Living, Etc. 3 Steps Designers Take to Achieve ‘Quiet Luxury’
"While you don't need to break the bank to make your living room look more expensive, it's worth spending extra money on investment pieces that promise to give back. This is especially true for furniture. Although we love a fresh trend as much as the next person, buying into too many fleeting fads can make your home soon look dated with big pieces of furniture that aren't easily interchanged.
If you want a classically timeless look that will endure for years to come, it's worth spending money in places where it counts. 'We often advise against cutting corners when it comes to purchasing specific items that are tactile in nature,' explains interior designer Tanya Selway of Stelly Selway studio. 'In a bathroom, for example, faucets and fixtures are a good place to spend money as these are furnishings that will be touched and handled and experienced by everyone who uses the space.'
Kitchen countertops, couches, and soft furnishings like throw pillows are also areas where you usually get what you pay for. While the latter of these is easier to switch up seasonally, look out for high-quality, natural materials like plush leather and high thread-count cotton for a subtle sense of luxury that guests are sure to notice.
The art of mixing materials has been one of the best-kept secrets of interior designers for decades. The perfect pairing can really help create a sense of roundedness through contrasting combinations, each of which contributes something different, helping to layer a space.
Whether it's the warm tones of wood flooring next to the glossy shine of a polished marble fire surround or a steely kitchen countertop amongst matt black accents, juxtaposing contrasting materials is often the key to a cohesive space. If you're looking to make a bedroom look more expensive, for example, a boucle headboard set against some matt black lighting fixtures is a good place to start, as shown in the image above.
When it comes to soft furnishings, you don't have to rely on sumptuous textiles either, but Benjamin Stelly of Stelly Selway studio says there is always room for those. 'There's always the possibility to integrate 'luxury' fabrics and textiles like silks, satins, and velvets in ways that make them feel more approachable, less precious and less traditional,' he says. 'There's a mature confidence to the mix of high and low materials in a space that feels sophisticated and elegant.'
Most importantly, you should only incorporate materials that speak to you and your tastes, otherwise your quietly luxurious space will always fall short. 'We find making considered, conscious selections based on personal consideration the most luxurious experience of all,' Benjamin adds. 'This has the potential to result in the most minimalist of spaces or, conversely, to build a space ornamented in textures, materials, and objects that reflect your personality.'
Effortlessly elegant and sophisticated interiors always start with you're personal tastes. Sprinkle a few of these insider design tips in the mix and you'll have a space that screams (or rather, whispers) quiet luxury, all without having to make any huge - or expensive - changes at all.