Giving your interiors an elevated and luxurious look isn't always about splashing out excessively on those big-ticket items. We're firm fans of the power of decor here at Livingetc, and in fact, it's those smaller, decorative pieces that can go far to help a home feel luxuriously curated.
The key is all about getting the balance right, picking the textures and colors that complement your color scheme and interior style. Our shopping editor has picked out 12 bargain buys from the best home decor websites to decorate a home to perfection for that high-end look - and they're all under £30!
12 bargain decor buys to make your home look expensive
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Colors: Pink/yellow combo and blue/green combo
Price: $28
Designed as both a pillar candle holder, as well as a vase, this decorative piece from Anthopologie has a dual function. Colored glass is a surefire way to bring luxury to your decor, and this is available in two distinct colorways for whatever style suits your space more - I like the pink and yellow combination.
Material: Ceramic
Price: $12.98
While this isn't the most expensive vase I've ever seen, it's about what you can do with it to create a sense of luxury. Placed on a window sill and filled with flowers, bookshelf or in the middle of your dining room table, it can create a focal point.
Materials: Borosilicate glass
Price: $28
An incense holder goes a long way to bring a touch of sophistication to your home, and I like this glass holder from Burke Decor. Invigorate the senses and envelop the space with an extra fragrant layer in your home.
Material: 100% beeswax
Price: $27.60
These are almost too cute to melt. Made by Jenifer Green and her team at Greentree Home, who make candles at the foothills of the Catskills Mountains, the pure beeswax burns cleanly, giving off a subtle scent, and will add a luxurious decorative touch to a bookshelf in need of some attention.
Material: Stoneware
Price: $12
Perfect for bringing a touch of luxury to your bedside table or on a console table in an entryway, this heart-shaped bowl has a pearlescent sheen to it. Not quite marble, but with the same glowy stoneware look, this trinket bowl is a great luxury buy and a total bargain at $12.
Material: Terracotta
Price: $13
Don't rely on the cheap, plastic plant pots you get from the garden center. Give your plants a little extra love with a ceramic plant pot that doubles up as decor. This piece brings some texture to the space with a ribbed exterior.
Material: Brass
Price: From $12.80
Updating your hardware is a surefire way to have your home exude a little extra luxury, and I like the tactile, curved edging of this brass pull. Screw your pull into the other side of a drawer with the decorative edge on the other side of the drawer for ease of grip.
Material: Cast iron
Price: $21.99
I love the look of this match striker. Made of cast iron, it has a weighty, quality feel to it, and sat next to your favorite candle as a piece of mantel decor will look curated and considered. Each set features a built-in dish to cool used matches before discarding
Material: Metal
Price: $20
These gold candlestick holders will look perfect set on a dining room table for a bit of luxury tablescaping. The gold coloring will catch the light and bounce it around the room, bathing the space in a golden glow.
How can I style a room to make it look more expensive?
Wondering how to make a living room look more expensive? It is all about balancing the elements. Instead of spending your money, it's about making sure you strike the perfect combination of different textures, natural materials and colors to make sure nothing feels out of place or cluttered.
'I would say to view the space as you would a symphony or an orchestra- multiple components coming together to form a synchronized whole,' says Amanda Gunawan, the founding partner of boutique LA-based architecture and design firm OWIU.
'Nothing should feel separate, out of place, or particularly conspicuous. All the elements should be interconnected in some ways, feeding off of each other’s synergies.'
'Expensive doesn’t necessarily mean well-made and vice versa. In this era of mass production, there are so many options for the same piece. It's the details that people tend to overlook that matter and makes the largest difference.'
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