The (Un)Inspired Decorator

I've always taken a utilitarian approach to any home decorating that needed to be done. Couch? Check. Bed? Check. Dining room table? Check. You get the idea. Yet, that's not to say that I've never considered the color or the beauty or the form of an object, a fabric, or a piece of furniture that I purchased. In fact, I have a lot of objects around the house that were very carefully and very thoughtfully selected based almost solely upon their stylistic contribution to the room. And, I have (sometimes) made sure that the various things in each room, or in the house as a whole, complement the overall aesthetic that I'm trying to achieve. But, what I mean by 'utilitarian' is that I've never decorated a room, or an apartment, or a house using a theme (like Country French, Cottage, or Mid Century Modern, for example). Not that I would either. But, this summer has me reading my friend Joi's decorating/style blog quite a bit as well as many of the others style blogs that she has recommended on her blog roll. And while she and many of the others have not subscribed to a particular theme either they all have a terrific sense of how to put the various pieces of a room together quite artfully --- bringing me to the painful realization that I need to give a lot of thought to the decor of my house. Plus, Joi (pronounced Joey) and many of the other decorating/style bloggers are taking on these decor improvement projects on their own and on the cheap -- two things that I can get on board with (well, mostly the latter). I also like that a lot of them are using Craig's List and thrift stores finds not just because they can be cheap but because it's the right thing to do for the environment.

Bottom line, is that I've become obsessed with revamping my house's style. Doing that on a small to non-existent budget will be a challenge though. So this is what I've decided that I can do:

1. I'm suffering from a I-have-too-much-stuff problem so sorting our what stays and what goes in each room is a definite must.
2. I like color! And I currently live with a lot of it so I need to evaluate how I feel about the colors of my walls in the house. Specifically, I'm wondering if things connect and complement as much as I thought they did when I had it painted nearly 4 years ago.
3. Accessories! I really want to focus on lighting and curtains. The big plan is to splurge on some nice fabric and make my own curtains for the living and dining rooms. I'd also like to find a nice pendant or shade for my ceiling light in the living room. Not sure what I'm looking for yet, but I think I'll know when I see it.
4. I like everything about my bathroom except (maybe) the ceiling light and (definitely) the linen cabinet. I like the look of this Ikea light (shown in above photo) but I'm not sure if it's too big for the room. Plus, the closest Ikea is like a 5 hour drive from here! I'm not sure about the style of the linen cabinet but the only requirement is that it not have a glass front. We have that now and I'm tired of people seeing my mess!

Doesn't seem like a lot of stuff to do but, for me, this is a super duper daunting task. Especially because I have no idea where to start! I've tried to recruit Joi to come help me get started. But, girlfriend is very busy getting her Masters on so I'll probably have to go solo on this. Unless someone out there wants to volunteer? Do I hear a 'yes'?