You don’t need designer furniture and prize antiques to make your home’s interior feel expensive. It’s possible to add a sense of sophistication on the cheap simply by adopting a few tricks. Here are just a few of the ways in which you can transform your humble abode into a luxury manor on a modest budget.
Use neutral colours
Neutral colours may seem a little dull to some people, but they can be necessary in providing that chic clean feel. Bright colours can distract you from a home’s remaining décor, whilst neutral colours allow the details to shine.
Colours such as white can make a home look bigger and brighter. Whilst you can make white your main colour, you don’t want to go too white and risk your home looking like a medical clinic – the odd accent of colour will provide some important personality.
Hang up some art
Art is a sign of culture and sophistication and can be great for making your home feel more expensive. Hanging up an art piece opposite or above your TV can help provide an extra focal point to your lounge so that the screen doesn’t dominate the room. Large landscape art meanwhile could help to bring depth to a poky room, making it feel bigger.
You’re best choosing pieces of art that have some personal meaning or allure to you – there’s no point hanging up a piece of art for the sake of it. The artwork could be abstract or realist, a person or a place – it really is up to you.
On top of paintings, you could also try experimenting with small sculptures. These could be used to spice up a windowsill or a mantlepiece.
Make your home seem bigger with mirrors
Mirrors are excellent accessories for small and cramped rooms. This is because mirrors – especially large ones – can give the impression that a room is bigger than it really is. Try to avoid small mirrors and opt for large ones where possible. You can also place mirrors opposite windows to create the illusion of an extra window.
Mirrors can be bought at relatively affordable prices. Avoid designer brands an intricate style as these will obviously be more expensive. You may also be able to save money by combining mirrors with certain objects. A mirrored wardrobe is a good example of this and could be perfect in a small bedroom – rather than trying to find the space for a large mirror and a wardrobe, you can combine the two to save space and money.
Have fun with frames
Framing pictures, mirrors and photographs can help to make them feel more elegant. Those wanting to the extra mile can even put frames around light switches.
Try to keep your frames to the same style in order to create a sense of harmony. You don’t have to splash out on expensive golden frames – many simple wooden frames and plastic frames will come across chic enough. There are sites where you can even create your own custom picture frame. This could help you to add an even more personal touch to photographs and artwork.
Add some crown moulding
Many expensive homes use moulding on the walls. Crown moulding is a popular example of this – it works much like a skirting board but instead runs along the top of the wall beneath the ceiling. Whilst often only found in expensive homes, crown moulding is very cheap to produce. You can buy moulding online made to measure and you can easily install it yourself. Other types of intricate moulding to consider include chair rails (located half way up the wall) and base boards (between the chair rail and skirting board).
Strip your lino
Whilst lino is an easy-to-clean and robust flooring choice, it can look cheap compared to other flooring materials. When trying to create a luxury feel, you’re much better off opting for a wooden floor. This needn’t involve laying new floorboards – it’s possible to use the budget option of drop-fit flooring which simply slots over the top of your existing floor. This laminate wooden layer can be made to measure so that it fits the exact dimensions of your kitchen and will look just like a genuine wooden floor.
Try using imitation luxury materials
Adding luxury materials such as mahogany and marble to your home is certain to give it a sense of glitz and glam, but these materials are very expensive to buy. Fortunately, there are many ways of imitating these luxury materials to help create the same look on a budget.
For example, when it comes to luxury timbers, you can often find similar toned woods that are a lot cheaper. Mahogany may be known for its distinct dark reddish hue, but there are plenty of cheaper hardwoods that aren’t far off in appearance such as sapele, khaya and ipe. There’s also the option of veneering – this involves placing a thin layer of luxury wood over a thick layer of cheap composite wood. In the case of mahogany, this could involve placing a thin layer of mahogany over a thick layer of chipboard to make it look like solid mahogany – this could be a cheap way of affording a luxury dining table to a wardrobe.
As for luxury stone materials such as marble and granite, there are similarly many artificial substitutes out there. Cultured marble, for example, is an engineered stone using some marble mixed with quartz and concrete. It’s much cheaper than regular marble, and yet most people won’t know the difference between this and the real thing. Meanwhile, there are spray-on finishes out there such as spray-on granite paint which could be used to turn a cheap plastic countertop into what looks like luxury stone countertop. Indeed, it may only have the appearance of a granite worktop and not the physical qualities of this material, but if you’re not concerned with this and simply like the aesthetic value of granite, this could a great option.
Cull the clutter
For a home to look expensive, it ideally needs to be kept tidy and clutter-free (make it look like it has its own team of butlers and maids!). Start adding more storage solutions to your home to help hide away belongings. Alternatively, you may be able to hire a skip and start throwing items away to help get rid of your clutter. You may even be able to sell some items and make a bit of money.
Try to have only a few statement pieces per room and avoid cramming walls with photographs. Embrace empty space and your home will feel bigger and cleaner and all in all more like a luxury home.
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