It never fails. I’ll have a few friends over for dinner and we’ll start talking about home decorating. The conversation will inevitably lead to a statement that begins with "You know what I have the most trouble with...?" or "You know what I just can't figure out in my home...?". And over the years, I've learned that although many of us have different decorating styles, we often run into the same decorating dilemmas.

So, just in case you're like me and my friends, facing some trouble spots when it comes to turning your home into the showplace you want it to be, here are four common decorating problems and some ideas on you can solve them:

1. Ugly kitchen cabinets.
I have a friend who is buying her first home and moving in next month. When she visited the other day, she stood in my kitchen and asked: “How did you paint these cabinets? Was it difficult?” I could tell by the look on her face that she was not just making small talk. She wanted the truth because, I later learned, the cabinets in her new home’s kitchen are, as she put it, “pretty darned ugly.”

There are several ways to make ugly cabinets more attractive, and the approach you take depends on several factors, such as the type of cabinet (wood or laminate) and the amount of work and expense you’re willing to put into the project. I went the route of painting my cabinets. Since mine were old and the varnish was pretty much worn down, stripping was not necessary. Instead, we sanded, primed, and then painted the all surfaces. I won’t kid you—it was a lot of work. More work than I've ever put into any decorating project in my life. But the results were fantastic.

Some things to remember if you paint your own cabinets: painting inside drawers and cabinets is tough, but makes the final product much more professional-looking. Removing cabinets doors and hardware is a must. And giving everything ample time to dry is essential.

2. Clutter.
Have you ever tried to redecorate a room that’s really cluttered, and ended up just moving the clutter around from one place to another? It’s difficult to be happy with any decorating efforts if your space is still cluttered after you’ve painted and rearranged a room.

There are many great books available that can teach you how to reduce the clutter in your home and in your life. You can buy tons of these books then, uh-oh, you’ve just created even more clutter! The truth is that no book or philosophy is going to help you until you roll up your sleeves and try to gain control over the clutter. If the task just seems too enormous, try to break it up into small steps. (See my recent post, Decluttering Tips, for more ideas.)

3. No architectural interest.
I once lived in a house that, for all practical purposes, was just a series of white boxes (rooms) when I moved in. There was no molding (other than very simple door and window-molding), low ceilings, no interesting angles—nothing really special about it at all. It was in the perfect location and I bought it for the perfect price, but it had zero personality. It was possibly one of the most boring houses I’d ever seen.

I refuse to live in a boring house, so I got to work. I picked some interesting paint colors (like rust in the master bedroom (and did a color wash), navy blue for my son’s room, and lavender for my daughter’s room) and vivid yellow for the kitchen I also bought some architectural salvage pieces and tried to add the items to several of my rooms. I hung a decorative, semi-circle iron gate in the stairwell, and an old piece of fancy, decorative molding over the kitchen doorway. In the living room, I used two antique shutters--one on each side of a bank of windows--to give the wall some interesting detail. I found two huge antique corbels at a flea market, and placed them on each end my living room mantel. I also bought some interesting window treatments, such as bamboo roller shades for my sunroom, which added not only privacy and color but also texture. These touches made a big difference.

4. No budget.
So you have no budget at all and you’re itching to redecorate? Well I’m here to tell you, I’ve decorated with no budget many times, and you can do it too.

When you want to redecorate a room, remove as much as possible from the space and rearrange the furniture. Try placing furniture at interesting angles, and use area rugs to create nooks and activity areas. Next, bring in just the items that must be in the room, such as a television set if the room is used for that activity. Now, here’s the fun part, the part that actually makes you feel like you’re ending up with a totally redecorated room: go shopping in the other rooms of your home. (Even in your basement, garage, and attic.) Take artwork from the master bedroom and try it out in your living room or office. Take accessories from your living room and place them in your den. Shake things up as much as possible in every room.