24/Savvy goes behind the red carpet scene with Hollywood event designer Larry Abel of larry abel / de-signs and ASI (Art. Style. Innovation), where he shows us how a few inexpensive household details can bring celebrity style into your home.

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24/Savvy Home: Chicago, IL

T'was the season of Christmas and holiday entertaining aplenty drew near. The cupcakes were frosted and the presents were wrapped; the fire was lit and the stockings held fast. With one final check before bedtime that night, a quick look around told me it just wasn't right. But what could it be? What did I miss? The children were counted and the food was prepared, but a lingering feeling told me it wasn't quite bliss. Then it quickly came upon me in one swift swoop—not a green plant to be seen, nor any color in our coop! So off I traveled to Sprout Home in the village, to fill the nooks and the crannies with greens from my pillage. And finally, oh finally, my house was a home, and I could relax as the festivities loomed.

Sprout Home
745 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60622-5518

With all the vibrant buds in full bloom, it's hard to walk past a flower shop without dropping a bundle on a bouquet.  If you like to stretch your dollar (anyone here who doesn't?) and prolong the life of your beautiful blossoms, we've got a few simple tips from NYC-based floral designer Jessica Leatherman to get the most out of your money.

Because flowers already have so many chemicals, Jessica doesn't recommend adding any more.  "Changing the water daily is the best thing for flowers. Flowers start to die when bacteria sets into the stems--bacteria which comes from old, foggy, murky, water and leaves or greenery in the water."

24/Savvy Home: Chicago, IL

1-2-3-4 I need something to cover this floor.  5-6-7-8 I want something that I won’t hate. Black, white, purple or red, I want something that isn’t a bore!  Poly-blend or acrylic tough, I know the place that has the stuff.  Modular carpet is the new thing, it’s pretty and modern and easy to fling.  You can buy it one-by-one to assure the perfect match, or go wild and bold by mixing lime green with thatch.  Never fear that spills or stains will stay – just pick up another square and go on your merry way!

FLOR
1873 N. Clybourn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 325.0201

http://www.flor.com

On the subject of budget-friendly, five minute upgrades, new shower curtains are our favorite tool for give our john a jolt of fresh color without going through the Herculean efforts of repainting the joint.  How hard is it to trade in your musty old curtain for a bright, fresh, new one?  Not hard at all, friends, and not expensive, either, which is why we've scoped out seven statement curtains that will bring a burst of bold beauty to your bathroom in as much time as it takes to repeat that last tongue twister five times.

We found this gem of an idea via Casasugar and while we agree it's a little high for easy access to your beautiful baubles, it's a perfectly workable idea closer to the ground as a chair rail, headboard or over-the-desk objet d'art.

You could recreate a lower version as a sort of "chair rail" from a dowel and hooks or you could try out a more contemporary style with a metal runner and hooks from Ikea.  Our favorite Scandanavian depot has an assortment of possibilities, check out their collection of hooks and rails here.

Image source: James Braund Photography

Some ideas are just too easy, too savvy, too budget-friendly to NOT share.  Sure it might take a little bit of time and a healthy dose of patience, but if you've got a few bookshelves and a whole lot of books, try pulling them out and organizing them by spine color to give a drab room a sparkling makeover of pure eye-candy.  It's the perfect project for a grey wintry day.

Photo: chodta via flickr.

We swooned over these scrumptious, colorful ottomans from Anthropolgie until we saw the price tags...up to $228 for a fabric-covered box?  Hooooowee is that a big "work tag" (work tag is our new lingo for quantifying things in hours worked rather than dollars.)  We'd have to crank out a lot of content to pay for one of those colorful, room-defining ottomans when we could probably cover a plain plastic crate with upholstery and get the same effect.

Which led us to this idea….

Hollywood event designer Larry Abel of larry abel / de-signs and ASI (Art. Style. Innovation.) shares celeb-worthy design tips on where to save, where to splurge and where to pick up dynamite pieces for your home (we're talking TJMaxx, people!)