When you live alone, you have no choice, you have to make all the decisions, do all the legwork, etc. My brother gave me a good tip about getting magazines at Home Depot that show kitchens and baths. That gave me some good ideas. Then I used google images to see more examples of rooms in the style I liked. Plus I watch lots of HGTV, particularly shows like Designed to Sell and Get it Sold that stick to low budgets and avoid designs with themes.

I had at least 3 marathon sessions at Lowe's to pick out cabinets and then look for other stuff like tile, grout, hardware, lighting. Also spent hours at a specialty lighting store, and drove all over northern Virginia looking for a cool white 3x6 tile that didn't cost 5x more than the warm white stock tiles at Home Depot and Lowes.

I had help along the way from some people who worked in the stores I went to. Most friends and family reacted to my decisions by questioning them (don't you want a different shade of blue? why don't you want tile on the floor?).

When I finally save up enought to gut the bathroom, I expect it to be much easier. Kitchens are just more complex, because of all the cabinets.