When it comes to renovating your home, you may not way to spend more money than it is worth. Yes, you want your home to look expensive - who wouldn’t? - but you also don’t want to overcapitalise your property. 

However, by spending on the right things you can not only save money but you can still make your home look like you have spent a million bucks on it!

Focus on the Finishes

This Tivela condo apartment is quite small, but by focusing on using high quality finishes in the renovation the space looks much more expensive. While it looks expensive, this renovation only cost $44K for three rooms.

Paying attention to the type of materials and final finishes - even if they are only paint on timber - gives a space the look of money well-spent.  

Designed by StyleMySpace

Art & Architecture

Another way to make your home appear to be more expensive is to invest in pieces of statement art or create architectural features to make your space more unique. This Chai Chee apartment is a mix of large-scale art and interesting architectural design quirks like using crittal doors into the bedroom space. Only $40K was spent on the two main rooms, but the effect looks a lot more expensive.

Designed by Aart Boxx Interior

Mixed Materials

For only $45K, the interior design of this Hillside Drive apartment exudes luxury and elegance. Mixing up different textures like concrete, timber, velvet, linen and metal in tonal shades of cream and grey, no one material stands out enough to make the others look cheap by comparison.

The concept of mixed materials continues into the bathroom where each chosen texture echoes the others and the sense of continuity helps to create a sense of luxury and expense. 

Designed by Space Define Interior

Standout Statement

Just one standout statement feature can add so much to the overall vibe of a home. The faux Eiffel Tower structure in this Whampoa East condo apartment is nothing less than a shout of a statement. While the statement structure is sure to catch the eye, by continuing the theme with tonal colours and touches of French style, the $36K spent on the space looks like so much more.

Designed by De Style Interior 

Max Out Materials

In the case of smaller spaces, choosing to use luxurious materials in a major way certainly helps to create an expensive look; after all why not buy the best marble you can afford is the space you need to cover is relatively small? The $40K spent on this Teck Ghee Park View HDB apartment enabled a number of luxurious and expensive finishes to be used throughout the three living spaces including various marbles and golden metallic accents that create a luxe vibe.

Designed by The Interior Lab

Tone-On-Tone

Elegant design often features a series of tone-on-tone colour ways, like in this Thomson Impression Condo apartment. Using a mix of luxurious materials - like the marble - with less costly ones - like the faux timber wall and linen curtains - this $36K renovation definitely looks more expensive. Again, mixing expensive items like the designer dining table with more affordable ones like the wire lighting and built-in bench seat, keeps costs down but the tone-on-tone theme continues the luxurious feeling.

Designed by Starry Homestead

Designer Details

If you are using more affordable materials like wallpaper, timber and ceramic tiles, adding designer details like the intricate chevron pattern on the feature wall of this Corals at Keppel Bay condo apartment can make them seem more expensive. Any items that look as though they have been created specifically for a space - like fitted custom built-in furniture - will look more expensive that store-bought pieces. In this $45K renovation the materials were ordinary but the time spent on the design made it look so much more expensive.

Designed by Space Define Interior

Discover more exciting interior inspiration!

Click on the links below to view previous articles we've published.

Accentuate Your Homes With Decorative Details

Express Yourself Through Wall Designs

Cosy Bedrooms that You Will Not Want to Leave Your Home

For more information on our Interior Designers, check out the Home By Hitcheed app, where all interior planning are conveniently accessible in one place. Download now to view interior designer profiles, projects and have access to message our professionals directly on App Store and Google Play.