Our home is our castle. Naturally, we want to surround ourselves with materials that match our personal aesthetic. Thankfully, the investment we make to fulfill our dream home vision doesn’t need to break the bank.
You can make your home look luxurious with inexpensive materials and just a few tips. It all boils down to the idea that you want your design to look intentional, with no space going unnoticed. Attention to detail is a defining characteristic of luxury because it suggests the time and resources that went into making the design cohesive. It’s all in the details.
Entrez Vous
Your entry is the first thing that people see when they come into your house. Even if you have no foyer, you can give your guests a grand welcome. Add special touches near your entryway, such as a vase with fresh flowers, a mirror to add some light, or framed artwork.
For a sumptuous entry, floor your guests with rich-looking ceramic tile. Ceramic tile gives you unlimited options to choose from. Whether solids, patterns, textures, metallics, fabrics, or looks such as wood and stone, all offer easy care and the durability to withstand your heaviest traffic and keep looking grand after years of use.
Cleanliness Is Next to Elegance
One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to create a rich look is to keep your house clean. When clutter is lying around, it’s hard to see the beauty of any home, no matter how well appointed. Keep clutter to a minimum and use cabinets, closets and storage containers to keep surfaces clear. Dust on a regular basis, launder your linens, and keep those floors swept. Hard surfaces — such as ceramic tile — are easy to keep clean and don’t harbor hidden dust mites. Ceramic tile is also bacteria-, mold-, mildew-, and scratch-resistant, so your ceramic surfaces will look pristine. The most modest home can look regal when it’s neat and clean.
Leather and Fabulous Faux Fur
Leather is an investment that ages well with a timeless heirloom quality. A small furniture purchase in leather — such as a chair, ottoman, or even a lumbar pillow — can add an affluent effect.
Like leather, a little faux fur goes a long way. Faux fur is a fun way to add a little luxury to your home. Drape a throw over your favorite reading spot for a glamorous snuggle to chase away chills.
Leather and fur textiles mix beautifully with ceramic tile and can accessorize looks ranging from modernism to traditional decor.
Don’t Lose Your Marbles
Marble is definitely a luxury item, with a cost of $60 per square foot for countertops, on average. If you love the look of marble but don’t have the bankroll to fund it, try adding small touches, such as a marble serving tray, or topping a side table with a piece of marble. For floors, countertops, and backsplashes, marble-looking ceramic tile brings you the same look for far less and with the added benefit of stain resistance and easy maintenance.
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
Reflect your creative side with mirrors. Even a simple mirror in a focal area is elegant. Hang a collection of small mirrors in interesting shapes or paint a fancy picture frame and add a mirror to it. Stumped on just the right artwork? Use a mirror!
Shed Some Light on the Subject
Light has a big impact on a room, whether it’s low, romantic lamps or bright business lighting. As light reflects on different surfaces, it can add another dimension to a room. Add lamps to highlight cozy nooks in the living room rather than turning on the ceiling light. For your kitchen, show off how clean it is with bright, efficient LED lights or under-cabinet lighting.
Ceramic Tile
One of the most versatile materials that can make your home look rich is ceramic tile. Ceramic tile has so many shapes, colors, and finishes that you will absolutely find a style to fit your home and budget. You can get creative with tile — and don’t limit yourself to the floor, either. Here are a variety of ways to add luxury:
- Unique tile in a small space, such as a backsplash or the floor of your shower
- A feature wall
- An unusual pattern for the tile layout
- Colored grout
- Mixed shapes and colors of tile
Ceramic tile will keep its richness for years to come, unlike some other products that can dent, scratch, and fade. Easy-care tile is no problem to maintain, so you can keep it looking clean without a headache. Plus, ceramic tile is a healthy and green way to go glam, with no allergens, VOCs, formaldehyde, or PVC. Additionally, compared to other flooring products that need to be replaced more frequently, ceramic tile’s long life means it is both cost-effective and a smart choice for reducing embodied carbon, as well as other negative environmental impacts, such as resource use, and demolition waste.
Give Your Windows the Treatment
Pay attention to your window treatments; they put a frame on your view. Splurge a little on a few yards of rich-looking fabric, such as tapestry or polished cotton. All you need to do to have drapes fit for a queen is put a wide hem on the top and bottom, and voilà! For dramatic flair, hang curtains that go all the way to the floor.
On the other side of the spectrum, clean, crisp, white linen curtains are elegant without being heavy. In keeping with the clean and simple ethos, linen is an inexpensive way to dress up a window without overdoing it.
Precious Metals
Not all that glitters is gold — silver and brass are pretty flashy as well. Shiny metals have fascinated humans since our ancestors first laid eyes on them. Metallic flair comes in many forms, such as paint, tile, and fabric. A little goes a long way, so don’t go overboard; use metals to accent. Mixing metals can add texture, glamour, and dimension, with cool silver and warm gold or brass balancing each other.
Architectural Molding
Close your eyes and think of an expensive home. I’ll bet the house you’re imagining has crown molding, wainscoting, or some other type of architectural molding. Trimming a room gives it an expensive, finishing touch.
Art Is in the Eye of the Beholder
The beauty of art is that it doesn’t have to be expensive to be impressive. Large pieces of art add a glamorous touch, and because they are big, they look like you spent a lot of money on them. However, large canvases can overwhelm a space if too much is going on. Opt for geometrics or florals and keep landscapes simple.
You could also have some fun and make your own art. Stretch a beautiful fabric over a blank canvas, frame wallpaper samples, or frame three-dimensional mementos in a shadow box. You get the idea. Grouping photos that have the same color frames is also an elegant way to add interest to your home in an inexpensive way that adds personal meaning.
Fresh Flowers
Fresh flowers add instant beauty. You don’t need to fuss with elaborate arrangements; in fact, simpler bouquets of just one kind of flower convey a singular elegance.
For longer-lasting natural beauty, use branches from shrubs that bloom, such as lilac, quince or cherry. After blooming, the branches add architectural interest.
The Bottom Line
For additional ideas, peruse design and architectural magazines and online resources, such as Pinterest. Think about the aspect of your personality that you want to convey: Are you eclectic? Sophisticated? Minimalistic? Then convey that in your choice of materials. Stick to the principles we’ve discussed — keep it clean and simple with an eye toward the details — and you’ve got the basics for a low-cost spendy look to your decor!
