The Bachelor's Guide to Upgrading Your Digs

Here are 4 tips to help you upgrade your home - on the cheap!

Raise your bar

Hit up your local flea market to keep your bar upgrades under $100. Look for a two-piece china cabinet with hutch. "I like the beat-up rustic look," says Steve Watson, host of HGTV's Don't Sweat It. For the liquor shelves, screw the top part of the cabinet into the studs in your wall.Keep the bottom part a few feet in front of it and play Al Swearengen.

Strike up the Knives

Don't keep your kitchen tools hidden in a drawer or cabinet.Strike a utilitarian note by hanging your cookware from a pot rack ($55, allpotracks.com) and mounting your blades on the wall with a knife magnet ($10, ikea.com). You'll add a heavy dose of style and orginization by putting the kitchen artillery on display.

Plant Ahead

"You have to think 10 to 15 years down the line - not doing that is the biggest mistake people make when picking a tree," says Bob Vila, host of the syndicated series Bob Vila. If you're worried that's too far down the road, go with an Alberta Spruce or hemlock. They both grow quickly, and have a simple root system that won't destroy your yard.

Mix it Up

Want to make your diggs look larger? Try painting one wall a calm color, and the other walls a different shade. This tricks the eye into believing the space is larger, says Melissa Birdsong, VP of trend, design, and brand at Lowe's. Another trick is to pick to adjacent colors from a color swatch. Use these two colors, and paint 12-inch alternating vertical stripes. This will make your room appear taller.

Source: Men's Health, May 2007 pg. 80

Tags: kitchen, Interior design