Research everything, trim, door knobs, paint, tiles, lighting etc. The big things are obvious, like your floor/kitchen, but its the attention to detail that will give u that feeling of luxury. Spend money on a stairs if you have one, curtains, the bathrooms and windows. Read a million magazines, surf the web till you fall as asleep. My husband swears by and subscribes to Fine home building magazine, for tips, tricks and ideas. Think they have a website.
Ebay can produce amazing gems.
We spent months working at night on our 2nd job (aka the house) to keeps the cost low.
It is do-able, if u put the time in.