Make Your Home Look Expensive For Cheap
When trying to make their home look more sophisticated, many people will spend more money on high-end products and services. However, quite often you can make your home look expensive without spending that much on it at all. Here are just a few tricks for making your home more classy and elegant on a budget.
Get arty
A piece of art can add a sense of culture to a room and provide a separate focal point other than the TV. This doesn’t have to the work some famous artist – it could simply be a piece of local artwork that you like or even your own artwork. Sculptures can work just as well as paintings. Obviously, you don’t want to just choose any old art – choose something that grips you and says something about your interests or taste.
Try thrift stores
Shopping second-hand can be a great way to find deals on furniture and ornaments. Whilst a lot of it will be low quality bric-a-brac, you may find some diamonds in the rough. This will be cheaper than shopping second-hand at a second hand store, and certainly much cheaper than buying brand new. Occasionally you may also be able to find quality items on sites such as Preloved.
Buy from bidding sites
Auctions are a great place to find quality goods. But if you’re looking to save money, you should try bidding sites such as Dealdash. With numerous bids going on at the same time, it’s easy to find a quality item that few other people may be bidding on, getting yourself a great deal on something that might otherwise be expensive were you to buy it somewhere else.
Consider imitation materials
Certain materials can immediately bring a sense of luxury to your home, but these materials are generally expensive. Often, you can save money by opting for imitation materials instead that look the part. For example, rather than shelling out on a mahogany floor, you could opt for a cheaper wood type such as sapele, which is a similar color but much cheaper. Instead of buying marble countertop, you could meanwhile opt for an artificial alternative such as cultured marble. There are even spray-on granite paints for making a plastic countertop look like it’s made of stone. Most of these imitations look just as good as the real thing.
Think minimal
Expensive homes will generally be clutter-free. Any ornaments they have are turned into statement pieces. Selling some of your clutter may in fact make your home look more sophisticated. You can also consider neater and more space-efficient ways of storing things. For example, instead of having a kniferack taking up kitchen countertop space, why not opt for a magnetic strip on the wall for hanging knives on. A footstall with in-built storage for hiding living room clutter such as remotes, DVDs, magazines and video games could also be worthwhile.