After rent, food, bills and other essential expenses, it wouldn't be out of the question to assume that the remainder of the average twenty or thirty-something’s pay packet goes on espresso martinis and Ubers. Marble-topped tables and designer lighting is hardly at the top of our priority list. But your home needn’t forgo a bit of sprucing up, as there are myriad tricks to disguise cheap and not so cheerful furnishings to tide you over until the day when you can warrant forking out for furniture that doesn’t come flat packed. A bit of spray paint here, a touch of leather there, and nobody will be any the wiser that your chest of drawers was from Ikea’s bargain corner. Here are six clever hacks to make your home feel luxe for less…
Golden touch
A plain and somewhat clunky stool or chair can look a million dollars (well, not quite but you get the idea) with a spray can. The trick is not to spray the whole piece from top to bottom, but just paint a few details, such as the bottom of the legs, foot rails and seat like this Dalfred Ikea bar stool makeover by Melodrama.
Photo: Courtesy of Melodrama
Rock steady
What could look more expensive than a marble slab-topped console table? Appearances can be deceiving – look closer and this luxe looking marble top is nothing more than patterned paper vinyl and Ikea’s Vittsjo desk. Coffee tables, dining tables, even storage boxes and cheap MSF headboards, the list of things you can pimp up with a bit of faux marble adhesive plastic is endless. Quite simply marble-ous.
Photo: Courtesy of Syl & Sam
Hell for leather
Wood laminate isn’t the most sophisticated of surfaces now, is it? Luxury is all in the detail and your homeware should feel nice to use every day. Handles are the main point of contact between you and your furniture and as such they are especially important. Swap standard fixtures for butter-soft leather pull tabs (easy to make yourself or by recycling an old belt) for a more luxuriant way to open your underwear drawer every morning.
Photo: Courtesy of House Tweaking
Hide and seek
When is an old footstool not just an old footstool? When it’s been upgraded with a sheepskin, that’s when. This genius DIY by French for Pineapple is the perfect example of using a dose of voluminous texture to bump up the price tag on a lack-lustre piece.
Photo: Courtesy of French For Pineapple
Glossy posse
Yes, we’re well aware that we’re in the midst of the age of Estate emulsion, the flattest, most matt paint finish around. But there are bonuses to breaking the rules and going for a glossy finish on walls, one being that it makes everything look gloriously glamorous and Hollywood-y. If the walls are a stretch too far, try painting your ceiling or floor (or both!) in a gloss white. Slick, indeed.
Photo: Courtesy of The Generalist
Strike a cord
Don’t you just hate it when an ugly lighting flex lets the rest of your statement light down? One stylist side stepped this conundrum by covering up the cheap looking plastic wire with some jute cord and some rope, winding the two around the flex to give it a rustic, handcrafted look.
Photo: Courtesy of Design SpongeLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
These 4 IKEA-Approved Interiors Trends Are About To Be Everywhere
We Would Like To Live In The House That Kylie Jenner Is Building For Her Dogs, Please