Being embarrassed about your home is one of the worst feelings in the world. Not wanting to invite friends or family over because your home feels poor isn’t a great way to live. However, as most people live paycheck to paycheck, you probably don’t have tons of cash lying around.
But you don’t have to move into a new place or spend all of your money remodeling your home to turn things around.
The most important thing to remember when upscaling your home is that the terms “nice” and “inexpensive” are not mutually exclusive. You can have nice and expensive-looking decor without spending thousands of dollars are taking on a second job.
Check out these budget design tips to upscale your home without significantly downsizing your bank account!
Start Each Budget Design Concept from Scratch
First, you need to approach each room from a fresh point of view. Figure out a feel or them you want from each room, and then start from scratch. Pull out every piece of furniture and decor.
Working with a blank canvas can make it much easier to bring each room to life. Otherwise, you’re stuck trying to work around things, forcing them to fit with your vision. If something doesn’t work for a particular room, perhaps it can go into another.
Don’t be afraid to let go of old things either. You can make a little extra money for your budget design by selling off old stuff that no longer serves you.
Use Accent Colors\Decor
Next, to make your home feel more expensive and modern, consider an entire color makeover. High-end home designers don’t just white-wash the entire interiors. However, be careful not to overdo intense colors.
We recommend using accent colors. You can do this with an accent wall in certain rooms or with color pops within the decor. One of the best ways to make a living room feel more extravagant is by adding colorful (but purposeful) couch pillows.
You can also use vases, art, and other pieces of decor to enhance a room with color pops.
Hang Art on the Walls
Speaking of art, creating an art gallery on a wall is a great budget design trick to make your house feel more lavish. Pick a wall of a given room and cover it in art. However, make sure you’re getting creative by mixing and matching sizes, shapes, etc.
Additionally, large-scale art hangings do a world of wonder in making a home feel more chic and cultured.
Update Fixtures and Hardware
Another easy budget design tip involves replacing old and outdated fixtures around the home. This includes light fixtures, doorknobs, faucets, and drawer/cabinet handles. A simple handle upgrade on all of your kitchen cabinets can really modernize the whole kitchen.
While you’re updating handles, pulls, and knobs, however, consider adding a new color to your cabinets, doors, vanities, etc.
Perfect the Lighting
Lighting in a home is very important. People love a well-lit room. Typically, this involves bringing in as much sunlight as possible, but that only works during the day.
A fantastic way to upscale your home is by adding in layered lighting. This means using multiple sources of light in each room, rather than just relying on the ceiling light. We recommend getting lamps, floor lamps, hangable LED string lighting, and/or plug-in sconces.
Use Multiple Textures for Decor
One of the best budget design tricks for an expensive look is using multiple types of textures while adding in decor for a room. This means having a variety of wood, metal, material, and glass items.
However, this also could mean throwing a thick wool blanket over the back of the couch, different styles of pillows, and a warm rug on the floor.
Use Rugs on Hard Floors
Speaking of rugs, any hard floors, especially in big rooms, need a rug to help the room feel warmer. For any room, the bigger the rug, the better the upgrade. Smaller rugs make rooms feel small and dwarfed.
However, if you have pets or children, make sure you get a tough rug that won’t easily fray or get torn up. A big rug won’t make your house feel more expensive if it’s ratty.
Upgrade Moldings and Trim
Next, many typical homes built in the last couple of decades come with basic trim and molding. It’s neat, clean, and looks fine, but it doesn’t add any elegance to the home.
Improving the interior architecture via upgraded trim and molding can really add charm and character to any home. It doesn’t have to be over-the-top, but some simple scrollwork or Victorian style molding or trim can do wonders.
Look for Antique Pieces at Thrift Stores
Additionally, consider adding in some interesting antique pieces of furniture or decor from local thrift stores. If you can find any legitimate heirloom feeling pieces, feel free to cheat a little.
There are plenty of low-cost online websites that offer faux antiques or older-styled decor.
Ditch Old and Ratty Furniture
Since you’re in the middle of changing up your home for your budget design, use this time to minimalize and declutter your home a bit. For example, any upscaling you do will be counteracted by the presence of old and ratty furniture.
And remember, nice-looking furniture doesn’t have to be expensive furniture. You can easily buy new furniture for your house on a budget. The best part is, you can hire house movers who also help people move furniture in and out of homes to make the process easier on yourself.
Keep Your Home Clean and Clutter-Free
Finally, one of the best budget design tips to help your home feel more high-end is also the cheapest. It will cost you nothing but time to keep your home clean and clutter-free on a day to day basis.
However, although free, this is also one of the most vital aspects of home design. Even a $500,000 home will feel cheap if it’s constantly trashed, dirty, or cluttered with junk. It’s easy to fall into bad habits when it comes to housekeeping, so leave a note for yourself on the fridge or bathroom mirror to remind you.
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