LIGHT HOUSE

Believe it or not, you don't have to knock down walls, rip up carpet or buy an entire Lazy Boy factory full of furniture to transform your house from drab to fab. Sometimes it's a heck of a lot easier to make a dramatic change without taking a second mortgage out to do it. Take, for example, a sweet couple I'm working with in a nearby town. The young couple (and their three young daughters) moved into the 4,500 square foot house they built four years ago and haven't figured out how to fill it with anything other than doll furniture. So, I started where this family (most likely) began...in the master bedroom. A large space with windows on two sides, a fireplace in the middle and beige carpet, to warm up the walls I painted a light grey from Benjamin Moore (a little more expensive in the world of paint but gorgeous results), found a wrought iron gate at a local antique store to use as a headboard and hung a chandelier in the center of the room for a dramatic splash. For well under $500 we took a less than exciting bedroom and made it the master of the house!

LIGHTENING STRIKES TWICE:

This couple, like many, thought they needed to buy an entire house of furniture to make it warm, cozy and dramatic. Little did they know I had a light bulb moment the second I walked in their house. Chandeliers make a dramatic impact anywhere you put them so, why not swing them from the dining room into other parts of your house? Hang a small one above a vanity in a half bath, place two on either side of a bed as bed lighting, in the bathroom above a bathtub or in the master bedroom above the bed.
TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Gallery 802 often takes up to three weeks to deliver

COST: I found the chandelier above for $160 at http://www.gallery802.com/. If you go to the site you'll think, "what the hell is this" but search, and you shall find gorgeous, inexpensive treats!

STRESS LEVEL: Making the masters of this bedroom happy: LOW