a day ago
Six hacks that will make your home look more expensive
Comfortable, elevated and considered… many of us would love these three words to sum up our homes. The sense of effortless luxury that you find in a chic boutique hotel – the kind of place where the bed is always beautifully made and nestling into an armchair feels like receiving a bear hug – is the goal. But the demands of everyday life can make these scenes feel far from reach.
Reassuringly, this is often the reality even in the homes of the professionals. The interior designer Ali Childs, founder of Studio Alexandra, is the mother of two small children aged three and one, and admits: 'There's almost no point having anything nice, because it just gets ruined.' Her sofa is ancient and her hallway is a holding pen for numerous vehicles with wheels.
But there are simple styling hacks which can make any home look and feel more premium, and the good news is that they don't require you to remortgage in order to reap the rewards. Simple updates to touch points such as light switches or handles, your choice of paint finish, the positioning of a rug or what you fill your cushions with all have the potential to make a big impact.
Here, Childs demonstrates how turning your attention to different pockets of the home can go a long way in making it feel more high-end.
Switch up your cushions
One of Childs' least costly hacks is to swap polyester cushion inserts, which can look limp and lifeless, for plump feather pads (John Lewis has a good selection, from £8). 'I whack them on both sides and then do a gentle judo chop,' says Childs, referring to her plumping technique.
Allergy-permitting, feather cushions are firmer to lean against and will fill out a cover confidently (another trick is to choose a size slightly bigger than your cushion cover, to really fill it out) – all of which will make your armchair look that bit more welcoming.
Upgrade your paint finish
Your hallway sets the tone for the rest of the house, and it's a transitionary space that you tend to move through rather than spend time in – which means you can push the envelope a little when it comes to colour and styling. Childs' narrow hallway – painted a few years ago in a matte white emulsion – had fallen victim to marks on the walls and bashed skirting boards, thanks to a stream of bicycles and prams passing through.
It's her least favourite part of the house, 'and because it's so tiny, I thought: 'Why not do something fun?'' she says. Landing on a deep shade of pink (Nicaragua by natural paint brand Edward Bulmer), she opted for a gloss finish with 80 per cent sheen, which is wipeable.
She painted the hallway over a weekend using a roller brush: 'Make sure you sand the walls and use a primer, but never use a paintbrush, as it shows up the bristle marks,' she advises to get the application right. With a 2.5-litre tin (costing £90), she wrapped the colour around the ceiling, the front door and all the woodwork for a cocooning effect.
'The hallway is darker than it was previously, but it's just a space we walk into, and there's something special about how the light bounces off it,' she says, admiring the finish. As a consequence, her feelings about it have shifted: 'I'm quite into it – it now has a sense of drama,' she admits.
Elevate the essentials
Granted, the sink isn't usually the star feature of a kitchen, but when it commands a central spot – in Childs' case, in front of a window overlooking the back garden – the eye is instinctively drawn to it. Adding order to what can quickly become congested with cloths, products and brushes is easy: Childs recently upgraded her usual plastic bottles of dish and hand soap to a pair of glass dispensers from Zara Home (£39.99).
The smart duo – labelled 'hands' and 'dishes' – are set on a metal stand, which allows for drainage and has a slot in between the bottles for a sponge. 'It makes the worktop feel more pulled together – even my husband noticed,' Childs laughs. She also rates H&M for equally good-looking vessels to decant everyday essentials into. 'I'm no longer distracted by horrible bottles, and it makes the area feel more considered. Think about how your daily utilities or tools can feel that bit nicer to use,' she says.
Clear the clutter
This impactful idea requires zero expenditure whatsoever; simply 'shop' your own things and embrace a less-is-more mantra when styling shelves and ledges. Childs' kitchen shelves had fallen prey to the detritus of everyday life: a bottle of Calpol here, a scrap of paper there. In clearing the surfaces and tucking daily bits and bobs into a cupboard, she has created space for a display of cookbooks and chopping boards that she reaches for daily, as well as ceramics and an artwork.
Her tip for acquiring the art for arranging pieces is 'to be careful not to pack it with too much stuff, otherwise it looks too messy'. She adds: 'You also have to think about scale – if you have a high shelf, then you don't want small knick-knacks up there. Taller and bigger items work best.'
Childs is a fan of stacking books both vertically and horizontally, as the latter creates a surface at an extra level for a plant or candle. Experimenting and rotating what you display month on month can also help keep a corner of the home looking fresh. 'Cherry-pick the items that you're most proud of and enjoy looking at,' she suggests.
If in doubt, size up
Confidently scaling up to size XXL across various accessories is a trick which never fails to create impact: a wide mount will make a framed artwork look more precious; a generous lamp base will transform an otherwise unremarkable shade, and a large mirror – even in a tiny WC – will ramp up the ambience.
Never deviate from this school of thought when choosing a rug, as one that's too small will result in the room's furniture looking as if it is floating around. 'It's nicer to have a rug fill as much of the space as you possibly can, because it anchors everything in the room. The aim is for it to extend under a sofa and any armchairs, and skirt the hearth,' Childs explains. Persian-style rugs are great for masking crumbs, while seagrass versions are so neutral they work anywhere, and can be easily extended as they come stitched in squares. A patterned style, such as the one Childs has from Shame Studios, can also help to tie in colours from curtains and cushions.
Dress up the sofa
Maybe you're saving up for a new sofa, or you have pets or – like Childs – small children intent on smearing their snacks across your current one, making splashing out on a new one pointless. The remedy? Mask it with an array of good-quality soft furnishings. 'Cushions and throws are a good way of adding a bit of 'zhuzh',' says Childs, who goes super-size with a throw in order to be able to drape it over the back of the sofa and push the sofa up against the wall to keep it in place.
Hers is a patterned style from Amechi Home 'which really brightens up our boring, black sofa. Nice throws are not necessarily cheap, but they do make a difference to your interiors,' she says (and, of course, they can double-up as blankets in the winter). She has repeated her cushion-pad hack here, all of which adds to the feel of being in a premium environment – no reno needed.
