Tricks to Make Your Living Room Look Lux… Without a Lux Budget

While the kitchen may be the heart of the home, it is the living room where life happens. It is here where you entertain guests and spend quality time with loved ones. The living room is often the room that acts as the first impression for visitors, thus we want to make it as inviting, elevated, and attractive as possible.

This begs the question – how can you make the living room look more luxurious, and dare we say it expensive looking…  without actually dropping a major dough? Here are our tips.

Add a Variety of Light Sources

Lighting has a magical effect on any room. Although natural light is ALWAYS best, creating a layered lighting concept will make your living room have more depth and give it that expensive look. Instead of using regular bulbs and ordinary lamps, try adding wall mounted sconces, Installing dimmer switches, or hanging a pendant light. Pro Tip:  Consider placing light fixtures near furniture arrangements so that you won’t have to worry about rewiring meticulously. This will save you some money without compromising the aesthetic appeal.

Having different sources of light enables you to change the mood and add ambiance immediately.

Great Throw Pillows

One of the easiest and least inexpensive ways to dress up your living room is with throw pillows. You can add a few accent pillows and play with textures as well as colors. We suggest picking one pillow in a colorful print that you absolutely love, and working from there, pulling in pillows in different prints and solids with similar colors and tones.

We like employing the high low model here – Invest in a couple pillows that you love in high quality fabrics and mix in lower-cost options.  If you’re the creative type, don’t be afraid to buy pillow fillers and hit your local fabric store and make pillow cases of your own.  Have fun with it!

Let the Curtains Hit the Floor

Curtains have an incredible way of adding luxe factor to a living room, or any living space for that matter, but only if you do them right. The cardinal rule is that you should never go for curtains that are too short. If you want the space to look more elegant, classy, and expensive, allow the draperies to hit the floor. And, of course, you also have to choose the fabric as well as the design carefully. To complete the setup, invest in inexpensive yet high-quality rods and brackets.

Pro Tip:  Take it up a notch and layer curtains to create depth.

Employ Interesting Frames

Art is only as good as the frame that it lives in.  Pay attention to how your artwork and photographs are mounted and displayed to the world – it will make all the difference.  At RHD we love picking up pieces from flee markets and having them re-framed.  Enlarge family photos and have them printed – add a mat and a frame and behold – a masterpiece.

Experiment With Textures

Gone are the days when every decor or component of a room has to match. Don’t be afraid to mix textures and materials like marble, wood, metal, and glass to give your living room a luxurious look. You can also play with fabrics like wool, silk, jute, leather, and even faux fur.  Don’t be intimidated, start small, and expand as you go.

Add a Large Rug

Rugs come in all sorts of fabrics, colors, patterns, and textures. You should take advantage of these features to give your living room a new look, something more luxurious but still cozy and comfortable. Instead of investing in a small and pricey area rug, opt for a larger one, which will make the room look airy and spacious and still define your space. A seemingly big living room automatically creates a luxe appearance.

Moldings, Moldings, Moldings!

Spruce up your walls by adding some moldings. Now, we know that adding moldings sounds like quite an undertaking, but there are new products on the market that take the hard work out of it for you. Visit a home improvement store and survey your options – If you’re not gifted with the handy gene, have a carpenter install them for you.  Moldings are high impact, add luxury to your walls, and make your room look larger and more ornate.

Add a Fireplace

If you live in a place that experiences winter or cold months, then having a fireplace must be high on your list! Fireplaces improve the overall look of your living room and add a cozy feeling. If your house doesn’t come with a fireplace, adding a small, eco-friendly fireplace like the one in the image below can do just the job!

Rethink Your Color Palette

When was the last time you thought about the color palette in your living room?  Pick a few of your favorite hues and mix in neutrals from there.  A great color scheme will make your room pop!

Size Matters

The book says never to decorate with an object smaller than a grapefruit.  Even sticking to this rule, employing ONLY smaller objects can create clutter.  To avoid this, make sure you’re using a variety of sizes.  Invest in some larger-scale artwork to act as the focal point of your room, or perhaps a floor vase, or even an oversized mirror.

Employ these strategies to make your living room look elevated without breaking the bank.