Do you wish your living room could be more? More stylish, more radiant, more enjoyable? Do you also worry about how long that might take and what it might cost?

Worry no longer! It doesn’t require a truckload of money or a troupe of workers to make a change for the better. Here are six tips on how to upgrade your living room for an exciting made over look.

1. Consider Color

Think of the elegant living rooms you’ve seen. Have you noticed how many are variations on a single color, and how often the colors are neutral? A conservative color choice for walls, sofas and large chairs not only affords a clean, uncluttered sophisticated look. It also let you use bright tones to make accents and accessories into focal points that stand out.

Still, your walls don’t have to be all one shade, floor to ceiling. Consider a different paint color for window frames, door frames and even baseboards. Use a variation on the main coloration to emphasize the traditional look, or use a contrast for a more modern and playful theme. Blacks and grays are among the boldest choices.

2. Rethink the Furniture Arrangement

The most graceful living rooms have a spacious look. In many rooms, it’s best to start by considering which furnishings can go elsewhere. It’s amazing how much larger a space feels with less in it!

If you have a friend with an eye for design and a willing back, try several looks for rearranging the pieces you plan to keep. Don’t limit yourself to moving major furnishings to different walls! For example, try placing the sofa toward the center of the living space.

Is there now room for a new piece? Start looking by “shopping” your own home. Maybe there’s something in a bedroom that’s just crying out to be seen by more people.

3. Layer Your Lighting

Indirect lighting from multiple sources promotes a nuanced look that plays nicely with the elements of a room. If you have a single overhead fixture, you might replace it with a chandelier.

Use floor lamps and table lamps to create islands of interesting illumination. The effect is more beguiling when the lights are at different heights! A bonus: lampshades can be used as a form of decor. Change them from time to time. Use various textures to modify the lightplay or different coloring to echo decor elsewhere in the room.

Don’t forget that windows are illumination sources, too! Lighter curtains make for an airier room. Another tip: move curtain rods higher

4. Punctuate with Accents

An accent piece creates a focal point! This is especially true if neutral colors dominate the room. An accent chair can lead the way in establishing your secondary color. An accent table might not provide a color contrast, but what about something with curved or metallic legs that puts an exclamation point on the background motif?

Curves and metallics: just a few touches pique a room’s personality. A metal framed mirror or coffee table or a luscious curve on the arm of a chair is a detail that brings depth and richness. Even lamps and decor can add a subtle dollop of metallic sophistication!

5. Do More with Decor

The right living room decor ideas don’t have to break your budget. You can have the look and feel of luxury living room decor with just a few tastefully chosen items.

As with furniture, your first move might be to rearrange the decor you already have. Your next “shopping stop” could be the other rooms in your home. Sometimes renewal can be as simple as replacing frames on pictures and photos.

If you’re creating a new room, however, you’ll almost certainly want a few decor items that are completely fresh to you. If you’ve yet to employ the magic of metallics, here’s a splendid chance. Use wall art and table decor of stainless steel or wrought iron, of gold, silver or bronze. It doesn’t all have to be the same; mixing and matching metals is more than acceptable in the modern living space!

For decor that’s distinctive with each new week, it’s hard to top vases with flowers. A few permanent plants in table or floor pots give living balance to a room, but a large bright bouquet that’s continuously changing is an accent piece all by itself!