High-end decorating tricks on a budget

The cost of decorating projects can soon add up, and if you're aiming for a flawless finish, you usually need pretty deep pockets.

Top designers and luxury hotels spend millions on their interiors to achieve this look. Still, we've compiled some insider tricks to create extravagant, high-end looks without eye-watering price tags.

From affordable plush fabrics to style shortcuts and DIY hacks, click or scroll through these ideas that will make your home look more expensive for less.

Go monochrome on exteriors

Ensure your property always oozes kerb appeal by keeping the external entryway looking smart. Paint the front door when it looks shabby, sticking to black and white to channel timeless elegance.

Pay attention to the details, such as statement hardware and add greenery with easy-to-care-for potted trees or plants. Lastly, keep doormats and pathways clean and debris-free with a weekly sweep.

Add bespoke finishing touches

A well-finished room automatically suggests quality. This can be achieved in most spaces by adding the little extras you get with professional installation and custom design.

Think about the details, such as matching sockets and light switches in metal finishes (you can buy these fairly cheap and get an electrician to install them). This kitchen has complementary metal accents from the handles to the taps, which pulls the look together.

Install decorative moulding

The trend for panelling is so hot right now, but if you want your home to look more high-end, try adding decorative moulding instead, as it gives walls character with a more subtle, refined feel.

With easy kits available to make the process a cinch, there's no better way to add upscale depth to your walls.

Hang curtains high

Window dressings create privacy and control light, but where you hang them can make all the difference to a room.

Curtains add texture, warmth, and colour to a space and when hung inches above the frame can visually lengthen windows, making the ceiling seem higher and the room larger.

Introduce metallics

Gold has been used in people's homes to symbolise wealth for centuries. Bathrooms and kitchens are an easy place to bring in the look without gilding the lily, and there are some great alternatives to achieve the same look for less.

Hardware, fixtures, and furniture in similar reflective metallics, such as brushed brass or rose gold, will offer a comparable element of luxe.

Steal hotel style

The next time you visit a fancy hotel room, circle the space and note down easy ideas to give your own bedroom five-star appeal.

Use a plain sheet rather than fitted, plumping pillows and relaxing any unwanted wrinkles with some fragranced water. Crisp white bed linen with a high thread count will make this look easy to achieve.

Paint rooms in rich colour

Fortunately, if you're a fan of colour, bold shades can create an old-school, sophisticated look you'll often see in stately homes and country hotels.

Survey the space and choose a colour that fits with the light exposure in the room, then go all-in, painting all four walls and even the ceiling.

Grow an indoor tree

Take the humble houseplant to the next level by growing an actual tree in your house.

The addition will be dramatic, imposing, and make an organic statement. Olive trees, fiddle leaf figs, and even palm trees when potted inside will look expensive, lush, and structural, whatever the scheme.

Add character with vintage furniture

Give your home a unique and interesting vibe with good-quality second-hand furniture. Online marketplaces such as eBay or Gumtree are useful platforms to pick up bargains.

This room is a mix of newer pieces and vintage finds, such as the lamps, books, frames, and decorative side tables.

Opt for built-in furniture

Fitted wardrobes are a great way to make the most of your space. They’re built to fit perfectly into your room, even in tricky spots like corners or under sloped ceilings, so they’re especially handy in smaller homes.

Plus, they give a more polished, made-for-you look than freestanding ones, which can even boost your home’s value

Create a dressing room

We can't all afford a walk-in closet like Carrie Bradshaw's, but allocating an area of the bedroom as a dressing zone can look just as lavish and is easier than you think to achieve.

This restful bedroom has a separate alcove with opaque curtains and is furnished with a simple white wardrobe, full-length mirror, and wall hooks to hang garments.

Move furniture away from walls

Most people's instinct is to position furniture flush against the walls to maximise space. Perhaps counterintuitively, if you want your room to look large and luxurious, then you should pull your seating areas out by at least 20cm to make social areas seem intimate and balanced.

You can also position console tables behind sofas, like in this home, to divide a space into different zones, just as they do in a hotel lobby.

Bring in a beautiful headboard

The price of a large statement bed could keep you up at night, but a stylish headboard can create the same eye-catching effect for half the price.

If you're crafty, why not re-cover a basic bed frame? Note the symmetry here too, it's the hallmark of expensive style.

Install a splashback

Don't worry if your bank balance only allows for a budget kitchen, there are plenty of tricks to make it look like it's more expensive.

Keep the upper walls cupboard-free to make the room feel more spacious and contemporary, and spend the money you saved on wall storage on a luxe-looking worktop and splashback to finish the high-end feel.

Upgrade the wallpaper

Wallpaper is an affordable decorating tool that can transform a space. But for 'big ticket' impact, opt for a larger mural on a feature wall or, to get a luxe feel, go for it across the whole room.

This works well in spaces designed for socialising or relaxing, such as dining rooms and dens, rather than busy hallways or kitchen-diners. It's all about creating a fantasy to escape to.

Wow with oversized lighting

Statement lighting takes atmospheric glamour up a level. Whether it's a traditional chandelier with glass droplets, a retro Sputnik or contemporary oversized lamps, the focal point will be eye-catching during the day and glow at night.

Essential to the high-end feel is for it to be the correct brightness at any time, so always have a dimmer switch installed.

Mix natural fibres with black wood

This space looks super chic with black wooden furniture, a contrasting rattan screen, and a natural rug.

Give the space a focal point with a console table dressed with stylish accessories, sticking with the monochrome colour scheme. A table lamp is essential for adding soft light in the evenings, and make sure there's a tray or basket to keep clutter out of sight.

Fake fancy floor tiles

A stunning statement floor can transform a space, but heavy tiles and installation costs can be daunting. You don't have to splurge on tiling if it isn't in your budget yet.

You can buy peel-and-stick adhesive tile covers that are made of vinyl and give the impression of expensive wall and floor tiles.

Upscale your bathroom tiles

Contrasting-format bathroom tiles on walls and floors can create bathroom bliss with a luxury spa-like quality.

Choose a neutral shade that won't go out of style, opt for coordinating grout for an almost seamless look, and add in moisture-loving exotic plants for a pop of lush colour.

Upcycle statement furniture

Nothing gives a room an expensive and eclectic character like an antique.

But, with age comes a hefty price tag. Instead, look out for decorative second-hand furniture to transform into your own antique-style heirloom with chalk paint, metal-effect spray paints, and pattern papers.

Go large with rugs

Large rugs make a room appear bigger, so when it comes to budget, it is better to go for an expansive but less expensive rug rather than a small, cheaper option.

This chequerboard design makes a maximalist statement and uses a classic pattern that has never really dated. Make sure the rug goes under the edges of big items of furniture, such as sofas, for a luxe effect.

Move the bath into the bedroom

There is no reason why you can't enjoy a luxurious bedroom bath at home, space allowing.

Speak to your plumber to see if you'll need to reinforce the floor first; however, the installation may not be as costly as you might think, especially if you already have an en suite or your bedroom is next to a bathroom.

You'll just need to extend the plumbing pipework.

Add in oversized art

Art collections were once only available to the wealthy, and we still associate large-scale artwork with galleries and stately homes.

Whether you go for a huge framed photographic print or a small painting by a local artist to add to your scheme, try to follow your own tastes and choose something that you really love.

Professional framing will always look more expensive, but try to include a cardboard mount if you're framing things yourself for a high-end look.

Buy a used designer kitchen

Sometimes to get a designer look, you need a designer kitchen. But if you buy one second-hand you can slash your spending by thousands.

Some companies specialise in selling ex-showroom units, so you could just bring in a statement kitchen island, for example, or you can buy whole kitchens on various online marketplaces.

Use white, ivory and cream

All-white rooms look expensive and give a grown-up vibe that's all about self-indulgence. For a professional finish, make sure walls are prepped properly before decorating, filling any imperfections before sanding them completely smooth and priming any woodwork.

Layer tactile fabrics in pale creams, white and ivory to use texture instead of colour, so the room isn't one-dimensional. Wall rugs are eye-catching and can make a grand statement piece mounted above the bed.