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PLUSH DECOR IN A RUSH: DESIGN PRO JILL VEGAS

 

IF YOUR HOLIDAY DECORATING involves more than hanging a twig of mistletoe, quickly redoing your home sounds as unlikely as Barack and Michelle having you over for eggnog. Still, any nester who's lost days (or months) pondering a single paint chip can learn how to spiff up their digs with "Extreme Makeover" hustle via design pro Jill Vegas' "Speed Decorating" ($22, Taunton). We asked her how to get maximum bang in minimal time.

 

» EXPRESS: OK, what is "speed decorating"? 

 

» VEGAS: It's about having a home you love right now. There's this fantasy of creating this "someday" house. You think, "Someday, my house will be great." You can embrace the home you have, flaws and all.

 

» EXPRESS: How long should a redo take? 

 

» VEGAS: In my book, I have it broken down into three plans. One takes a couple of hours. The second type of project takes a long weekend — maybe you want to revamp a family room. For a longer project, if you have a week, that's what I call my speed-decorating boot camp. You can dramatically overhaul a room in a week.

 

» EXPRESS: What's the very first step in a quick redecorating plan?

 

» VEGAS: When you open the front door, ask yourself how you feel. If that feeling isn't, "I'm so happy to be home," look at what it is that makes you feel stressed. One of my clients couldn't figure out what it was about her foyer that made her stressed. We realized that the light bulbs were so dim that they made it feel cramped. There were baskets of shoes, scarves and sports equipment, too, so I suggested moving all that into another area. That helped open up a clear path into the rest of the house.