There is nothing quite as rewarding as being the one responsible for your home's decor. Especially when it looks truly marvelous.

There are so many things that can be done to really make your home a show piece and you can do them yourself! Many things aren't expensive they just require some labor.

For example if your kitchen seems to look a little dated and you're not sure what to do with it, instead of feeling overwhelmed, look at the room in smaller sections.

Look at your cabinets, are they made from real wood? Are they painted or are they natural. If they are painted and looking pretty sad, then a fresh coat of paint would really make a statement. When painting cabinets, remove the doors. Do not paint the doors while they are hanging and remove all hardware. Change the knobs and handles. Changing the handles on natural cabinets can take away most of the dated look.

Are your walls painted, wall papered or textured? If they are painted, that is too easy! There are so many different painting techniques that can change a room drastically. You can still achieve the same with papered walls, but you will have to remove the paper first. Please do not paint your wall paper!

I use to love wall paper because it warmed the room. But these days I paint them and get the same results and I don't have to strip them later when I want to change things. Painting the wall with a semi-gloss or satin paint and then using a glazing compound adds depth and contrast to plain walls. Visit your local paint store and check out glazing compounds and the techniques that are used with them.

Changing your faucets and light fixtures is another way to update a room without too much expense. Unless of course you are looking at faucets and lighting fixtures that run into thousands of dollars.

Wall plate covers are other items that can date a room. Along with window treatments.

If you are fortunate enough to have a floor that is not dated, then you are in luck. Because if the floor has to go then things become a little bit more involved.

Stand back and look at the room and try to visualize what you would like the room to look like. Get color samples, paint chips and material swatches to bring home to work with. Make yourself a board to work on. (One of those science project display boards works great.) Put your swatches and paint chips on the board along with sketches and/or clippings from magazines.

Have a complete picture in your head and on your board of what you want the finished room to look like before you try to tackle the update. Once you have accomplished that, then you are ready to start working on your room. Just remember when updating, look at each area as it's own project and attack each one individually. It won't be as overwhelming in smaller increments.