There’s nothing better (and more depressing) about looking at the other half live. Some of the most interesting ‘other halves’ have to be the rich and famous.
They go all out to live a life of luxury and show us how they’re living it. Luckily for us, that means they give us exclusive insights into their homes.
Below, we’ll look at some of the celebrity hacks we’ve learnt for making a home look more expensive than it is.
Making an Impression From the Outside
Of course, it counts to make an impression from the outside. Look at any celebrity home and the first impression you get is from the exterior. And yes, we know we don’t all have mansions that stun us at first glance, but there are things you can do to make the exterior of your home look more expensive than it is. As the saying goes – ‘The first impression is the last impression.’
A modern and tidy driveway, neat flower arrangements that change with the season so they don’t look dried out and dull, trimmed grass. They’re all inexpensive changes to make that at least make a home look smart.
Open-Plan Living
An open-plan design is one of the quickest ways to make your home look more wealthy and grand than it is. As the name suggests, it opens up the space and makes it look bigger than it potentially is.
An open-plan structure allows the rooms to flow into each other with little or no boundaries between them, making the rooms feel more spacious. More than that, the flow should look smart with tidy architraves and skirting or archways that look smart.
Still, we know that making a home open-plan is a massive investment for some people. Instead, areas should be grounded around central areas, like a coffee table or rug, and not floating against a wall. Placing furniture effectively helps define spaces within the boundaries of a room. This trick changes the perception of the house more than you realise.
Add Expensive-Looking Art
Art collections are common in celebrity homes. Notice how we said you can add ‘expensive-looking’ art? Celebrities will spend thousands on pieces of art that we know most people would never dream of having in their homes. But you can create the illusion of expensive-looking art.
Go for oversized art or large-format photographic images that draw attention. There are a large number of online shops and photo galleries that offer inexpensive copies or limited signed copies of your favourite artworks at a reasonable expense, so you do not have to break the bank. Find pieces that aesthetically match your decor while using different colours and textures to complement your room’s setting.
Paintings and artwork don’t need to be many. One picture looks classier than multiple.
Shop Vintage and Antique
Celebrities love to shop vintage and antique. There’s something so classy about it that we think looks incredible in any home. Granted, not every vintage and antique piece will look good, but some of them do. A vintage padded leather sofa, for example, can look incredible.
And the best thing about this is vintage and antiques are typically inexpensive. Well, charity shop vintage and antique is – if you go to an antique auction items get a little more pricey. But you don’t necessarily need to go to an auction to find something special.
A vintage coffee table, a silver-framed antique mirror, or other items, like a beautifully carved chest of drawers will look amazing.
We know most of us will never have even close to a celebrity home. They have the millions that they splash on the most lavish houses. But at least the average Joe can do a few simple things to make our homes look more expensive than they are.
