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Rearrange your rooms

It may sound simple, but sometimes all you have to do to create a new look is rearrange your existing furniture and accessories. To start, stick with one room at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed, but consider anything in that room fair game for a change. Rework the layout of the furniture. Put your accessories in different spots. Switch up the artwork on the walls.

The key to making this work is keeping an open mind. Sometimes a new layout can feel so strange and out of place that it can be tempting to immediately set your layout back to the way it was before. We’d advise you to wait at least a few days before giving into this urge. It may take a few days to get used to your new setup, but you’ll likely find that you’re glad you waited it out.

Practice editing

In interior design, sometimes less is more. We’ve already talked about why every room needs to include some negative space and now is the perfect time to make good on that resolution. Think about giving the room a new look by editing out some of the unnecessary clutter, especially if you’re the type of person who likes to hang onto lots of odds and ends.

To do this, go around the room and pick up any items that you think might be considered clutter, one at a time. Then, ask yourself: What purpose is this serving in the room? If you don’t have an easy answer for the item, it might be time to consider donating the piece or tossing it out if it’s in bad shape. In the end, you should have a cleaner-looking, streamlined version of the space.

Stylize your surfaces to help the room look finished and purposeful. Image: Alena Ozerova/Shutterstock

Style your surfaces

Stylizing your surfaces is a great way to freshen up the look of a room. After all, it’s one trick interior designers use to really finish off the space and to make a design look purposeful. If you have bare tables and shelves hanging around your home, you can use them to bring your interiors to the next level. Best of all, depending on what decor items and accessories you have laying around the house, you might not need to spend any money to make this happen.

This maneuver is all about creating groupings. When in doubt, follow the rule of three. Odd-numbered groupings create more visual interest than even-numbered groupings. In particular, three seems to be the ideal number for a grouping as opposed to one, five or even seven because a single item might feel too simple while the latter two run the risk of appearing overly cluttered.

When selecting items to go in your grouping, you want to ensure that they’re different enough to create visual interest while still having a common thread to tie them together. Take the picture above, for instance. While all the accessories have varying shapes, they have a unifying monochromatic color scheme.

When in doubt, switch out your accessories. Image: New Africa/Shutterstock

Swap out your accessories

This last one might cost you a little, but when you’re really in an interior design rut, swapping out accessories is a surefire way to breathe new life into the space. Best of all, even though a few throw pillows and some wall art are an expense, they cost pennies on the dollar compared to redoing the room from top to bottom. When you think about it, you’re still being thrifty.

The key here is to concentrate on bringing accessories into the space that will really make an impact. Choose ones that come in a bold accent color or bring in a dose of pattern. Of course, it almost goes without saying that you also want these new accessories to be different from your old ones in order to create a fresh look.

Whether you’re building a new home or you’re looking to upgrade your space, you’ll find that little luxuries can add up. What might seem like a few bucks here and an upgrade there can totally blow your budget, especially if you have Versailles taste on a suburban budget. But you shouldn’t have to spend a ton to make your home look higher end. Stretching each dollar and knowing where to spend gives you the most bang for your buck. Try some of these inexpensive tricks to make your home look more luxurious without totally breaking the bank.

1. Install Woodwork

Wood panels warm up basic spaces. Image: Seavey Builders

Custom woodwork usually carries a hefty price tag. Still, if you use it judiciously, just a few accents can have a huge impact on the final product. Installing molding panels on one accent wall, for instance, can change the whole look of a room. By the same token, a well-placed chair rail can completely transform a room from cheap to choice.

2. Consider Built-Ins

Built-in shelves give a custom look. Image: Scheinholtz & Associates

Bookshelves and nooks make a home look more custom, and a custom home looks more expensive. Custom elements are always cheaper to install during a build, so ask your contractor to build in a few bookcases, some shelving or niches. If you’re renovating, you can mimic the look of built-ins by placing bookshelves alongside an entertainment center or beside your bed.

3. Add a Backsplash

Use subway tile in unexpected places. Image: Distinctive Remodeling

Dollar for dollar, backsplashes are one of the cheapest ways to make a big impact in your home. They add color and texture on the cheap for a quick weekend project. The trick to ensuring your backsplash looks expensive is to choose a medium-sized tile in a classic shape, like subway tile.

Think outside the kitchen when it comes to installing backsplashes. They look equally elegant in bathrooms, mudrooms and even as an accent on neutral furniture.

4. Create a Palette

Carry a color theme throughout the home. Image: Cottage Home Company

Your home is a reflection of your personality, so it can be tempting to make your mark using different colors in each room. But while different bright colors and patterns in every room is a fun way to decorate, it doesn’t exactly scream luxury. Creating a consistent color palette throughout your entire home will sustain flow from room to room for a more expensive look. The bright side? You’ll save on buying paint in bulk!

5. Tone it Down

Use accessories to color your home. Image: Fiorella Design

While deciding on a color palette for your entire home, consider going with a neutral theme. It might not be the most exciting choice, but neutrals always look classic and expensive in a home. Don’t worry, you can always add color with textiles and accessories. It’s impossible to get bored with neutrals when you have endless decor possibilities. Just think of your neutral walls and furniture as a backdrop and accessories as your splashes of color and personality.

6. Mix Metallics

Mixed metallics easily add style. Image: Duet Design Group

You may have heard that matching metallics and finishes when decorating is practically the Golden Rule of design. But mixing up your finishes can give your home a custom, elegant look by directing focus. Give your most eye-catching fixtures more attention by choosing them in a different metallic than the other fixtures in your home. An elegant gold faucet will have more of a luxurious design impact if most of your other fixtures are silver.

7. Upgrade Lighting

Upgraded lighting makes a big impact. Image: Jennifer Gilmer

If you have a little room in your budget for upgrades and are wondering where to spend it, go for lighting. It’ll be one of the more inexpensive items on the upgrade list (especially when compared to things like cabinetry and flooring) and can make a huge visual impact. When your light fixtures are luxurious, chances are your guests will assume the rest of your home has high-end finishes, too.

8. Frame Your Mirrors

Disguise builder-grade mirrors with frames. Image: Workroom C

Builder-grade mirrors are notoriously basic. That’s because buyers usually focus their upgrade dollars elsewhere, leaving inexpensive but boring plate mirrors that lack style and substance. Luckily, framing mirrors is an easy project that gives your home plenty of character. You can even have your hardware store cut lumber to size so all you need to do is stain and install.

9. Emphasize Texture

Textured paper adds luxury without looking inexpensive over time. Image: Heather Hilliard

Something you’ll notice in high-end houses is the emphasis on texture over pattern and color. That’s because luxury builders know that while trendy patterns come and go, high-end texture is always in style. If there’s anything that the chevron craze of 2013 taught us, it’s that what was popular one year can be mass-produced and common the next.

Opt for textured wallpaper instead of patterned or decorate with neutral, textured throw pillows to warm up a room. You’ll be co-opting a high-end look without spending more than necessary.

10. Rest Your Eyes

Leave empty space for a clean, elegant look. Image: Wyckoff Heating and Cooling

One of the best-kept secrets in high-end homes is the principle of “resting the eye.” Designing every inch of your space so that it’s bursting with accessories, texture or intricate pattern can make even the most expensive home look cheap. Therefore, make sure your eyes have somewhere to rest. Whether it’s a warm, neutral wall, a simple piece of furniture or an uncluttered shelf, less-decorated spaces give the eye relief (and are inexpensive to create). Overdecorating is a rookie mistake, especially when you want an upscale look. Make sure you’re not adding too much of a good thing.

Choosing a few upgrades and adding in luxurious design elements might require a little more creativity, but it doesn’t have to break the bank, either. They say you can’t buy good taste, and that’s a good thing. It means any budget has room for style.

The post Cheap Tricks: 10 Inexpensive Design Elements to Upgrade Your Home appeared first on Freshome.com.