Sophistication and elegant comfort are within reach, even if you don’t have the funds for a first-class interior designer.
A sumptuous look without the grand price requires a little strategy, some style-savvy, attention to detail, and perhaps some work. In the end, you’ll have an elegant space you can’t wait to show off to neighbors, family, and friends.
Our interior design and budget-friendly decorating tips and tricks can help you achieve your luxurious home dream.
There are benefits to creating a more expensive look for your home’s interior space. Not only will you enjoy spending time in your more sumptuous environment, elevating your mood, but having an opulent interior design can increase the resale value should you decide to sell your home.
How to get started So, how do you turn your mundane space into a fabulous, lavishly appointed oasis?
First, start planning which rooms you want to renovate. You may want a luxurious bedroom or a modern, on-trend living room. Doing one room at a time helps you stay focused and organized. While big-money renovations often take place in the kitchen or bathroom, you may want to start with the first room visitors often see: your living room. Take a good look at it, seek inspiration from interior design online spaces or a friend’s decor, and start brainstorming. You may also want to invest in the professional services of an interior designer.
Think about the colors you enjoy having around and assess what color theme you already have. Do the colors you have now uplift your spirits or is your room a mix of unrelated colors? Try to choose colors that spark joy or feelings of relaxation.
Making your home look more luxurious can be a fantastic journey.
Below are some tips and advice to help you elevate your space into something you’ll proudly show off to guests.
- Ways to invite luxury into your space Sometimes, it’s all in the details. While you may be focusing on big things like furniture to change in your rooms, consider giving extra attention to smaller details, like your lighting or bookcase adornments. That tired old lamp? Donate it and buy something more updated. Replace faded plastic wall plates with on-trend metallic ones, upping the opulence in a quick and easy way. Replace ho-hum doorknobs or cabinet hardware with functionally beautiful ones. These are small details but can make a sizable impact in achieving your goal.
- Look around each room you plan to renew. Are there some things you can easily replace or upgrade that will change the aura of your room? It may be something as simple as adding an interesting shape like a sculptural element. Here are some other ways you can invite a more luxurious look into your home.
- Paint the walls A fresh coat of paint on your walls can add a rich vibe and set the tone for the space. For a minimal price, you can brighten and transform the look of any room or create a more intimate bedroom space using darker colors. Paint a single wall or the entire room. Gray and crisp white walls are trendy, and you can accessorize later to add color to the space.
- Try adding a bold color to one wall of your room while keeping the other walls neutral palette hues like beige, gray, or yellow. Too much of bold color in a room can be overwhelming. Browse online home decor sites for wall colors that speak to your senses and gather some swatches from a home improvement store before you commit to colors. Narrow your color scheme to some of your favorite hues.
- Add textures and colors in your decor to accent and contrast your wall colors. Try a contrasting-color armchair or loveseat against the strong-colored wall.
- Try a more lively wall color in your kitchen and a subdued, soothing color in your bedroom. Try adding touches of gold and rose gold for luxurious-looking accents.
Light and bright Homes of distinction usually have a light and bright, expansive look, either through large windows or from strategically placed lighting. Properly located lighting can bring a bright, clean look to your interior or highlight a particular area of your home.
- Upgraded lighting can also be a statement piece, tying the room together. Consider investing in a quality chandelier, a hanging entryway light or lamps that bring a rich look to your surroundings. You can change out your older light fixtures or lamps for ones that exude elegance and portray the look you’re going for. If replacing a lamp is not in your budget right now, learn how to measure your lampshade and buy a new, trendy lampshade to freshen the look.
- Textures and textiles Mix up the textures and materials of your furnishings and accents for a one-of-a-kind look. Don’t be afraid to combine wood, textiles, leather, metals, and glass in your decor. Interior designers recommend grouping objects in odd numbers, like three.
- Combine traditional, vintage, and modern furnishings, and re-upholster tired-looking seat cushions with updated fabrics.
- Buy a quality piece of furniture- Invest in one statement piece of furniture. Whether it’s a functional yet sophisticated sofa, a vintage armchair, or an antique side table, your piece lends an air of importance. If it’s antique, this adds a rich sense of history and tradition. You can build a focal point around this piece, too.
- Bare walls can become more expensive-looking if you add decorative baseboard molding, ceiling molding, or a chair rail. You don’t need any ornate ceiling medallions painted gold – just a simple molding, even around cabinets or windows, will add elegance. Installing a baseboard can be a weekend do-it-yourself project with a little online research and a trip or two to the home improvement store.
- Cast off clutter- Decluttering is one of the fastest ways toward a luxurious look. Cluttered equals chaotic, so if you have too many accessories and decorations on tabletops and bookcases, it looks the opposite of sophisticated. Remove excess possessions and keep just the favorites. Once you have a more streamlined look of just a few, odd-numbered items in one space, keep the sentimental and cluttering objects like piles of magazines, school paperwork, and bills to a minimum. Rotate your favorite objects seasonally to keep interested in your space. Toning down the competing colors, textures and objects gives those pieces the room to shine in the spotlight, so to speak. If you’re unsure how to go about paring down your belongings, here are some room-by-room tips to declutter your home.
- Add a rug- A statement rug can tie a grouping of furniture – or an entire room – together. A well-placed rug can set the stage for the space, whether it’s warm, floral, highly textured, traditional, or modern. Go grand if you are investing in a rug for a more luxurious look. You can even add an area rug on top of carpeting to break up monotonous space.
- Embrace greenery- Bring living plants into your space for an opulent look. Try a bouquet of flowers from the grocery as a centerpiece for a table in your living room, dining room, or entryway. The cheery colors add a bright look to your space. Even a single stem of a rose or other flower in a slim vase placed on a bookcase can add a luxe accent.
Whether you’re dreaming of a total home makeover or just some snazzy updates, I’ve got your back through every step of the design journey, from the big concepts to the nitty-gritty details.
