You don’t have to spend thousands to create a beautiful and luxurious interior for your apartment or home. If anything, a tight budget is an opportunity to be creative and sustainable in your efforts to create a welcoming home. Here are some tips for making your home look luxurious on a budget.
Declutter and simplify your space
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful” is a timeless tip from English textile designer William Morris. This is worth keeping in mind when decorating.
A luxurious room is as much about what you leave out as what you put in. Decluttering and restricting yourself to a limited palette of colours will give it an elegant, ‘pulled-together’ look.
Using the same picture frames throughout your home will also unify your space. Simple black or timber frames are inexpensive, or buy a range of secondhand frames and paint them all in the same colour.
Use mirrors to make a space look larger
This is an old trick, but it works. We love the K-Mart hack that suggests grouping identical mirrors together to create a feature art piece on your wall. A few vintage mirrors hung together is another great look.
Add layers
Layering fabrics, cushions and rugs helps make a space look rich and inviting. Look for old Persian rugs on Gumtree or at second-hand markets for an antique look, and seek out some beautiful vintage fabrics online to make oversized cushion covers. Velvet is popular right now – trying adding a round cushion to your couch or bed in a vibrant colour.
Be bold with colour
A dramatic colour such as a deep green or dark grey can look sophisticated on kitchen cabinets or walls, and makes a change from minimalist white. And while wallpaper can be expensive, papering just a small area, such as an entryway or single wall in your living room, saves money but still packs a visual punch.
Invest in quality window coverings
Good-quality window coverings make sense for both style and function. Custom-made, well-fitted blinds are handy in your bedroom for ensuring a good night’s sleep. And long, beautiful curtains will make your living room look elegant. IKEA has a great fabric selection as well as ready-made curtains that you can adapt to suit your windows. You could also search for vintage curtains online.
Personal touches
Adding your own personal touches of as an artwork that you love or a sentimental piece will make your apartment or house into a home. Another tip is to go for a single, oversized artwork to give your room more impact.
If you can afford it, buy one thing you really love. Splashing out on one beautiful piece of furniture, a lamp or an artwork will lift the whole room.
Get creative
Thanks to the internet, we can now draw on the creativity of others when decorating our homes. Check out IKEA hacks for some clever reworkings of IKEA products, such as a basic shelving system that has been transformed into a beautiful custom-fitted bookcase. Another tip on K-Mart Hacks is to spray the metal legs of coffee tables or stools with gold spray paint for a more luxurious look.
Look for secondhand treasures online
Buying secondhand is the best way to acquire those high-end pieces you could never afford to buy new. Filter your search on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace to cover upmarket suburbs close by. You’ll find sellers who are moving or downsizing and looking to get rid of stuff quickly, and you can pick up some amazing bargains. Plus, buying secondhand is better for the planet.
Hopefully this has given you some ideas and inspiration for making your home more beautiful. Please share your ideas and clever hacks for creating a more luxurious home on a budget below.
