Do you want a designer look for your home—right now, for no money? Christopher Lowell hears you. The king of “let’s don’t and say we did” is at it again with more than fifty super-simple decorating tricks from the designer’s little black book. One glance and you’ll be inspired to make your home feel like you—modern, fresh, and in sync with today’s hypertasking lifestyle.

But who’s got time to make things from scratch? Christopher gets that, too. He’s done the work for you, scouring the mass-market stores in your neighborhood to find hidden gems you might have already passed by. With his ingenuity and award-winning designer’s eye, he shows you—step by step—how to use these conventional items in one-of-a-kind ways. The result is a home that looks totally custom designed for you. Are these projects easy? As Christopher says, “If you can get up, get dressed, put on makeup, do your hair, and drive in busy traffic, you are already overqualified to do the tasks in this book.”

These “chic cheats” are universal concepts that can be adapted to any home anywhere. Buy the drapes, then add a border. Use freestanding bookcases to create a sleeping niche that looks like a bedroom at

a five-star hotel. Turn a boring corner of the kitchen into a country bed-and-breakfast nook. Make a creative work center with a breezy, beachy feel out of an unused hallway. If Christopher can do it, so can you!

No project will take you more than a weekend, and in most cases you’ll spend only a few hours—that you’ll actually enjoy! Christopher tells you exactly what you need and where to get it, and provides cool variations to adapt any of the projects to your individual taste. Best of all, you can always depend on Christopher’s voice to keep you motivated in a way no other designer can.

So what are you waiting for? It’s never been easier to make the place you call home reflect your taste, style, and personality.