A Toronto designer saves a lot of money and time when creating an elegant yet approachable living room for her young family.

They say time is money, and former Style at Home design editor Stacy Begg was keen to conserve both when she endeavoured to beautify her living room. The busy mom of three and her husband, Don Saynor, had recently renovated the main floor of their 2,000-square-foot Toronto home, netting the room a crisp envelope of fresh white walls, black-framed windows and wide-plank hardwood floors. The decor, however, left much to be desired. “We had our dog crate in there and our TV on this little side table,” says Stacy. “The room had a sad university student vibe.”

The space needed a decorative growth spurt, so Stacy began by splurging on a designer drapery fabric that echoed the monochromatic-plus-yellow palette of the adjacent kitchen (featured in Style at Home’s June 2014 issue). To further elevate the room, she sourced a high-end grasscloth wallpaper and accented the fireplace wall with it. “Once you have a couple of investment pieces, you can play with lower-cost elements,” says the designer, who applied the principle here: While some of the furnishings – including the velvet swivel chair and statuesque side table – are affordable new purchases, others, such as the celestial-patterned bench and glam gold coffee table, are actually inexpensive second-hand items Stacy had updated. And the chic William Birch-style sofa? It’s an existing piece the designer updated by replacing the back cushions with some throw pillows. Budget-friendly artwork and other accessories, ranging from high to low, finish the room.

Sporting a chic California-cool look, the resulting space seems like a tall order, but it only took a couple of weeks to pull together – proof that style need not suffer if you’re strapped for time and cash.

In a low-budget few-week makeover, homeowner and designer Stacy Begg gave her living room a California-cool look. Against a neutral backdrop, elements like floral drapery, a gold-painted bamboo coffee table and a funky celestial-inspired bench offer a sunny, relaxed vibe.

The chic bar cart was an on-sale buy and the landscape photograph above an existing piece.

Custom drapery made from vibrant designer fabric enlivens the room.

Stacy opted for a floral drapery fabric in white, black and yellow that echoes the palette of her adjacent kitchen. “That was my jumping-off point,” she says. “I really love the yellow.” Other elements like the grasscloth wallpaper, berber-style rug and hits of brass add texture and warmth. The graphic black and white print provides contrast, and the faux encaustic hearth tiles evoke the popular Tuscan trend.

The original fireplace, which juts out past the chimney breast on either side, precluded custom built-in storage. “It was for the best,” says Stacy, who opted to hang floating shelves instead. “They were a fraction of the cost and went up in no time!” Accessorized with pieces from the designer’s stash of styling gear, the substitutes look no worse than the built-ins would have.

The fireplace, which got a crisp drywall job during a recent reno, needed some character, stat. Stacy highlighted it by covering the surrounding wall with a rich taupe sisal grasscloth – a project she and a friend completed in less than a day.