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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Hate the mess your home has deteriorated into but you don't have the time or means to do a comprehensive redecorating job? Or maybe it's time to sell your place, but you don't know how to show it off to best effect?

 

Christopher Micaud speed decorated his way to a bright, airy loft by making the best of what he had and adding a few flourishes. View before and after photos »

 

 

Take Christopher Micaud, for example. The fashion photographer needed to spruce up his Lower Manhattan loft with soaring ceilings and cityscape views in order to sell it. He soon, realized, however, that he faced a daunting task.

For one thing, his home has only two tall windows, both on a living room wall. And when guests walk in the door, they're confronted with a staircase, looking spindly and forlorn.

 

"We started to fix it up ourselves and came to a dead stop," said Micaud, who bought the 1,800-square-foot loft two years ago for $1.5 million.

 

Instead, he called in Jill Vegas, author of the new book "Speed Decorating," who focuses on redecorating at a minimum cost and warp speed. Ideally, she makes the most of what you have, showing you how to arrange it, what colors to paint, where to hang your artwork -- and what flourishes to add.

 

"It's about having a home you love right away," she said. "Speed decorating is not about calling in contractors; it's about looking at a room and thinking about what you can do in a couple of hours, a week, to make it better."