How to Make Your Home Look More Expensive
High-end properties are more valuable in the real estate market and very elegant and stylish. However, many people believe that they need a sizable budget to add a touch of glamor and luxury to their homes. However, all you need is a little creativity and attention to aesthetics, and you will design a home that exudes sophistication and luxury.
How do you see luxury?
The first step is to decide what luxury means to you. Don't be misled into thinking that a luxury home is one where all the furniture and accessories carry a hefty price tag.
You need to find your own sense of style and express it through home decor while implementing certain elements that will turn your place into a dream home.
You can start by looking for inspiration in design magazines and gathering inspiration on Pinterest. It will also give you a deeper insight into interior design and help you decorate your home like a pro.
1. Use Lighting Luxuriously
Whether you are a design novice or a seasoned enthusiast, you know how lighting can affect the general mood in your home. By installing the appropriate fixtures, you can easily create a luxurious atmosphere in your home.
A simple but effective solution is to install a dimmer for a more comfortable and luxurious impression. They will allow you to control and adjust your lighting depending on your needs and change the overall atmosphere in your home.
Dramatic lighting can also help you introduce a luxurious feel to your home. A beautiful chandelier over your bed or bath can be used as a luxurious décor statement, bringing drama to your space. It also doesn't have to be expensive, as you can find glamorous gear at thrift stores and estate sales. Finally, you can also DIY and use some metallic spray paint to give your old fixture a more glamorous appeal. I used the drum crystal chandelier pictured below to display my most recent listing.
2. Recycled Lampshades
Keep the base and replace your lampshade with something more up-to-date and modern. Or try spray painting the inside a drum white color with gold paint, and paint the outside with your fabric paint of choice.
3. Fragrance Notes
The moment you step inside the lobby of this 5-star hotel, you are hit with notes of cardamom, bergamot, patchouli, woody, mint, mandarin, and oud. This luxurious fragrance spray can be sprayed, diffused, and packaged in a candle. One of my favorite brands, Antica Farmacista, is a woman-owned company with cruelty-free products. Their luxury fragrances are featured at major resorts such as The Beverly Hill Hotel, The Four Seasons, and Hotel Bel-Air.
Diffusers last longer and last longer, whereas sprays dissipate quicker unless sprayed onto linens. They come in three sizes 100ml for small spaces (1-2 month life span), 250ml for medium size rooms (and diffuser lasts 2-3 months), and 500ml for larger rooms and entryways + lasts 4-6 months.
White rattan reed sourced from Indonesia to enhance the fragrance. Lemon, Verbena, and Cedar are perfect for the kitchen, Prosecco or Santorini for the living room, Orange Blossom, Lilac & Jasmine for the bathroom, and Vanilla, Bourbon, and Mandarin for the office.
If you want to impress your guests, check out the hand soap and lotion set in the powder bath or kitchen with decorative trays.
4. Rearrange Furniture
Rearranging your furniture into a new layout creates a new look for free! This also includes exchanging furniture from room to room. Maybe move your living room recliner into the office and move two leather chairs into the living room!
5. Backsplash With New Tiles
A new tile backsplash is the best way to freshen up your kitchen. Check out Tilebar.com for the latest timeless inspiration. Be careful in choosing a raised basket weave type display. They can be more difficult to clean after a splash in the kitchen. Remember to consider the new Farmhouse apron front sink. This sink design fits all modern, Spanish, traditional, bungalow, and contemporary kitchen styles.
6. Peel and Stick Tiles
FloorPops Peel & Stick Flooring Tiles are made of vinyl and are the perfect budget-conscious home decor for bathroom, pantry, or laundry room floors. You can also use it around the fireplace. You don't need any grout, just a utility knife to trim. Make sure you line up all the tiles before you start laying. Add spray glue to the adhesive that comes with it is recommended.
7. Family Photo
Personalizing a space with family memories is a great way to decorate your home. However, featuring matching frames, themes, and aesthetics is not the best idea. Instead, start with a theme in each area you're decorating. For example, hanging a photo gallery from your Disney Cruise in the kids' play area, wedding photos in the master bedroom, and kids all year round climbing the stairs vertically. Hide photographic imperfections with a black-and-white aesthetic.
8. Wires & Cables
Wires and cables around the house can result in unsightly wiring. You can find cable maskers on Amazon for under $20. Hiding unsightly wires and cables will help your room look neat, clean, and organized.
9. Decorative Storage Baskets
Doubling as decorative and for storage, baskets are a great textural neutral addition to a room. Baskets can be used to store toys and games, storage on the office desk, and store towels in the bathroom.
10. Add a Statement in Section
One of our closing gifts for clients is this Anna New York crystal and silver cake stand. This is a beautiful piece for entertaining, but it can also be left out to display a small piece of art or other treasure.
11. Painted Floors
Floor paint is one of the cheapest ways to freshen up your floors at a fraction of the cost. Make sure you buy epoxy or polyurethane-based floor paint, formulated to withstand heavy foot traffic. Especially in older, historic homes, floors can get so thin that refinishing doesn't hide scratches and wear and tear. Creating a tall and spacious impression, whitewashed flooring can be a good choice for a small front entryway.
12. Kitchen Organization & Food Storage
Flour, sugar, pasta, and cereal in labeled containers on the table or in the pantry feels so organized and stylish. I love the snap lids on these airtight food storage containers on Amazon. They come with 24 labels to organize everything from ground coffee to marshmallows to nuts.
13. Stylish Kitchen Equipment
The right kitchen equipment can dress up your kitchen, and the pleasing aesthetic will provide maximum visual impact. This Frigidaire Retro Bar Refrigerator would be the perfect accent piece for your home office, dorm, bedroom, or entertainment room bar.
14. Decorate Your Walls
Pretty wall accessories are always a great way to add character to a room. Artwork will enhance your home décor and give your home a unique personality, allowing you to express your creativity and style. You can choose from various paintings, inspirational quotes, or posters, but you should go for a large wall hanging for a truly extravagant appeal and wow effect. This is our beachfront condo renovation, where the wall art image is a decorative textured wall panel from Amazon.
15. White Paint
White paint keeps interiors light and bright and is one of the first things we recommend to sellers when preparing a home for the market. We recommend that Benjamin Moore refreshes walls, ceilings, and baseboards with Swiss Coffee at 75% strength.
16. Velvet In Jewel Tones
Teal, rise, and charcoal gray lounge or chairs add statement pieces to dress up any room. Materials like velvet are also available when decorating on a budget. This simple emerald green lounge at Amazon would be the perfect accent for a home office.
17. Paint Your Closet
Repainting your kitchen and bathroom cabinets is a great way to improve the look of your home on a budget. You must first strip the finish down to the bare wood. If you complete this step, you could avoid problems with the new paint's adhesion. If you're looking to create a modern, luxurious look, you'll want to use clear, glossy acrylic over your finish.
18. Texture Blend Layer
Layering various textile textures such as linen, bouclé, velvet, cotton, wool, leather, and silk adds interest and depth to your interiors. Your wall finishes, accessories, artwork, furniture, and lighting can incorporate different textures and add scale and interest.
19. Install Wall Sconces
Wall sconces provide ambient lighting and help make a room appear larger. If there is a pendant light, wall sconces can help balance the light by filling the light around the sides of the room. Check out these wall sconces on Amazon. You've got a bargain if you can snag it for under $30!
20. New Decorative Pillow Case
Updating and refreshing your throw pillows is easy and inexpensive. You can find pillow replacement pillows at stores like Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Zara, H&M, IKEA, and Amazon. Make sure your pads don't have edges or frills, and choose a cover that's 2 inches larger in diameter.
21. Use Tasteful Furniture
Furniture usually dominates a room, standing out as a focal point and creating a certain mood. For a high-end look, you should go for a simple but sophisticated furniture design that will give it impact but not overdo it. For example, an elegant modern lounge chair with clean lines and upholstered edges is the perfect choice for a comfortable living room. Such a simple design will help you bring a luxurious and elegant feeling of comfort to your home without creating a kitschy look. Don't hesitate to invest in your furniture, as it will give your home a long-lasting appeal and comfort. Check out this contemporary white faux fur bench ottoman with gold metal legs.
22. Metal Alloys
Welcoming a variety of metallic finishes into your home is another simple and affordable way to give your space a touch of luxury. You can simply replace locks, knobs, faucets, and common hardware or use spray paint to upgrade them. For a more glamorous look, you should go for a glossy finish which will also make your home brighter by reflecting light.
Gold is always a great choice for a luxurious atmosphere in your home, but you can also find other options that are just as stylish, including rose gold, silver, brass, and more. Even better is that you can find stunning, elegant, and unique hardware at antique shops, hardware stores, and flea markets. You can easily replace it yourself and introduce glitz and glamor to your home.
23. Ceiling Hanging Home Decoration
From artwork to luminaires to plants, ceiling hangings are a creative way to decorate. I've even seen sculptures hanging from the ceiling, which is very impressive.
24. Countertops
Did you know you can polish your countertops without replacing them? You can use tile, as you will see subway-style countertops in kitchens and bathrooms built in the late 1990's early 2000s. You can layer on paint to create a faux stone look or use chalkboard paint. Of course, nothing beats replacement. The most economical style of countertop is quartz. Quartz countertops come in all depths (the thicker, the more expensive) and three grades of stone quality.
25. Choose a Rich Palette
Colors offer so much inspiration when it comes to interior design at low prices. With the right hues, you can create a rich, layered vibe in your home and a welcoming atmosphere. Subtle, neutral, or muted tones will help you create a simple, minimalist elegance, while navy blues, purples, and reds will lend a royal appeal. However, you must remember that colors can affect your mood, so you must choose colors that suit the function of a particular room.
For example, when it comes to bedroom colors, you could use a palette of layered blues, creams, and soft grays that are calming yet elegant. Neutral tones are a classic choice that will give your home a timeless feel, but be sure to layer them for a richer, warmer, and less monotonous look.
Using an understated background will allow you to introduce darker, more dramatic pops of color. For example, pillows, throws, or navy curtains can stand perfectly on a smooth base. On the other hand, if you decide to go for a bold and dramatic palette, be sure to create balance by using contrasting elements.
26. Outlet Cover and Register
Investing in new electrical outlet switch covers around the house and heating and air exchange registers is a super-cheap way to elevate your space. This outlet switch cover on Amazon can add a "alloy metal" look to your design.
27. Contrasting Door Color
Paint colors that provide a contrasting look are a great inexpensive way to spice up the look. You can paint both exterior and interior doors. Try Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams for a blue-gray feel. Orange, yellow, pink, blue, and green are all great ways to accentuate your front door with authority. Exterior potted plants and accessories can complete the look and remember to upgrade the hardware.
28. Create a Clutter-Free Look
Simplicity and minimalism are other main characteristics of luxury home designs. By removing clutter from your home, you'll make all of those pretty features stand out and contribute to general appeal.
It's a totally free way to open up your home and turn it into an elegant sanctuary where tasteful details and lush fabrics can be the focus. Make sure every item in your home has a clear purpose and its own place, as this will allow you to control clutter and maintain a pure, open, and airy atmosphere.
29. Invite Nature Within
Natural trim is an important component of interior design, introducing a sense of freshness and natural energy to your home. In a luxury home, fresh or faux flowers can be the perfect accent detail, adorning your side tables, coffee tables and countertops. Fresh flowers will fill your home with a beautiful fragrance while creating an atmosphere of sophistication and comfort. Check out the wide range of succulents collection for terrariums.
Green plants will also make your home much more attractive and comfortable by creating a cool and positive atmosphere. Plus, splashes of green are a great way to break the boredom of neutrality in a complementary way. Above is an example of a living wall in a powder bath from one of our renovations before the sale.
We also noticed that it creates great pieces when the buyer is on tour. Succulents are a great choice because they are very low maintenance. Did you know that succulents help remove harmful chemicals and even increase humidity?
30. Window and Door Retrofit
When we work with clients to get their homes ready for sale, we always help them repair windows and doors. Reinforcement is when you've just replaced the glass, and you can deep clean the frames and tracks. In a retrofit replacement, you save money as window hardware, including casing, sill extensions, and brick molding, is replaced.
31. Wallpaper Your Walls
Another great way to dress up your walls is to use wallpaper. Whether you decide to go with a single accent wall or whole room wallpaper, make sure the wallpaper style complements the general design of your home.
Wallpaper with textured designs, metallic finishes, and elegant patterns is a sophisticated and affordable option for luxury homes.
32. Broad Rug
Using a large rug creates the illusion of a larger space and helps your space stand out. You want to measure so you can determine 12 inches from each wall and the next transitional space if it is an open floor plan. Rugs are also helpful for holding furniture from sliding and absorbing sound in large open areas.
33. Beautiful Landscape
Consider adding a small water feature and firepit to your front or backyard. After a summer or two of rain and sun, the mulch is starting to fade, so it needs a refresh. This 32-inch fire pit table would be perfect for sunsets.
Build your own planter box for your patio and deck. Remember to prune the tree. If you're in Southern California, you should hire people to get out and climb palm trees to get a good beard trim.
34. Paint Your Closet
Repainting your kitchen and bathroom cabinets is a great way to improve the look of your home on a budget. You must first strip the finish down to the bare wood. If you complete this step, you could avoid problems with the new paint's adhesion. If you're looking to create a modern, luxurious look, you'll want to use clear, glossy acrylic over your finish.
35. DIY Projects
If you are a design enthusiast with lots of DIY skills, you can find a variety of elegant projects that will help you give your home a great style. This will give you all the design freedom you need while helping you discover the rules and characteristics of interior design for yourself.
36. Apply Luxe Materials
Certain materials, such as wood and marble, are symbols of luxury in home design. Therefore, it is unsurprising that they come with price tags that may exceed your budget. However, you can still introduce them without breaking the bank. For example, you can use tiles that mimic the look of wood or use this luxurious material on a smaller scale.
You can use marble for just a few impactful details, such as a marble cart or tiled background. Remember the Mixology & Craft Bartender Kit!
Lastly, you can also find stunning marble alternatives that will create a luxurious look in your home at a much more affordable price.
37. White Linen
Updating your linens is one of the most inexpensive wow things you can do. Take a look at this Luxury White Oversized Bathroom Sheet and this white hotel luxury extra soft pocket sheet.
38. Hardware Refresh
New hardware for door hinges, door knobs, dresser pulls, and kitchen and bathroom knobs and pulls will add a dramatic difference to your home. Updated hardware can create a big splash, especially in a small space. Try some mixes of metal, vintage and antique, or glass in a bold color. Black hardware, as are marble and lucite, are in trend right now. For great buys, try overstock.com, Wayfair, and build.com; for a high-end look, try Anthropologie.
39. Decorate Your Window
Dressing your windows will help you create a luxurious look in your home. Not only is this a simple trick, but it's also very effective and budget-friendly. The key to creating a luxurious feel lies in choosing rich, heavy, and long curtains that will float a little on your floor. Such window treatments exude elegance and sophistication, typical of extravagant formal designs. Sheers are a great inexpensive window treatment option.
Also, their rich, soft textures add to the comfort of your home, while the colors and designs can create a striking contrast against a subtle backdrop or add another layer of elegant neutrality to your space.
40. Big Mirror
Want to make a small space feel bigger and brighter? Using a large mirror to reflect light across a window can help. This mirror on Amazon is available in various colors, gray, black, gold, and white, for the bedroom or living room.
41. Natural Neutrals
When staging a home for sale, we like to choose neutral colors for the furnishings. Neutrals let other statement pieces shine like a piece of art or a seascape!
42. Architectural Elements
Along with adding neutrals to create an upscale look, neutrals also help to enhance architectural details, such as wood-beamed ceilings.
43. Increase Your Trim
Moldings are decorative caps that draw the eye upward as they move from wall to ceiling. There are two types of moldings, crown molding, and bay molding.
Crown molding has beveled edges that are flush with the wall and are placed along the top "crown" of the room, adding formality and decoration.
Cove molding features simple designs, fewer profile variations, and smooth transitions for less traditional homes and subdued contemporary homes.
The minimal flat baseboard adds a more updated and elegant look and is at least 6 inches tall. Round on flat bases, either stepped or grooved, rectangular bases are not too austere and offer an enhanced modern look to transitional spaces.
44. Rules For 57 Inch Artwork
The center of your artwork should be 57 inches off the ground which is then level at eye level. The number one mistake people make when hanging art is hanging it too high.
45. DIY Custom Stocks
DIY wardrobes to create bookshelves, cabinets, tables, window chairs, alcoves, art nooks, and built-in cabinets are a great way to create a "special high-end look." Pottery Barn, Ikea, West Elm, and Wayfair have pieces you can use to create "built-in" looks. A wall of bookshelves creates an upscale look and provides a fun access area and lots of storage downstairs.
46. Wainscoting Walls
Wainscot panels are a timeless decorative installation for adding richness and texture to hallways, bedrooms, dens, and dining rooms. Tongue-and-groove beadboard is usually installed 1/3 of the way up the wall. Elevated photo frame and wainscoting panel styles look beautifully mounted floor-to-ceiling in an office or formal living room.
47. Let Your Hardwood Floors Shine
If you're blessed with gorgeous hardwood floors, there's no need to hide them behind wall-to-wall carpeting. Instead, you should remove your carpet and let your floor be the focus.
Creating a luxury home can be quite simple and affordable, especially if you have a flair for design. With enough inspiration, creative DIY projects, and glamorous elements, you can design a space that exudes luxury and style.