If the rising cost of gas and groceries is bringing you down and you find yourself sacrificing your home's style to pinch a penny - this blog's for you. Check out five easy ways to up the hip factor in your home for less than the price of filling up your compact's gas tank!

This week's room transformer is perfect timing for Earth Day! It's an easy way to add a pop to any home - and the one we're showing is totally eco-friendly because it's made from recycled men's ties! Intriqued? Take a look-

Ready or not, fall is upon us. And in case you haven't noticed, it's starting to feel like it. But even if you're not mentally prepared for the cooler weather, you can fake it by incorporating some seasonal decorations into your home's decor. This weekend will kick off a month of carved pumpkins and cotton cobwebs, but if kitchy Halloweek decorations aren't your thing, there's a more sophisticated way to invite the fall into your home.

Here are a few fun (and easy!) ideas from this month's Southern Living Magazine, as seen on the Today Show.

Another holiday season is upon us. For most, that just means fighting the crowds to find great deals and pulling out the same home decorations you use year after year. But for those whose home is on the market this holiday season, the rules are a little different. Sure, you want to enjoy your favorite ornaments and keepsakes that adorn the house every year, but the number one rule to selling a home is to remember that you're selling a product. Meaning, you have to remove your emotional attachments to the home and make it as appealing to the masses as possible. That one rule covers holiday decorating too. Here are a few things to think about if you're staging your home for buyers during December:

1 - Edit! You may just love going overboard with the kitchy family ornaments, stockings and sparkly garland this time of year, but your taste in holiday decor might not appeal to buyers. Take a step back and re-evaluate your holiday style. Or better yet, commission a friend to go through and remove anything that might be a little too gaudy for the average buyer. (This also goes for valuable seasonal family pieces that you usually put out - best to keep them safe and out of sight when you have many buyers coming through open houses and showings.) You'll get to enjoy all of your favorite decorations again next year - in your new home!

2 - Scale. Keep your decorations, your Christmas tree, your figurines, etc. in line with the size of your house. A 10-foot tree does not look good in a room with 9-foot ceilings. Period.

3- Balance. When you're selling a house, you're selling a space. Making your rooms look as spacious as possible is key and it's something that we seem to forget this time of year. If your home's on the market and you're putting up your usual size Christmas tree this year, remove a chair or other piece of furniture to balance out the space. The last thing you want is for your holiday decorations to make your rooms seem cramped.

4 - Don't forget to emphasize your home's features. If you have a great fireplace or tall cathedral ceilings, make sure that those features still shine through your decorations. Soaring cathedral ceilings scream for a nice tall Christmas tree. Choose decorations that highlight what you want to show off, not steal attention from it.

5 - Think about flow. Keeping a common theme throughout your home will help the decorations flow from room to room. It will also keep things simple for you when you're decorating: if it doesn't fit with the theme, it goes into storage until next year.

Keeping these holiday staging rules in mind will help your home appeal to the broadest range of buyers this month. Most people enjoy a little holiday glitz and if you do it right, those people will be able to imagine creating their own holiday memories in your home!

Check out the video below to see Chicago designer Julea Joseph talk about the rules for holiday staging:

We're all busy, but one can never be too busy to update a room you're unhappy with. Afterall, your home is where you retreat to every night, so you should love it. If you don't, and if you're always on the run with no time for shopping, and if you don't have the expendable income to hire a designer...then you need to check this out.

IKEA has a virtual design program that you can download from the website which allows you to create your new kitchen, bedroom or office with the click of the mouse. Once you've perfected the room, you can just upload the design to the IKEA server and head to the store to pickup your gear. Perfect for the home owner on the go!