The new year is always a good excuse for a new look at home – but it also happens to be the time of year that budgets are stretched the most tightly.
For tips on making your home look high end without splashing the cash – read below.
Freshen Up
The quickest way to make your home look a little more up-market is to give what you have a tiny facelift. A fresh coat of paint on the walls can make a world of difference in a room – making the place lighter and brighter depending on your chosen colours. White is always a chic go-to – if a little high maintenance – as it adds a feeling of space and cleanness to any room. A blank white canvas also opens up the possibility to create features and focus points in a room with statement furniture or furnishings.
And paint isn’t just for the walls – a new coat of paint on a tired-looking desk, bookcase or bed-frame can make an object go from shabby to fab-by with very little expenditure.
Another great way to freshen up a room is by adding a vase of flowers, literally brining a natural bit of life to the décor. Choose something elegant like a white orchid or brighten up the room with a colourful bouquet. If fresh flowers are too much hassle – just fake it! Investing in a nicely made bouquet of artificial flowers can add a long-lasting element of class to any room.
Get Arty
A piece of art adds an excellent talking point to any room. All you need is a good frame – and a spirit level for hanging them.
If you’re looking for stylish prints and posters that don’t break the bank, sites like Etsy can offer unique hand-made art at a relatively low cost, or check out your local craft fair to find artists near you that you can support. Card shops also make a great hunting ground for interesting prints and pictures, or if you’re feeling truly ambitious – head to a craft shop and create your own! You can pair a few smaller pieces with one or two larger ones to create an interesting display – just make sure you lay them all out to get your desired order right before you start hanging!
If you’re not much into art – then a well-chosen mirror can have the same effect – with the added bonus of reflecting light around the room to make it look bigger.
Hang High
Expensive homes tend to have high ceilings, but if your home is a little on the small side, a little faking can go a long way. We’ve written before on making small spaces seem larger – and there’s plenty of tricks to making your room look taller.
A stylish pair of curtains in a luxurious fabric is a great way to make a room look a little more expensive – and if you hang those curtains a few inches above the window, you can make your room look taller too. The closer your curtains to the ceiling, the higher your windows -and thus your room – appear. If you want to really maximise the drama on floor-length curtains, add a few extra cms to the length you require, to create a stylish puddling effect where your curtains end.
Sheer curtains and coverings can also help brighten the home, while making the most of the window space you have. Our Allusion blinds have the luxurious appearance of sheer curtains, with the added benefit of increasing the privacy in your home. Alternatively, our Luxaflex Duette range help filter light coming into the home, to create a chic, cosy feel.
Drawing the eye upwards with high hung shelves or tall bookcases also create this effect, as does painting the ceiling in a colourful pastel hue.
Embrace Minimalism
Removing residual clutter is a simple way to make any room look extra chic. It’s also proven to reduce stress levels – as a de-cluttered home leads the way to a de-cluttered mind.
Establish storage zones within the home, so everything has it’s proper place; a place for coats, for books, for bags etc. When it’s obvious where things belong, it makes us more likely to tidy them away into their designated home. Create a home for everything with stylish storage baskets and containers – but ensure they match, a hotch-potch of different styled storage pots can look as cluttered as a messy worktop.
If you’ve already amassed a myriad of accessories in your home, pare down what you have, and put what isn’t used now on rotation for later, that way you have the option to change up your style later in the year, without the need to break the bank. Try and get rid of one thing from every surface in your home, to create a sense of increased space.
Throw Textures Around
Having the same texture and style across all your soft furnishings can make a place feel flat. Mix up colours and textures to create a curated feel for your home. If you’re all about nudes , try mixing up your shades with throw pillows in few different neutral tones or if you like things bright and bold, opt for chic colour clashes (like rose and olive).
Larger throw cushions also tend to look a little more sumptuous than smaller ones, designers recommend at least 18 inches of height for a truly expensive feel. Try contrasting large, textured cushions with smaller colourful ones to create a properly inviting style.
For expensive looking curtains and blinds (without the price tag) check out our full range.