10 Ways to Add Luxury to Your Home on a Budget
By Pro.com
Living lavishly beyond your means can set you up for worry and stress. Instead, you can adopt some luxurious changes to your home without going bankrupt and feel good that you didn’t overspend. The small details can make all the difference in the world. Refresh just one part of your castle at a time to make you feel like royalty with one or more of the following ten ideas.
1. Create a Bedroom Sanctuary
Throw out those mismatched sheets and move in a good supportive mattress. Buy coordinating bedding including a comforter and some throw pillows. Get new bed pillows, too, unless you’ve replaced those plain polyester ones in the last six months. If you opt for a memory foam pillow, one of those lasts from 18 months up to three years.
2. Transform Your Bathroom into a Spa
Invest in a new shower curtain, some plush towels and scented candles can truly transform your bathroom. Change the mirror to a bigger or more ornate one if you have room in your budget. Store hand towels rolled up in a basket on the counter like they do in luxury hotel bathrooms. Tile the floor or for a fraction of the cost, lay linoleum that comes in a tile pattern.
3. Dress Up Your Windows
Still living with the same window coverings as when you moved into your home years ago? Update your window dressing and try something new. Mix and match curtains instead of hanging the same ones throughout the room. Try a different type of shade or even leave one window bare. Add blackout shades in the bedroom so you can get a good night’s sleep during sunnier months.
4. Add Color with Plants
Potted plants and terrariums gives your indoor space a natural, airy feeling. If you have a bad history with living plants, look for artificial ones that look real. You may have to dust the leaves a few times a year, but you can’t kill them. Placing fragrant, cut flowers around your home makes you feel rich, even if you’re not.
5. Spruce Up the Kitchen
Changing the door knobs, drawer pulls and painting the cabinet doors doesn’t cost much, but it can change the entire look of your kitchen. It’s the same way that you can go from casual to evening in that little black dress depending on the jewelry you use for an accent.
6. Install Bookshelves
Shelves add depth to a room plus provides a place to store books or other décor items you want to display. Do-it-yourself with real wood or let this be the one project you pay a carpenter to do this year. Free-standing bookcases, unless they are properly anchored, can be a nasty hazard during an earthquake, so go for the permanent kind.
7. Hang Mirrors
By placing rectangular mirrors side-by-side you can break up a wall just like you might do with expensive art work, only not as costly. This adds visual interest and richness to any room.
8. Brighten Up a Room
Increase the lighting with a skylight, a new window or with a stylish lamp. The room will instantly feel more luxurious and you didn’t have to break the bank to make that happen.
9. Refurbish Furniture
While walking through flea markets, secondhand stores and garage sales, you can often turn up unique pieces of furniture that you can remake your own. You may need to refinish or repair your finds, but older items are usually much better constructed than most of the new ones.
10. Spiff Up the Deck or Patio
Consider this a new outdoor room and dig a fire pit or buy one, add comfy outdoor furniture and install some lighting so you can spend more time outside. Now you can entertain friends or simply relax after work in a lush place.
Pro.com is a website founded in 2013 by service industry entrepreneurs and former Amazon executives to simplify home services -- especially research on contractor fees and qualifications.
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6 Ways to Dress Your Windows
6 Inexpensive Ways to Spruce Up Your Home
10 Ways to Give Your Bathroom a Facelift
