one wall a focal wall and paint it a bold color. This will energize the room and everything placed on that wall will pop. If your walls are a tad too neutral and drab, try a modern earthy tone such as sage green, mocha, or a pale deep yellow. Depending on your furniture color, flooring, and drapery, select a color that will compliment and yet not blend in too much. Note* using a semi-gloss finish may be great for washing or children, but flats are really the best finished look for a room.

- Bathrooms and bedrooms are always a sanctuary or at least they should be. You'd be amazed what a few simple projects can do to your rooms. For the bedroom, try painting the trim on the windows and doorways a deep chocolate, switching out the metal or plastic mini-blinds for a dark wood bamboo blind. A new bed-in-a bag can cost you as little as $89 and still look modern and fresh. Martha Stewart's bed-in-bags are surprisingly classy and comfortable. Add a small lamp behind a cornered bed or behind a larger item on the dresser, (Television) the lighting in the room will be soft and inviting.

- Bathrooms should make you feel welcome and leave you with a calming feeling. Try sprucing up your small space with new color and texture. Replace hardware in the bathroom, (towel racks, faucets, hooks and doorknobs) with a brushed nickel or stainless steel instead of the out of date gold plated or brass. Purchase a new bathroom set that is plush and feels good to the hand. Your feet will thank you and so will your eyes. A new modern shower curtain will look great against your new chrome fixtures and will make them pop. Clear away all personal items including combs, brushes, lotions and cups on the sink, and keep it minimal. Hang fresh new hand towels. You'll feel like you're in a resort when you enter your new bathroom.

- Your kitchen should be a fun place to be. It may be the busiest room in the house and most used, but it should look like it. It's easy to pile up papers and photos on the fridge, and snacks and appliances on the counters. Make a new home for these items tucked away out of site. The less you have in the kitchen, the less you'll have distracting you physically and mentally. Lighting is important in every room of the home and most neglect the kitchen. You can purchase a $10 miniature lamp at a local drugstore and add it to the end of a counter or corner baker's rack to illuminate the room and add a cozy soft glow at night. It will make you feel at home in your home.

- If you have an outdoor space such as a porch or deck, treat it as an indoor space. Add plants, lighting, perhaps a small water fountain for a tranquil setting. Don't neglect the texture and appeal of these spaces. Enjoy plush rugs, seating and color as you do indoors.

Even making small changes to each room such as removing boxes of extra clutter or belongings can make a huge impact on your mental outlook and internal mood. You'd me amazed at how desterilizing a sterile space can make you want to stay in that space. Adding even a splash of color or a new item to a room can change the whole effect. I know there's something in your home that shouldn't be there. Take one room at a time and turn your abode into a lifetime getaway.