Elevate Your Space with These 5 Simple Tips
Want to make your home feel like your favorite luxury hotel but don’t know where to start? You can make simple changes that make your space a bit (or a lot) more luxurious on practically any budget.
Many of us love staying at swanky hotels and dining at ritzy restaurants and, if you’re anything like me, you probably leave these places wondering how you can elevate your space to give off the same luxury, rich aunty vibes. For me, elevating my home means tweaking my space to feel as luxurious as possible — in other words look beautiful, feel special, and make my life a bit easier. Here are some tried and tested strategies that I’ve used to upgrade my spaces over the years.
This post is all about simple steps that you can take to elevate your space.
1. Deep Clean Your Space!
It’s amazing all the interior decor goodness that thick layers of grime and years of dirt can cover. I’m willing to bet that any space that you’ve been in that felt extra luxurious and sumptuous was at the very least clean to look at, and for good reason too. The very best finishes in the world— whether they’re the rarest, most decadent linens or the most intentionally curated fine art collection — are no match for dirt and dust bunnies. So, before you start elevating your space, begin with a really good deep clean.
Use an old t-shirt or pair of socks to clean your baseboards, get on a ladder or grab a cleaning wand with a telescopic handle to clean any ceiling fans and, if you’re one of the lucky ones, crown molding. Rent a steam cleaner and clean that wall-to-wall carpeting that’s been in your space since the year dot and likely hasn’t seen much more than a perfunctory vacuum between tenants. Throw on a playlist, light a candle (or place one under a candle warmer) and get to work. You’ll soon find that a clean home is one of the greatest and most accessible luxuries out there.
2. Mix Textures!
Luxury is quite literally a “feeling” so, if you’re committed to making your space feel as luxe as possible, focus on making home a tactile experience. Using fabrics and finishes that invite touch and contrast well with each other is a surefire way to make your space look and feel richer. Think velvets and faux fur. Both of these are quintessentially rich fabric that instantly lend themselves to luxury.
For an elevated look, contrast a softer fabric like velvet or faux fur with textures that are rougher to the touch — think cotton canvas, burlap, and linen. Add faux leather to the mix to add another “reach out and touch it” moment to your home. But, keep in mind, that darker-toned faux leather almost always looks more realistic than a lighter faux leather. Home is about you and your style, but, since you’re reading a post about how to elevate your home, I’m going to take the liberty of taking a very strong stance against white, ivory, and other lighter colored faux leather finishes. These colors tend to make pieces look (and feel) more plasticky than leather-like and that is not the vibe we’re going for when trying to elevate a space.
3. Embrace Large Scale Artwork!
Just because you can’t afford “fine art” — whatever that means for you — doesn’t mean you have to forgo the instant elevation that a piece of large scale art provides. TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, and Marshall’s tend to have relatively affordable artwork for sale in a variety of sizes, including extra large, but you can also embrace more creative ways to introduce drama to a space.
Peel and Stick Options
Consider installing statement peel and stick wallpaper to get the high impact of large-scale artwork without the high price tag. For my fellow renters, this is a great opportunity to choose a wallpaper print that you really love without worrying about whether the removable wallpaper will remove as advertised when it’s time for you to move on. Depending on how tricky the space where you’re installing the wallpaper is, you can opt to only remove the wallpaper backing at four corners or so and install the wallpaper like a giant poster. That way there’s no need to worry about repainting anywhere where your peel and stick wallpaper did more more sticking than peeling. This Opalhouse designed with Jungalow Fiesta Animals wallpaper is one of my all time favorites to add movement and color to a space, but, candidly, it was a nightmare to remove. If you find yourself in a similar situation, consider picking up one of these paint touch up kits to touch up any areas of paint that come off when you uninstall your wallpaper.
Bold whimsical wallpaper can prove just as impactful as large scale artwork
Textile Options
If wallpaper isn’t your thing, you can use textiles to get a similar look. Hanging statement curtains wall to wall is a great alternative to a large piece of art. And, if you have a hard time keeping your home warm due to single-pane windows or a temperamental radiator, curtains are a good way to add some literal warmth to your home.
If you choose to go the curtain route, make sure to pay attention to the fabric of the curtains. A heavier, more polyester-heavy pair of curtains will be stiffer and won’t offer the soft drape effect that a more natural fiber-rich set will. Another idea is turning a piece of fabric into art. Select a pattern or image that you like and either stretch it taut on a wall with nails or tacks that complement the fabric’s colors, or use a staple gun to stretch the fabric over canvas. You can buy canvas for cheap from any craft store. But, if you’re looking for inspiration and want to get adventurous with a more unique print, try a bold print like this or a more muted (but no less impactful) print like this one as jumping off points.
4. Change or Add Hardware, Especially If You’re a Renter!
Hardware is one of those things that so easily dates a space because it’s literally all over the place. Think about it — ugly hardware on one cupboard door is 10x uglier when it’s on 10x the cupboard doors. When I’ve lived in spaces where I really loved the hardware — especially older apartments with beautiful crystal doorknobs — I’ve just given the hardware a good clean with warm soap and water and some windex to finish it off and let it do its thing.
But, if you’re in a newer apartment with builder grade finishes that include generic hardware, or an older apartment with really dated finishes, it’s worth taking the time to invest in hardware you actually like to help personalize your space.
similar curtain tiebacks (West Elm)
For cupboards, I’ve found affordable hardware options at Amazon and Tj Maxx, but I know some Etsy shops have some great options like these marble and gold kitchen pulls and, of course, West Elm and Crate and Barrel have great options too. Your local big box home improvement store may also have some more budget friendly options too. If you’re in a space that has only a few cupboard doors and it’s within budget, splurge on the cupboard hardware. Since you’ll only have to buy a few pulls and handles, you can go all out for that luxurious feel and, whether you’re a renter or homeowner, you can take all of them with you when you move (a win win!).
Be Honest with Yourself When Deciding on New Hardware
When you’re deciding which hardware to go for, think aesthetics and function. Do you want the hardware to pop against the cupboard or would you prefer a more monochromatic look where the hardware and cupboard blend seamlessly? Is this a cupboard or drawer that you’re opening frequently? And where’s the cupboard or drawer located?
For example, if you’re updating the hardware in your kitchen, leather drawer pulls are likely to become the bane of your existence. Think flour covered hands and all that other cooking goodness soaking into the pulls every time you try and open a drawer. But those same pulls may work on a closet door that doesn’t get the same wear and tear and where you’re less likely to be opening the door with food-covered hands.
5. Create moments of pause!
In a society where we’re constantly rushing from one thing to the next, your home can be an opportunity to slow down if you create places and experiences in your space that demand pause. For example, many luxury hotels are known for their super soft sheets, or their just the right firmness mattresses, and, increasingly, their scents. The first time I remember hearing about a hotel having a signature scent was in the context of The Maker and even though staying there was very much out of my budget, I thought the concept of a signature scent for your home was one worth trying in my own space.
Try elevating your space by creating moments of pause — that could be a home signature scent of your own courtesy of a Bath and Body Works wallflower (these two — Mahogany & Teakwood and Warm Vanilla & Sugar are some of my favorites), a linen spray, or your favorite candle. Personally, I love L’Or de Seraphine candles, especially the scent and look of this Ares, but I have the Harlem Toile collection on my wishlist too — the names of a couple of the scents are nostalgic and the vessels are absolutely stunning.
And, remember, if there’s a feature that you love from a hotel, restaurant, or any other space that exudes luxury for you, you can always source it and incorporate it into your own home. I did this after spending a couple of nights at a relatively basic hotel that happened to have some of the comfiest pillows my head had ever touched and ended up spending much more than I planned to on a pillow. However, it was one of the best decisions that I made in 2023. It was worth every penny in terms of cost per sleep (I think I made this unit of measurement up, but you get the point). How’s that for a reminder that you can find and create moments of luxury in places where you’d least expect it!
Life is what you make it and the same goes for home. Why not make it somewhere you’d like to stay for a while.
Look out for more ideas on how to elevate your space in a part 2 post and, until then, share your best ideas on how to elevate your space below. Tag @hew_home to share ways that you’ve elevated your space.
