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??

Good artwork.

I can probably help with things to avoid...

• try not to start with a front room that has the dimensions and general look of two Portacabins fused together, but with a lower ceiling and a picture window fucking 8m long. It sort of looks like the kind of pub/hotel that Glaswegians hold wakes in.

• adopt a zero tolerance policy to kid artwork on walls. One day you're tacking up one single picture to the fridge, next time you turn round you're getting into your bed at night and the hollow eyes of an army of legless princesses is looking at you.
• ditto stickers. There's a little sticker archipelago in our living room that is topped off with half a minion and I think a tomato ketchup stain, but I'm not allowed to clean it off in case I mark Princess Jasmine.
• I don't know about the whole thing of having like artfully arranged sticks in a corner, whether that's passé, but if you do want to give it a go don't let your weans recreate the look using a big stick they found in the park and a bunch of polystyrene model birds that my MIL found in the Hungarian version of Poundland and probably only sent me to wind me up.
• stick collections. NO. Not even if they have a name and will cry in the voice of your youngest child if you throw it out

I would add more but I'm being summoned to buy ice cream

Well, my house would look more luxurious with roughly matching furniture, carpets instead of floorboards, and fully painted walls!

I get the 'wow' factor from houses which have been well-put together in a arty or creative way. No one specific thing I can put my finger on but different things - bright coloured rugs, unusual decorations - the sort of stuff you need to have an 'eye' for. I hate ultra-modern, showroom style houses and am not a big fan of white or magnolia walls. I like 'organised clutter' (but somehow, when I do it, it's just mess :D ). Everyone's luxury is different - what works for someone else might not work for you.

Kids toys can be whisked away each evening into storage baskets. Depending on your style there are jute ones, woollens, wood. Check pinterest for inspo. Just keep them consistent in style.

Add texture to a room so that it isn’t flat, so wool throw on sofa, different fabrics for cushions. Try to keep textures to natural fibres so cotton, linen, wool, wood rather than poly/ manmade fibres.

Keep colour schemes simple using no more than 3 colours or shades, use a colour wheel to find complimentary shades.
Try not to buy everything from one store.
Make a focal point in the room such as a piece of art which can be cheap, not the tv, nice sideboard or shelving with eclectic art or vases.
Get the basics right as others have said. Well painted, no chips and clean.

Check out pinterest and instagram for inspiration.

Different textures

I think I would prefer a comfortable rather than posh/modern/luxurious home. That means comfortable sofa and chairs and clean furniture/carpet. Minimal clutter so good storage, lighting which can either be bright if needed or low for relaxing and nice photos or pictures on the wall. I like cushions and accessories to be well coordinated to décor too. Sensible sized TV rather than massive one which overpowers the room.

Quality furniture, good paint with high levels of pigment, natural fibres in soft accessories - cashmere throws, velvet and tweed type cushions. A proper persian/oriental handmade rug. Soft pools of light from lots of table lamps, huge mirrors, good art. I do like the odd trinket and have a collection of lovely vases, photo frames and posh candles.
I do think a home looks best when things are bought over time and are not too matchy but make sense.

king...

'Quality not quantity , part of my work is dressing houses to look as you describe , less is always more , no nick nacks , no photos , candles etc etc - just quality pieces of furniture and soft furnishings , try looking around some good quality home stores for ideas
The trouble is they are actually show homes but once you add people they usually need tat like TVs , photos and such clutter that gets untidy easily

You are describing somewhat up-market new-build. It might be many things, but 'posh' (vulgar term) it isn't.

we live in a rented house and the decor is owners choice and a bit overblown so we are stuck with it, think cream wallpaper with silver squares and beige carpet in the lounge, so we bought expensive curtains and a large leather burgundy corner sofa , to add some colour, and by keeping the lounge super clean and tidy it looks better than it should, most people would hate our pictures as they are motorbike themed but we are bikers so they suit us

Definitely good quality furniture.
My neighbour has recently bought some gorgeous Italian furniture.

Something like this picture I found on Instagram? Not my tastes but it does have the wow factor. I’d love a glam bedroom with mirrored furnature unfortunately DH won’t be having any of it. :( lol

• Modern/ contemporary style that is minimalist.
• Modern/ contemporary furnature and furnishings.
• Furnature that matches or compliments rather than mix n match. And it helps to have the same wood tone.

No cheap tat and ornaments and crap everywhere.

Rooms having a feel of light and spaciousness.

Then add details like glass / crystal lamps , candles in classy, elegant containers or on a round tray. High quality throws. Fresh flowers in a simple but elegant vase.

The way I see it, everything is just gentle and pleasing to the eye rather than loud, clashing/ lots of patterns, clutter & mess.

I like plush carpets over cold, hard wooden floor boards.

I think a house is luxurious if it contains furnishings which would be impractical to clean! For example, pale carpets, especially in combination with young children. Bonus points if you have such carpets in the dining room.

I fgiure that people who have such things are either paying someone else to clean them, or they have such a big house that they don't actually use the room in question, or they can afford to pay to replace them every time they are looking a bit worse for wear.

This is the photo.

Purple I know I am not offending you as you said that it's not your taste but that pic is making my eyes bleed - it's TOWIEtastic. I'll bet it wasn't cheap but looks it.

Purple whilst I respect your opinion, that does nothing for me at all and I think it looks contrived and cheap. But it shows how we all have different tastes and oreferences.

The secret, I'll hazard a guess, is to not have small children living with you.

Sometimes other people’s houses look better than our own because we tend to be hyper critical over ourselves and so we notice more flaws and less positives. Besides, generally we are in our own homes more often than others and so we notice things in our homes that we wouldn’t always notice at a loved one’s home

Real fire with apple logs!If you could afford to only source and burn those you are doing well.
I love a real fire but there is nothing posh or sophisticated about wielding and axe chopping kindling not about the sheer amount of dust even the best log burner seems to produce.

Natural fibres, high ceilings and a playroom where kids stuff is stored we have no kids stuff in communal areas.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I just see it as an upscale version of the semis you see done up with wall paper / feature walls , that’s very common. “ posh” on a budget lol. Obviously, beautiful houses worth a lot of money aren’t like that.

Open fires are illegal in London and woodburners are soon to be too. They are definitely not posh or luxurious either!

Helen's house from The Affair would be my idea of the ideal place to live.

it's the house isn't it? if being posh is about having money then a decent sized house in a good location is a good start. Then good quality appliances and any furniture being good quality even if not a lot of it.

A good quality rug and an interesting picture or 2

Luxury I associate with comfort. Posh luxury is costly

Rooms that look like they have the latest colour scheme, or are from the Next Directory or a show home don't do it for me. I cannot bear corner sofas or those ones with a long piece for lying on, or large TVs.

I like full length curtains on sash Windows -realise sash Windows only found in older houses usually and you won't be changing your windows. I also like a traditional fireplace (not one of these chrome modern ones) with built in bookshelves and perhaps cupboards at the bottom on either side - filled with lots of books.

In my mind, a home is incomplete without a piano - you can have as many TVs as you like and as many en-suites or snugs or whatever, but without a piano, something is really missing.

Also don't like furniture where the backs or bases are some kind of mdf and not solid wood. You can pay an awful lot for furniture which might be modern but poor quality. I agree that second hand is often the way to go. Houses that look like second hand or Anyang beyond 10 years old is not tolerated - not keen.

These, I realise are personal tastes. If I go to someone's house, where it looks pristine and like a show house, I am envious of their ability to be tidy and hide everything away, because I just can't seem to manage that.

I try to use pinterest for ideas and an amazing website I found recently for artwork (prints) is Descenio...go on the inspiration page and they show good combinations of prints you can copy!