A bright and elegant bedroom featuring a large bed with a textured dark headboard, white bedding, and decorative pillows. Bedside tables with lamps flank the bed, under a stylish sputnik chandelier, with a shaggy white rug on the floor and a large window filling the room with natural light, creating a modern yet cozy ambiance.

When it comes to decorating a home, everyone wants their living space to look as luxurious as the ones they see in the magazines. What's not to love about sophisticated living rooms, elegant dining rooms, and dreamy bedrooms, after all? The question most people have, however, is how do you get the high-end look without the high-end price tag?

If you'd love to put together a home that feels upscale and stylish without going over your price point, the Star Furniture design experts can help. With some smart choices, a little creativity, and a few quality furnishings, you can achieve a luxe look on any budget. Check out these tips from the trusted Star Furniture design team to help your sophisticated living spaces come to life. 

Defining Luxury in Home Design

Furnishings that are truly luxurious bring together quality, comfort, and personal style. When you invest in quality pieces, you get the peace of mind that they are well-made and built to last. Likewise, home decor that prioritizes comfort along with aesthetics will enhance the overall ambiance of your home. Finally, the most sophisticated living spaces are those that feel unique. For this reason, furniture that stands apart from the rest can effortlessly help your home feel more luxurious and special.

The Importance of a Design Plan

First things first, no well-curated room happens by accident. Instead, plenty of thought and intentional planning are important to achieve a put together look. With this in mind, it's essential to strategize how you intend to elevate each living space in your home to make them feel more stylish and luxurious. While the end product will look different depending on your unique tastes, there are practical steps that anyone can take to create a design plan that will help your decorating experience be both smooth and effective. These include:

  • Focus on one room at a time.
  • Search for inspiration online, in magazines, on TV, and in-person.
  • Create a vision board (or Pinterest board) of pieces that you love and hope to recreate.
  • Set a realistic budget based on how much you're able to spend as well as what you estimate the items you need to cost.
  • Write down a few of your "must have" pieces, so that if you have to scale back along the way, you'll know which items to choose.
  • Partner with a design pro to elevate your style and ensure your entire home redesign experience is fun and stress free.

Smart Budget Allocation

The trick to creating rooms that look high-end and inviting without breaking the bank is to know which items are worth splurging on. Prioritizing certain elements of a space that will make the biggest impact can help you get the most out of every dollar you spend to elevate an area of your home. Rather than using the majority of your budget to purchase decor that is less significant, such as sofa pillows or a dining room table centerpiece, choose a design element or two that will act as the focal point of the room. This could be a piece of furniture, such as a sectional or bed, a wall hanging, or even a light fixture, such as a chandelier. Allocating a larger spending allowance on a few statement pieces may leave a smaller budget for the other elements of a space, but it's an effective way to create a stylish home while getting the most bang for your buck.

Selecting Timeless Furniture

There's more that goes into designing a luxurious home than simply filling it with beautiful pieces of furniture. Incorporating home decor that is as timeless as it is attractive is a great way to give virtually any space a touch of lasting elegance. With this in mind, be sure to choose items that will look fabulous in your home year after year rather than ones that are currently on-trend but will quickly be seen as unfashionable. The trusted designers at Star Furniture have plenty of practical tips to help you incorporate timeless elegance into every room in your home, including:

  • Look for quality pieces, such as furniture made from solid wood, that will wear well over time.
  • Use color intentionally. You can't go wrong by decorating with a primarily neutral color palette and using accent colors sparingly. 
  • When in doubt, bring in natural elements, such as linen, stone, wood, and plants.

Luxury in Details: Accent Pieces

If you're looking to enhance the elegance of an area of your home and stay within your decorating budget, incorporating a few tasteful accent pieces may be the perfect solution. Adding the right accent pieces is a simple step that can instantly provide a pop of luxury to your home and make the most of your decorating investment. Best of all, you don't have to have much decorating experience to utilize lovely home accents like a professional. Check out these ideas from the Star Furniture experts to elevate your home with affordable yet luxurious-looking accents:

  • Hang a vintage or beautifully detailed mirror above a table or sofa in your living room.
  • Utilize elegant fabrics in your bedroom, such as silk or velvet.
  • Let the lighting in your dining room be the star of the show with an eye-catching chandelier or lovely table lamps.

The Power of Color and Texture

The color scheme and textures you use within your home can work together to support an elevated, luxe look. While the wrong color choices can make a space feel chaotic or disjointed, the right ones can help it feel cohesive and inviting. Likewise, a lack of texture in a room can make it feel flat or uninspiring while bringing in a few textured pieces can give the space a balanced, polished vibe. With this in mind, it's best to choose color combinations that will make your home feel calming, comfortable, and, of course, luxurious. Along with classic neutrals, such as whites, creams, grays, and tans, soft colors can make every room in your home look fabulous, including blues, greens, and yellows. To pull the look together, don't forget to add a textured piece or two, such as a woven area rug or a chunky throw blanket.

Contemporary living room with large floor-to-ceiling windows providing a view of greenery outside. It includes a beige sofa, patterned armchairs, a wooden coffee table on a gray area rug, and tasteful decor like a tall lamp, vases, and side tables, creating a stylish and comfortable space.

Lighting: Creating the Right Ambiance

Lighting is a critical aspect of any home, but especially ones that are striving to appear high-end. Nothing can transform the way a space looks or feels quite like the right lighting solutions can. Fortunately, this also means that if you're looking for a quick way to improve the aesthetic of a space in your home, updating the light fixtures will likely do the trick. When it comes to adding elegant lighting to your home, keep these tips in mind:

  • Always layer your light sources by ensuring every room has an overhead light, a variety of task lights, and accent lights to create spaces that feel well-balanced.
  • Use light fixtures to make a statement where possible, such as investing in ones that are colorful or offer eye-catching detail for the bedside tables in your bedroom.
  • Be sure that the amount of illumination in a space is appropriate for the particular room. For instance, the lighting in your kitchen should be bright while the lighting in your bedroom should be soft.

Art and Personalization

If you're wondering how you can make an area of your home feel personal while adding a touch of elegance, wall art is a wonderful option. The art you display in your home can give visitors a glimpse into your personal style and interests while acting as a focal point for your living spaces. The trick to helping your wall hangings look sophisticated is all in how you hang them. Check out these tips from the Star Furniture pros to help your wall art shine:

  • Be sure to hang art and photographs at eye level (about 57" from the center of the piece to the floor).
  • Leave 2-3 inches between two pieces or between a piece and a furnishing.
  • Choose artwork that complements the surrounding decor of the room, including colors and themes.

The Illusion of Space

Creating the illusion of space can help make even the smallest room feel more chic and inviting. The good news is that making an area feel bigger than it is is easier than you may think. Here are some tips from the Star Furniture design experts to help you get started:

  • Hang mirrors strategically. Placing them across from windows, lamps, and other light sources is an easy way to maximize light and make a room feel larger.
  • Keep your window treatments simple or do away with them altogether. Open windows and natural light can help your home feel airy and bright.
  • Make sure that your furniture arrangement flows seamlessly. When in doubt, use fewer pieces that will make a statement while leaving plenty of space to move around freely.

Bringing Luxury to Life with Star Furniture

Everyone deserves to have a home that exudes luxury and comfort. By creating a clear strategy, investing in timeless pieces, identifying signature pieces, and making a statement with accent pieces, you'll be well on your way to creating the stylish, elegant home of your dreams.For everything you need to make your luxurious design dreams a reality, the Star Furniture interior designers are here to help. We're proud to offer a range of quality furnishings that can cater to various budgets and home decor styles. Visit us online to get inspired by our decor and accents then stop by our showroom location to get started!