How to Make Your Home Look Expensive: 10 Interior Design Hacks

1. Upgrade the lighting

Lighting is the jewelry of the room. You can buy beautiful, but cheap chandeliers. You can add wall sconces for soft, upscale lighting. You can even use inexpensive task lighting for layers of light. Using dimmers is a good way to add ambiance and a cozy, luxurious atmosphere to any room.

2. Use textiles

Textiles come in many different forms and are a cheap way to make your home look expensive. You can add beautiful, elegant drapes. You can use different materials like velvet or linen. You can create a custom look with different patterns and colors. Using heavier drapes makes a room feel polished and cozy.

Pillows are another inexpensive textile that can make a home look expensive. They add texture and depth to a run. The fun thing about pillows is that you can use them to switch up the look of a room seasonally, or even from day to day. All you need to do is buy different covers (you can even reuse the pillow itself).

3. Add a fireplace

Adding a fireplace seems like an expensive commitment, but you can do it on a budget. Lisa Burningham bought an inexpensive, plug-in fireplace inset from Cost Way and custom-built her own elegant mantel around it.

She measured out a wood frame, added paneling, caulked the mantel, and painted it white with four coats of Behr Polar Bear paint. After it dried, she screwed in the electric insert and cover.

4. Use neutral wall colors

Beige, gray, and white make spaces look large, expensive, modern, and sophisticated. Paint is affordable.

5. Add textured wallpaper

You can find it cheap on Amazon or in stores.

6. Bring in greenery

Even artificial plants and flowers upgrade a room. Lisa Burningham uses artificial flowers and beautiful containers from the thrift store. You can switch up flower arrangements seasonally.

7. Add mirrors

Mirrors reflect light back and make the room feel bigger and grander. You can buy them at the thrift store.

8. Add artwork

Artwork can make or break a space. It adds character and personality, shows off style, and creates focal points. Artwork adds richness and texture and increases the home value.

9. Add accessories

Home accessories make a home look elegant without breaking the bank. There are so many places to find cheap candles, books, small sculptures, bases, ginger jars, and other classy home accessories.

10. Switch out the hardware on the cabinets

Your knobs and drawer pulls can date your home. An interior design hack is to change out old knobs for modern ones. Design trends change frequently, and changing cabinet hardware is a cost-efficient way to keep up with trends.

11. Use natural stone

Backsplashes and flooring are expensive. Instead, place $10 marble tiles from Lowe’s on your nightstands, side tables, and buffets. It adds high-end material and updates the space without breaking the budget.

12. Declutter

A tidy home will always look more luxurious than a cluttered one.

How to make your home look expensive

There are a number of ways to make your home look expensive. Which tip was most helpful for you and why? Let us know in the comments.

For more budget home ideas, discover how to make your small space look bigger or easy ways to refresh your home on a budget.

To see more videos, check out the Lisa Burningham YouTube channel.