To ask what makes a home look luxurious/posh/modern?

[minniemummy0]

No matter how hard I try I can’t seem to get our home looking as nice as some of my friends. There’s just something I can’t put my finger on. So far I’ve worked out some common things - such as new, clean, plush carpets, or candles burning. For some reason they all seem to have an L shaped sofa. What makes you really feel “wowed” by someone’s home??

You don't have to spend a lot on furniture look at EBay for second hand Ercol and mid century pieces if that's your style. I'm getting a dining table made from Etsy and it's a reasonable price and looks fab.

t depends on your taste though. For example I don't like carpets, especially plush ones, and would find them the opposite of luxurious/posh. Real wood floors with tasteful rugs look much better imo

This. I dont like those carpets at all they look cheap to me.

Op - pinterest is just brilliant at zoning in on different areas you want to improve...you can type in specific areas...

eg front door, hall way - family pictures, kitchen sink.

New doesn't always mean posh.You need good classical looks,quality that will last and not date.
Dear cluttered and clean would impress me most and a house that feels comfy and welcoming.Dont try and copy friends follow your taste and inclinations.
Lots of us have white walls,I like them but also I'm not always confident on colouring walls and prefer coloured furnishings that I can change inexpensively.
Flooring can depend on the house,having moved from a house with stone floors I am enjoying carpeted floors.The house I'm in now is newer and wooden floors would be pretentious.

A good ap is Houzz

I disagree with previous poster I love my Nick nacks have travelled a fair bit and always buy something for the house when I'm on holiday. Nothing really matches but somehow it seems to work. You have to have some personality in your home who wants to live in a show home?

less is always more , no nick nacks , no photos , candles etc etc

Oh no I couldnt agree more a house has to have little bits and bobs in it and photos!

little curios...

ahhhhhdisagree more

People have different styles but I'd say it's about attention to detail: Window treatments, wall decorations, cushions etc and little lifestyle things like candles or flowers. Also good lighting schemes , eg well placed lamps that give off warm colour light.

excessively large televisions make any house look awful, ditto corner sofas

Oh yes lighting.

really I think anywhere would look lovely and cosy with a fire, a real fire, good lighting and somewhere comfy to sit.

any room lit to much will look ghaslty

Nercurial123 thank you for mentioning ercol- gorgeous! Wish I had more money at the moment but it’s something to look out for.

I should have mentioned I’m in a rented house so it’s really only decoration I can change. I can paint the walls though.

Cream I think corner sofas depend on the size and style of room their in.

tv above fire place, no no no. saw so called posh house other day - relatives....had interior designer all over it....and yet above fire place in beautiful large Georgian room....a bloody tv!

Can you have one room that you could 'do' to look luxurious (however you define it) and have the rest more homely? I agree that televisions ruin the look of a room, so having one room without, but with a big open fire or log burner as a focus instead, would be good. Also fresh flowers make a room look lovely.

And I disagree about photos being 'tat'. They are memories of people or places, and there's nothing tatty about memories!

I think lack of clutter makes a big difference. Then a house looks as if there is the luxury of lots of storage.

I know our house would look much nicer if we had half as much stuff. I groan when I see dh buying more 'stuff'.

size! Anything that looks spacious has a much more luxury feel.

I agree with the no-carpets, they make a house look like a cheap show-home from the 100s of developments all over the country.

Individuality and personality. Anything that looks like a cheap grey or beige version of what people think a boutique hotel looks like, anything like that looks cheap. Someone says that wooden floor could be "pretentious"? It's funny but not true.

The opposite of luxurious is mess, dust, clutter, shoes in the hall, big tvs, laundry drying everywhere, and so on.

Thank you so much of the responses. I agree with the lack of clutter thing, but it’s seems having a child the clutter breeds! How can such a tiny person end up with so much STUFF?!

I inherited my parents' Ercol and it's beautiful, set off with mid century coloured glass. Interesting point about groups of three/five items, I'd never heard that one, yet that's just what I've done with my glass. Completely unconsciously.

Going against the grain, I love carpet, it's nicer underfoot and absorbs noise. We've just had the same carpet laid all the way through the house, it looks fab.

I did my house up relatively cheaply as a blank canvas then started going round the rooms replacing things with more expensive versions when I could.

I would recommend checking out Pinterest for some inspiration

Luxurious, posh and modern are three completely different things. For me, space and light is what I'm 'wowed' by. Large, open plan areas with amazing folding or sliding doors or floor to ceiling windows with calming neutrals and good lighting in the interior, and lots of built in storage to eliminate clutter.

I hate carpet-don't have any at all-love the wood floors.

I think fresh flowers are lovely in a room-not mixed bunch but one flower type (tulips for example) really add polish. Just from the supermarket-not very expensive but do make me so happy

So much of it is personal though. Some of the things that people are describing would leave me cold, because I love tiny, cosy spaces with very old furniture and no huge windows. So each to their own in terms of what looks 'luxurious' maybe!

How can such a tiny person end up with so much STUFF?!
just wait, their toys get smaller, but the STUFF doesn't. Storage is the only help (not even a solution!)

You can't get any more posh and luxurious than this, but I am not sure that's the look you are looking for - or the space to even make it work

I think it's about space. You can have nick nacks, paintings, books, etc. but also blank spaces (and big mirrors) create a vision of luxury.

I don't like matchy matchy, cheap furniture - as PPs said, a mix of cheap with antiques is lovely. And light colours, not too much dark wood!