With the hectic schedules endured today, we hardly have time to sit down and have a piece of toast in the morning ? let alone redecorate the homes we live in. Life is fast-paced. Yogurt now comes in squishy tubes, so we can take it on the go. Voila: Convenience and calcium in one! The point I'm making is that we hardly have time to sit down and eat a decent meal with a fork and a knife, so how do we find the time to transform our everyday homes into luxurious getaways?

In a world of "Gogurt" and "Easy Mac," finding the right moment to redecorate and refurnish outdated homes has become an issue ? but the following strategies are designed to help on-the-go individuals add a touch of elegance to their homes in an easy, inexpensive manner:

1. Using rich colors and fabrics is a surefire way to spice up a room. Pallid white, light blue, and pale green hues are the wrong colors to use if you're looking to add an aura of nobility. Instead, use rich burgundy, deep gold, and neutral beige tones for your walls, rugs, and furniture.

Replace outdated quilts and blankets with chenille throws and pillows to maintain comfort while adding a hint of luxury. And you don't have to break the bank! Bold-colored paint is quite affordable, while off-price apparel retailers like T.J. Maxx offer an array of chenille throws for as low as $14.99.

2. Customizing your own frames will also add elegance to a room's plain walls ? without sucking your wallet dry. Last week, a frame shop employee tried charging me $60 (and there was a special that day…that was half off!) to frame a simple 20 X 24 poster. Needless to say, I snuck out of there pretty fast and opted for Target, where I spent a total of $16.99 on the same black-bordered frame. It took 10 minutes to frame the poster, and the results were equally dazzling.

By sliding a piece of matching construction paper or even gift-wrap under the artwork, you can create a classy matt for your prized piece, and save unspeakable amounts of cash. The labor is quick, painless, and worth it. It's true: You can give your posters happy homes and please your plain walls…all for less than 20 bucks.

3. Adding Mirrors to barren walls is another simple way of infusing elegance within a home. Large, rectangular mirrors will not only accentuate your rich furnishings by reflecting their images, but will create an expanding effect. A plain, flat mirror, for example, can cast the illusion of an equally large, elegant room. This works perfect for small, crammed living areas. Hang the mirror on the far end of your room to initiate the "room-doubling effect." Just remember to splash on an occasional squirt of Windex if you want to keep that "portal to another dimension" visible.

4. Reducing clutter is yet another easy way to make your home seem expensive. How, you ask? If you've accidentally over decorated a room with excess knickknacks, picture frames, or furniture, the space is prone to look cluttered, messy, and somewhat tacky. The solution: Move the extra baggage to a more needy room ? or better yet, have a garage sale to rid yourself of the outdated items. This one costs you nothing!

Unfortunately, over decorating can be tempting, and it cheapens a room. Stacking too many books on a shelf or scattering a surplus of family photos on a dresser often plagues a room with noise and clutter. If you know your decorating limits, however, the results will be worth it. A few pieces of furniture and some simple (yet elegant) decorations will suffice. The focus remains on your signature pieces ? not the five billion framed photos of Uncle Doohickey, his wife, their 26 children, and 14 Chihuahuas.

5. Adequate lighting is also key if you're looking to add refinement to a room. You don't want a lamp that bleeds too much light; its brightness will take depth away from the room's deep tones and fabrics. A dark room should also be avoided, as it makes rich hues nearly invisible to the eye. You want something in between ? soft lighting with moderate brilliance. This way the lighting is bright enough to accentuate a room's finer pieces, but soft enough to maintain their deep colors. And all you need to purchase is the ideal light bulb. Perfectly elegant, and perfectly cheap!

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