Last Updated on April 22, 2026 by Ellen Christian
Everyone wants their house to look like a million bucks, but of course most of us dont have that kind of cash to spend on it. The internet can be full of terrible advice telling you to buy all sorts of things you dont need or paint an accent wall a dark colour (not taking into account the size of your small room!) If you actually want your place to look expensive you have to fix the boring structural things that give away how cheap the original construction was.
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Upgrade your hardware
Look around your living room right now. Youve probably got a shiny chrome door handle on the main door, some dull brass curtain poles left over from 2014, and maybe a brushed nickel light switch plate somewhere in the corner. This chaotic kind of mix is the fastest way to make a room look like a cheap student rental. If you want your house to feel high end you need absolute cohesion. You have to swap out every single door knob, cabinet pull, plug socket faceplate and curtain rod so they all match perfectly. Look at a shop selling the best UK solid-brass fittings and then get everything matching. Antique brass is usually a safe bet if you want to fake old money, suddenly your house looks intentional (instead of pieced together from whatever was on clearance at the local hardware store).
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Kill the ceiling ‘boobs’
If you see flush mount frosted glass dome that looks exactly like a glowing breast when you look up, you need to take it down immediately! Nothing ruins a room faster than a cheap light fixture casting terrible flat shadows over all your furniture. Replace those things with an actual pendant light or a semi flush fixture with some real architectural shape to it. You dont even need to spend a lot of money since you can find decent mid century looking pendants online for less than the cost of a takeout dinner.
Change how you hang your curtains
This is the oldest interior design trick in the book but people still mess it up by hanging their curtain rods directly above the window frame. This makes your windows look tiny and your ceilings look painfully low. Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?! You need to buy extra long curtains and mount the rod as close to the ceiling line as you physically can. Let the fabric pool just slightly on the floor. It forcefully draws the eye up and creates a massive optical illusion of huge windows and high ceilings. Make sure the curtains are actually wide enough to cover the window when closed too because two sad little tight panels look pretty ridiculous. You want to give the look of a nice sumptuous gather.
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Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.
