Admit it that you have often sighed over glossy pictures of luxurious homes and wished you could do something to make your space look half as lavish without having to spend a bundle.
Everyone desires for and aspires to have a lavish and elegant home with statement furniture, expensive art pieces, signature collections, vintage pieces, custom curtains, jaw dropping chandeliers, etc. However, lack of finances and ideas usually play the spoilsports in this quest.
While we agree that a truly luxurious home costs tons of money and help from top interior designers, we can all bring a lavish look to our spaces with some effort and without a sky-high budget. What you need is some guidance, aesthetic vision, and some elbow grease.
We bring you some great tips that really work to give your home a lavish look without having to spend a fortune. Read on:
- Clean up the space, cut the clutter
Simple and oh, so effective! Clutter and piles of useless stuff downgrade your home. Give your space a thorough cleaning. Remove all eyesores that are simply hogging space and adding to the clutter regularly. Launder and iron the curtains frequently. Give the rug a good shakedown, and do get it dry cleaned once a year. Polish the furniture once in a while. Cleanliness uplifts an interior as nothing else can.
- Reupholster the chairs and the couch
Shabby upholstery makes even good furniture look rundown and ugly. Reupholster your chairs, couch and ottoman, etc. in a quality furnishing fabric. If the pieces are all in different styles, cover them with the same fabric. If the furniture pieces are in the same style, experiment with complementary patterns and colors, or different textures in the same color. A simple tip for a decidedly designer effect!
- Bring in luxurious accents
Small things done right can make a big difference to a space’s appearance. Even an average chair can look elegant with a plump brocade cushion on it. A cut-glass ashtray can make a regular corner table look glamorous. A bowl or vase of fresh flowers on the sideboard can work wonders in making a room look like a million bucks. You can also add metallic accents for a luxe effect. Gold, silver, copper, and bronze, when used judiciously, can give a regal aura even to a humble space. A silver candelabra or a golden framed mirror or a tall bronze figurine or a copper wall clock can make the room come alive with a hint of grandeur.
- Get the rug right
Skip cheap, synthetic, and undersized/ oversized rugs. Invest in a rug woven from natural fibers like wool, silk, cotton, sisal, or jute. The size of this rug should be enough to leave some floor visible between itself and the wall. It should also be large enough to have the furniture legs resting on it. A postage stamp rug barely big enough for the center table will make your space look miserly. Rugs work as anchors for a room and the right kind of rug can give your space a touch of finesse.
- Refresh the window treatments
Go beyond basic curtains and try add-ons like valances, tie-backs, and layering of curtains with sheers or shades on your windows. Fix the curtain rods high up above the window as long swathes of curtains look really elegant. Extend the curtain rods on the sides too for a rich window framing effect when the curtains are drawn to the sides. While deciding the length of your curtains, remember that it is always advisable to use floor to ceiling length curtains. So, keep the curtains full-length i.e. reaching the floor level as this adds to the regal aura of your room.
If the window frame is an eyesore, cover it with an outside mounted custom roman shades in a luxurious fabric. If the window has any fabulous architectural detailing (e.g. carved wood frames), go for inside mounted roman shades to give high visibility to the window.
- Add an accent wall
A carefully done accent wall looks absolutely elegant. You can give it an open brick treatment, wallpaper in a bold print, or just paint it in a contrasting color. Be sure to choose the far wall of the room you are upgrading so that it is visible when one enters the room.
- Upgrade the lighting
Room lighting is almost like a magic makeover for an interior provided it is done right. Just sunlight and general fluorescent lights may be adequate for regular living but are insufficient for creating the coveted luxurious effect. Your home needs layers of lighting to brighten up the darker spaces. Place tall floor lamps in corners, add wall sconces, and suspend pendant lights or chandeliers from the ceiling to give your room a sumptuous look. Use warm lighting for a sense of cozy splendor.
Remember, it is the small things that make a huge difference in making your space look lavish.