Your home is your personal oasis, so you want it to look beautiful, chic, and full of luxury while reflecting your personal style. The problem is that you may not always want to pay luxury prices to redecorate your home. While renovating your indoor space may not be in the budget this year, there are some ways you can make updates to your interior design to achieve a luxury look without going broke.
We’re going to discuss what really makes a luxury home and what you can do to elevate your home’s chic appearance on a budget — luxury design on a budget.
What makes a room look luxurious?
When you look at magazine photos, showroom designs, and maybe even some of your friends’ living rooms, it can be hard to determine what exactly is making the stunning room look so luxurious. Is it the furniture, the artwork, the lighting? Truth be told, the overall luxurious look of a home comes down to the combination of a few things.
Lots of light
A dark, poorly lit room will appear cheap and depressing no matter how expensive the furniture and decor is. On the other hand, a bright and well-lit room offers a refreshing and cheery appearance that automatically elevates the perceived value of the room, no matter how cheap the furniture is. Excessive windows let in lots of natural light, and ample lighting from ceiling fixtures and lamps are necessary features for any room to give off the feel of luxury.
Luxury materials
Certain materials just scream expensive when it comes to luxury. Small gold accents, crystal table decor, quality woods, and of course, extravagant fabrics all contribute to a room’s overall luxury. When it comes to fabrics, the feel is just as important as the appearance. That’s why velvet, silk, satin, and fur are all top price tags for luxury fabrics.
Quality artwork
While they may make a room homey and personable, those small, mismatched groups of wall art or groups of 8 x 10 family portraits definitely don’t give off a luxurious look. A truly chic room will have large pieces of quality artwork hung that are stylish and luxurious and fill the space with culture and aesthetic appeal. They also serve as unique conversation starters for guests. (That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t display photos of your family, of course; instead, think about what you want each room to say and curate your wall art accordingly.)
Designer furniture
Cheap furniture can be spotted a mile away, and so can luxury furniture. While there’s a wide scale when it comes to the quality of furniture, designer pieces are top tier. They’re made with incredibly high-quality materials, made in styles that are the latest fashion, and they make a luxurious statement in any room.
Tips for achieving luxury design on a budget
Now that you know the qualities of a truly luxurious room, you’ll be happy to know you can achieve some of those qualities in your indoor space without the luxury price tag of a showroom-quality room. Here are some tips to achieve that look of luxury without breaking the bank.
Upgrade your lighting concept
If your room has a lot of windows, update your curtains and window treatments to let in as much sun as possible. Lots of natural light flowing into the room will automatically give it a luxurious feel.
If the room doesn’t have huge windows, don’t worry. You just need to up your game when it comes to the room’s lighting. Here are some great options:
- Swap out your old, dated light fixtures for some new ones. This is the perfect way to blend different styles, like rustic with industrial.
- Install can lights in the ceiling to add more light.
- Add some chic lamps to end tables.
Choose luxury materials for your accents
You don’t need a full velvet couch or a solid gold accent table to achieve the look of luxury materials. You can simply add in some accents with these materials to spice up the room with a touch of class. Velvet throw blankets, satin accent pillow covers, and gold accent decor will achieve that chic and expensive feel without the cost of a whole piece of furniture made with luxury materials.
Go big when it comes to wall art
One notable quality of a room that looks classy and expensive is that it has large, interesting artwork. Walls are big, so their decor needs to be bigger than you might think. Swap out your smaller groups of wall art with single, large pieces of art like canvas paintings, photographs, or metal wall art that mesh well with the room.
Additionally, go big when it comes to other pieces like mirrors, clocks, or other non-picture items. While larger pieces tend to have higher price tags, it doesn’t cost much more than the multiple smaller pieces you may already have hanging.
Replace furniture slowly
Luxury furniture is, admittedly, a big investment. While you may not have the budget to refurnish an entire room with high-end or designer furniture, replacing only one item can automatically elevate the room’s appearance and increase the luxury exponentially. Consider replacing your couch, end table, coffee table, or TV stand to start out with, and then see what your budget looks like throughout the rest of the year for additional luxury replacements.
One simple rule for curating a luxurious look in your home
While there are several ways you can curate a luxe look in your space, one of the easiest methods is to cut the clutter. Luxury homes often feature expansive kitchen pantries with perfectly uniform and organized goods, well-cleaned and pristinely stocked refrigerators, cord-free living spaces, and tidy floors with minimal clutter or decorum.
Taking a minimalist approach to your design can also help you achieve a glamorous look in your space. A tidy, clutter-free home exudes a sense of peace and luxury, which is why many celebrity homes have unique storage solutions in every room.
Ways to hide your clutter:
- Consider buying custom furniture with ample storage.
- Organize your pantry with labels and plenty of uniform containers.
- Hide all cords, cables, and remotes in living spaces.
- Install custom cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms for unique storage solutions.
- Avoid cluttering shelves and tabletops with knick-knacks or excess decor pieces.
While you dream of that magazine-quality, luxurious indoor space, you may not have the budget for a total redecorating overhaul right now. The good news is, with the tips on our list, you can achieve a luxury feel in your space without going into debt. Make your home the best, most luxurious version possible without breaking the bank.
