Home > Blogs > Emily Lowe > Emily Loves Nashville Real Estate

Budget Friendly Interior Design Tricks: Creating Luxurious Looking Spaces

By Emily Lowe

Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Homes and Estates, Lipman Group #311723

August 14, 2013 05:48 AM

Budget Friendly Interior Design Tricks

~ Creating Luxurious Looking Spaces ~

The popularity of master-planned home developments throughout the country has become widespread. More and more new neighborhoods are being built to keep floor plans and aesthetics consistent with each other. It is likely that these particular homeowners feel the need to “customize” their homes as much as they can in an attempt to stand out from their mirrored neighbors. However, customizing your interior can have a heavy bearing financially. So here are some design tricks that professional interior designers utilize that are budget friendly.

Crown Molding - Rooms that lack crown molding tend to look average and unfinished. There is something very elegant about blending the walls to the ceiling with molding. For a modest amount of money crown molding can transform an ordinary room to a modern and sophisticated space. The wider the molding the more elegant the room appears.

Paint – One of the toughest decisions when it comes to interior design is choosing what color to paint the walls. Opting for a crisp white or high pigment paint in a neutral hue can lend sophistication to the room. Another trick is to paint doors black. This is a contemporary style that adds luxury to rooms. Just be sure to tie the black doors with other pieces of black pieces of furniture.

Pillows - Throw pillows are an instant and inexpensive way to theme a room and add cohesiveness with contrast. For instance, if you have a light colored couch try adding dark colored pillows to give the room some depth. Try to avoid the smaller 12-18” store bought pillows and instead opt for the larger 22” pillow covers and stuff them with 24” inserts. The overstuffed pillows offer that luxurious look you’re going for.

Window Treatments – The cost for window treatments spans over quite a wide court, rendering many different price points. Although it’s wise to be prudent when it comes to spending you truly want to avoid flimsy curtains that are unlined which are sure signs of poor quality. Rather than buying them off the rack from your local home store, find a selection at a specialty fabric store. The experts there can help you find the right fabric to create window treatments within your budget that will look like you spent a lot more on them. Once you’ve selected your curtains hang them as high to the ceiling as possible and make sure they are long enough to reach the floor. This will draw the eyes up and create an illusion of fullness. Curtains that are hung just above the window tend to look meager and less elegant.

Hardware Finishes – Most tract homes typically come with very standard hardware finishes. Project developers seek out the more cost effective material which means they are cheaper both in price and appearance. Oddly enough, better quality hardware is not that expensive to upgrade to. Change out the drawer pulls and cabinet handles in the kitchen and bathrooms. Replacing door knobs is another good way to make y our home look more customized.

Lighting – As with hardware finishes, project developers tend to select very basic lighting for tract homes. Change out the dining room chandelier for one that is more lavish. Again, you don’t have to spend too much for a pleasing upgrade. You can search out consignment and second-hand stores. E-Bay or Craigslist is also another resource for finding light fixtures and home furnishings.

Hardwood Floors – Although wall-to-wall carpeting is comfortable for the feet it does not lend itself to an opulent look. Hardwood provides a timeless and classic visual appeal. It may initially be more expensive than carpet but it will certainly hold its value and become much more cost effective less changing out the carpet every few years.