Making a home that feels truly luxurious and looks high end does not to be anywhere near as complicated (or expensive) as it looks. There are lots of interior design tips which interior designers (and interior fanatics like myself) like to use which truly elevate the look of the spaces in your home.
The main characteristic of an aesthetically pleasing interior is intentionality. This means that nothing feels accidental/random but at the same time the home feels like a home and does not look cold or ‘staged’. Intentionality costs nothing and is something you can implement into the spaces of your home by using all of the interior design tips talked about below.
Below, are some of the best interior design tips that interior designers never forget when decorating a home. From small changes that take little to no time to home wide decorating principles, here are the best interior design tips to consider when decorating your home.
1. Opt For A More Is Less Approach
One of the most effective ways to elevate the look of a room in your home is to simply remove things. Expensive-feeling spaces typically are free of clutter as regardless of how beautiful some of the objects may be that are creating the clutter, a cluttered space is a visibly noisy space. Removing clutter helps to make a room feel a lot calmer and often look a lot more elevated.
This is part of the reason why minimalist interiors have became so popular in recent years as it is a lot easier to create a visually stunning minimalist room free of clutter than it is to create for example, a stunning maximalist room which does not look or feel cluttered. Although maximalist interiors can look equally as impressive when done right so don’t let this interior design tip steer you away from maximalism. When decorating a maximalist interiors, as long as you understand that rooms adhering to such decor styles are more difficult to “get right” and therefore require a greater level of strategy you should be up for the challenge.
2. Layer Your Lighting (Create A Softer/Less Harsh Atmosphere)
A single overhead light source often referred to as “the big light” is rightfully hated by some as such lighting can be very harsh on a space and make it look/feel a lot cheaper. An interior design tip for making a room look and feel more expensive is to use multiple sources of lighting at varying heights/angles in order to create the mood you want in a space.
The main options to consider when mixing types of lighting in a room include ceiling fixtures, side table lamps, floor lamps, accent lights or even candles. Lighting around picture frames or at reading height are two interior designer faves for helping to improve the atmosphere of a space.
Side note: Switching the bulbs in your home to a warm white as opposed to a cool white can help give the rooms of your home a warmer glow.
3. Incorporate Different Textures Into Your Decor
Incorporating lots of texture into your decor is the primary way you can make a room literally feel like luxury. Layering textures into a room can be done in so many ways including through the furniture itself or through little accents/decor.
In a living room, this can include using a mix of textured cushions such as linen, velvet or boucle cushions and then also incorporating a jute rug beneath or wool throw in order to really have a mix of textures going on in the space. In a bedroom, this is very easily done with a properly dressed bed such as by using a flat sheet, a quilt and a throw at the foot of the bed.
Side note: Linen, boucle, velvet, and cotton are some of the best textures to use in your home if you want your decor to read as expensive.
4. Hang Curtains High and Wide
Curtains hung high and wide frames the spaces in your home in the best way. Curtains hung at window height can make a room feel small and low while curtains hung close to the ceiling can help to make a room feel grand.
For most rooms, the rod should sit two to four inches below the ceiling (or directly below the crown moulding if you are dealing with a space which has it). The curtains should then extend 6–12 inches beyond the window on each side so that they frame only the glass and not the wall beside it when opened. Curtains often look best when they are long enough to only slightly graze the floor.
5. Replace Every Handle
It is often the little things in a home such as door handles which can help to make it look and feel a lot more expensive. Swapping out your door handles for a more premium option can instantly upgrade your home.
A popular choice for kitchen and bathroom cabinet hardware is to swap it out for solid brass or matte black hardware in order to give your home the desired premium or modern look you are trying to achieve.
6. Add Architectural Interest
Architectural interest includes things like skirting boards, picture rails, and moulding which are often done at the design phase of a home but can nowadays also be done at the decor phase such as by using peel-and-stick moulding (with renter friendly options which don’t leave a mark or can be painted over when leaving).
Little architectural details can instantly make a room feel finished and considered in a way that paint alone simply cannot.
7. Choose One Statement Scent
A beautiful, soft fragrance can help make a home feel so much more luxurious. Diffusers and candles are great ways to bring the one scent throughout your home in order to make it the signatory scent of your home.
8. Paint the Ceiling
A painted ceiling instantly elevates a room and really makes it stand out from the rest of the home. It costs no more than any other paint choice and can instantly make a space look a lot more intentional.
Deeper shades can be a great way to convey luxury and lighter shades can be a great way to make a space feel brighter or bigger so any colour can work for a painted ceiling really.
9. Upgrade Your Bedlinen
A well made bed with beautiful bedding is the finishing touch of any bedroom.
For a luxury and expensive look or feel to your bedroom 100% cotton or linen bedding in white or stone is one of the most popular options which can give your bedroom that luxury hotel look.
10. Breathe Life Into Your Space By Incorporating Greenery
Greenery (fake or real) makes for such a chic addition to any space in your home and real greenery can be good for improving the air quality within your home.
A single large plant or tree is a great way to incorporate greenery into a space in a really pretty way which avoids making the space feel cluttered and instead only elevates your decor.
11. Create Curated Decor Displays (Curate, Don’t Collect)
Beautiful decor displays tend to have fewer, better things. For example, one large artwork rather than six small ones, or a bookshelf with breathing room rather than full to the brim.
When displaying objects, don’t be afraid to leave the surrounding space clear. Empty space is not wasted space but is what makes the objects within it feel significant.
Curate decor displays using items you truly love (which perhaps meet the decor style you want to achieve) and do not feel the need to collect or buy things purely for the sake of filling a display.
12. Commit to a Colour Story (A.K.A. Use A Cohesive Palette)
Spaces that feel expensive (and look high-end) almost always use a cohesive colour palette. For example, the room above uses a baby blue, brown and cream colour palette.
This is a particularly good interior design tip for maximalist interiors as colour cohesion can give you more flexibility with decor as the cohesion which is required to create an aesthetically pleasing room can arise from colour rather than the decor you use.
Final Thoughts
Creating a beautiful home that both feels and looks expensive comes down to intentionality. Be intentional in your decorating and try to incorporate some of the interior design tips discussed in order to be on the right track in your intentionality when decorating.
Hope you have found this list of interior design tips to make your home look and feel more expensive helpful! Check out some of our other decor posts for more home inspiration.
Leave a Reply