-- — Apparently I live in a condo. I’m not sure what the difference between a condo and an apartment are, but clearly for the sake  of semantics, there is one. I used to hold the belief that condos were much more glamorous than apartments and that was because my first place in Valdosta (aside from my dorm at Valdosta State University ... yuck) was in an apartment that I like to fancy to the conditions of North Korea, in that it was drab and my landlord wouldn’t let me take down a hideous wallpaper border because he somehow felt it contributed to the aesthetic of rat feces and smelly cabinets.

I then moved into a condo, where I still reside. Honestly, other than the fact that I no longer  fall asleep to the sounds of gunshots, I still don’t really know the difference between the two as I am under the impression that my current compound is for a lack of better words, “sucky.”

Don’t get me wrong, the place has good bones but it definitely needs a  touch or two of Tim Gunn (the host of “Project Runway” ... c’mon budgeteers, get with it). That is why I have begun planning my blissfully broke condo makeover.

It’s easy to do, you just have to maintain the delusion that you have tons of money and can afford fabulously expensive things while balancing the reality of your budget being composed of the change you find in the couch and in the washer.

The first thing I plan to do in my condo is paint. I don’t know who Mr. Valspar is, but apparently paint is pretty pricey.

Since I cannot afford to paint every wall in my two-bedroom, two-bath condo, I have decided to do accent walls in certain rooms. I hate my pitiful excuse for a dining room the most, so I am doing the back wall in a bright color that accents the living space it flows into.

I also plan to do an accent wall in my bedroom on the large wall that my bed sits against. That way, all I have to do is buy two gallons of paint and be done with it.

Now, back to my hideous dining area.

My tall, bar-like table is a little awkward in the space, but unfortunately, I can’t afford to buy  any new furniture. So to even out the dimensions, I’m going to make a single shelf that spans the width of my dining area’s accent wall. All you need is a piece of wide, flat lumber, some stain paint and a few triangle shelf brackets.

That way visual interest is created and I can place various art pieces and a mirror I already have on the shelf and accent it all with candles.

I plant to venture one step further and find a new lighting fixture. While this can be pricey, you can often find some great, vintage-looking ones at thrift shops that just need to be rehabbed with some spray paint.

The next project I plan to do is expand my closet. Now, actually knocking down a wall and creating a walk-in closet off a master bedroom is not only impossible in my circumstance, but it’s really expensive. If you’re dying for a great walk-in closet, all you need is a useless spare room. Luckily, I don’t have kids so I am turning our second bedroom into a fabulous walk-in closet. From Lowe’s you can buy a closet system that takes up a wall for as little as $150.

You can use any other spare furniture to help fill up the room for storage as well. Of course, things like chests and dressers will work, but you can also makeover old china cabinets. Slap on a modern-looking paint color, line the shelves with cute wallpaper and bam! You have a fabulous shoe display.

Another way to makeover a room in a big way on a small budget is by creating a gallery wall. A gallery wall is where you take different picture frames, pictures, art, mirrors and more and hang them all over a single wall.

 I plan to do this in my hallway. If you have some old frames that you don’t use, bring them to life with some spray paint. If you have kids, have them draw some pictures and put them in a fancy frame. Also, snapfish.com is a great place to get reasonably priced picture prints and even pictures printed on canvas.

If you’re like me, then you also don’t have a lot of money to go buy new, decorative touches. That is why I plan to go treasure hunting in my own house and even my parents’ house.

One time, I found these hideous green-and-gold lamps that my parents had and I spray-painted them silver and put plain white shades on them. I also did simple things for my office area like taking cheap $10 corkboards from Walmart and covering them with modern-style material.

Another thing I do is hoard things such as wine corks. They make great decorative pieces filling up various glass cylinders and bowls. Don’t neglect or throw out things in your home, there are so many things you can repurpose. For example, my mom uses a crystal hors d’oeuvres tray to hold her dish soap and sponges. With just a little creativity, your decorative trash can turn into the centerpieces of your “newly recycled” furnished room.

So that’s how you turn thrift into treasure, my dear budgeteers. Don’t forget to visit me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BrittanysBudgetDiary  and on Twitter @VDT_Brittany.