Next time you shop, get your money's worth. Stretch your clothing budget into haute couture for your home. Danielle Simmons of Middletown-based Reborn Fashions and Home Decor doesn't believe that design should be dictated by cookie-cutter ideas. The seamstress, designer and teacher knows the value of transforming the mundane into the extraordinary.

Cloth bags can be high-fashion living room accessories. That's what Simmons did when she transformed the storage bags that come with expensive handbags and shoes into pillows. It's an idea that adds a glam look and doesn't require a lot of work; that's unless you include the time it took to shop for those fab shoes.

You don't have to be good ...