Everyone likes to feel good about the place where they live, and few things can really liven up a home, like modern luxury design principles. This article will discuss the attributes of a modern luxury home and hopefully give you some ideas for what you can do to upgrade your own living space and awaken your inner interior designer.
And don't worry if you're on a budget-there are still plenty of ways that you can get that same luxury feeling for your home, even if you're not ready to do a full-scale renovation or move to a new place. We'll talk about things you can do around the house to make your space feel more modern and pleasant, as well as where you can go for luxury home design ideas that are meant for everyday people, not just the super-wealthy.
What are the main characteristics of a modern luxury home?
Now, the first thing we probably want to ask ourselves is this: what is a luxury home? In other words, what makes a home qualify as "luxurious?" While there are many personal definitions of luxury that individuals might adhere to, some general qualities also tend to define a luxury home in the modern sense. Those qualities include the following:
Size: Generally speaking, bigger is better when it comes to luxury homes because more space gives you more room to realize your personal vision for your home.
Location: The nicest homes are often those that have desirable locations. Unlike a business, you're usually not looking for a heavy traffic area-much the opposite, in most cases. Luxury homes will often be located on beachfront property or high up in the mountains in inland locations.
Material quality: The better the quality of the material, the better the home will generally be. Luxury homes tend to spare no expense in getting the results that are wanted, and the material used to construct them and their amenities is no exception to this.
Modern amenities: A modern luxury home will not just be focused on including the bare minimum that a person needs in order to live; instead, you're likely to find upgraded and modern amenities which offer the best possible versions of what a home needs, along with things that are not required, but are very nice to have.
Finally, there's one more thing that characterizes a modern luxury home:
Style: There are many different styles of luxury homes, but modern ones often focus on wide-open interior spaces and simple, clear lines in the decor and furniture. You'll find many variations on modern style, and none of them are a bad option, but there will likely be one that you feel is right for you.
All of these qualities and more work together to give a home a modern, luxury design feeling, whether it's a country home design, a more minimalist look, or anything in between.
How can I make my home look luxurious or expensive?
If you want your home to look expensive or fit the modern styles of luxury interior design, there are a couple of options. Of course, you could go out and buy expensive things or pay for expensive redesigns that incorporate luxury house plans or floor plans, or you could always go out and buy a new, modern luxury house...but that's the problem with expensive things: they're expensive, sometimes incredibly expensive, and that makes it hard for most people to be able to afford the luxury look and feel that they might be looking for.
Fortunately, there are ways to upgrade your home to a more modern feel without inheriting a large fortune from a distant relative (though you should probably still accept the large fortune if one is offered to you). The first way you can get a fancy feeling for your home is to focus on modern luxury characteristics that will actually fit with your previously-existing home. Some things would take a lot of work to change-for example, if you're making your home luxurious on a budget, you're probably not going to want to move to beachfront property or add on a massive extension to make your home bigger. So instead, you can focus on the things that will give you a similar effect without massive overhauls to your home's location or size.
With that in mind, you'll likely want to focus on your home's amenities, the decor, and the material quality of everything in your home. Since these things are much easier to change than an entire floor plan, they're usually the place where you'll want to start for a luxury home renovation on a budget.
What should I consider while designing or decorating a modern luxury home exterior?
But before we get to some specific things you can do indoors, let's talk about exteriors. Just like inside a home, the outside can also indicate style and luxury in several ways. We'll talk about modern luxury styles in general and then get down to the specifics of what you can do on a budget to achieve some of the same effects.
Lighting: Old-fashioned lighting is one thing that can instantly date a house or make a building show its age. If you're going for an updated, modern look with your home's exterior, you'll probably want to get new lighting fixtures and more modern ones. The modern style of lighting has moved far away from the exposed overhead porch bulbs of years past and often heavily emphasizes wall-mounted lights with concealed bulbs-normally, LED bulbs, to take advantage of their longer lifespan and lower energy requirements. But traditionally-shaped bulbs are obviously not the only option that's out there-lighting rods are also common in modern lighting. There are some general principles to remember when it comes to modern exterior lighting; first, many modern lighting fixtures are sometimes called "rim lights" because the light source is hidden behind an exterior shield, allowing the light to diffuse over a wider area without drawing too much attention to itself. Second, modern exterior lighting will often be much more pervasive and cover more of your home than old-fashioned lighting. You'll find many modern homes with lights running all along their rooflines, attached to almost every exterior wall, or even illuminating their yards and gardens so that the decor is visible no matter the time of day. Modern lighting is both functional and decorative; your home will look beautiful at night and be illuminated much more brightly and securely than if you stay with just the old-fashioned one or two lights in the front and back.
Landscaping: Speaking of yards and gardens, a modern home will almost always benefit from updated landscaping. While modern designs are unlikely to try for anything that could look "busy," they also will be unlikely to simply leave a standard grass lawn surrounding a modern home. Modern landscaping often includes decorative lighting, as mentioned above. That lighting could illuminate or line pathways, your fences or garden beds, or any other features in the yard. A modern landscaping design will often incorporate various decorative elements besides the lighting, such as artfully arranged rock beds surrounding trees or bushes or even small streams and fountains and other water features. The look you want for your modern landscape is "deliberate": if you want it to look modern, it shouldn't look like it happened by accident. Flower gardens will often be color coordinated and organized, larger plants will be carefully trimmed to keep them healthy and happy looking, and whatever grass lawn there is will be well tended (which means you'll probably also want some non-grass pathways that you can use so that you're not walking on the lawn itself when you go outside!).
Doors and windows: Just like lighting fixtures, exterior doors and windows can make a big difference in your home's perceived style and age. The windows are very important for a thoroughly modern design, partly because whatever you do to your windows will affect both the exterior and interior of your home, requiring some thoughtful consideration. Old-fashioned windows are likely not going to hold up (figuratively, but perhaps even literally as well if they're too old) in a modern design; therefore, you'll almost certainly want to replace any old exterior windows on your home as part of a modern renovation. You don't have to go all out here; although it's certainly possible to choose windows that incorporate fancy patterns and colors in their glass, many modern designs simply opt for large, clear windows without much fuss. Modern windows tend to be more about letting in lots of light and air than they are about serving as decorations themselves. For modern windows, you'll likely want to choose options that maximize the openness of your home while minimizing their own "footprint" on the exterior (at least as far as things like shutters and blinds are concerned). While upgrading, consider opening up more space with additional or larger windows, and make sure that you're taking advantage of modern window technology, especially if your home is old. Newer window glass is much more efficient at retaining temperatures inside your home than it used to be.
Exterior doors should look nice, of course, but it's also important to consider how well they match the style of your updated home-both the outside and inside styles. For example, a fancy natural wooden door will work well with some styles but would look out of place in others. Just like with landscaping, your design choices should be deliberate and evoke a sense that you have planned everything about your home. That's a very strong sign of a luxury design and one that requires a level of consistency in the appearance of many of your home's aspects.
Other exterior ideas:
That feeling of consistency should carry on throughout the rest of your home's external appearance. What does that mean in a practical sense? It means you probably want to avoid doing anything that just upgrades one small section of your exterior but leaves the rest noticeably out of date. For instance, you'd likely want to avoid sprucing up your front wall with some new paint since it could stand out quite a bit from any other walls or sections that hadn't had the same treatment. Of course, if you only care about how the front of your home looks or if only one section needs some minor work done, this could still be a viable option in your case. However, the general rule is that your home's exterior should all look like it belongs and works well together.
One other exterior upgrade you could consider will be a new roof and even one with solar panels if you can add them. Besides looking much neater now than they used to, modern solar panels are a feature of many nicer homes and can provide some advantages when it comes to power both indoor and outdoor lights and appliances.
How can I upgrade any home's exterior on a budget?
You probably noticed that some of these things could end up being pretty expensive changes. Don't worry! If you're not one of the fortunate few with all the money in the world to redo everything about your house at once, there are still many small things you can do to help your home's exterior look modern and luxurious.
First, when it comes to lighting, you might not want to shell out a few thousand dollars for permanent holiday lights or a hardwired landscape lighting system, but you can still find beautiful lights for your yard for much more reasonable prices. Some solar-powered landscaping lights cost only a few dollars each and come with a small charging panel so that they don't even need to be plugged in. You could buy a set of these landscaping lights and use them to outline features of interest in your yard and landscaping simply by pushing their support stakes into the ground wherever you want them, ensuring they'll get some sun during the day. This is simple and easy, and you can do it all without any need to work with electrical wiring or periodically replace batteries. A simple line of lights running along a walkway or driveway can be a beautiful addition to any home, and it's cheap!
Another exterior point to consider would be any foliage or garden spaces. Depending on where you live, rock gardens (where a few larger plants are surrounded by a bed of rocks instead of just dirt) may be popular among more modern neighborhoods, and they impart a feeling of order and neatness to a yard. If you don't like the look of rock beds in your garden, some fresh mulch can go a lot towards tidying things up.
Next, consider your doors. While you might not be ready to replace all of your doors and windows at once, your front door is one of the most important and noticeable features of your home's exterior surfaces. If your door looks a little tired or old, you can always start by giving it a fresh coat of paint, preferably one that matches the aesthetic you plan on using in your home (maybe something that matches your interior curtains, for instance! While you're at it, upgrading interior curtains which are visible from the outside is a great way of making your windows look more up-to-date without replacing them). If new paint isn't going to cut it, a new door is also an option! While these aren't cheap and may cost a couple of hundred dollars, many of them can be installed without professional help or with a small fee if you want to ensure things are done right. A new door, or even a new screen door (perhaps a metal-based one to match your modern look), can make a huge difference in the feel of your home's "face" and really changes the impression that people get when they're about to enter your home.
And now, let's actually move from the outdoors to the inside of your home.
What are some of the easiest ways to upgrade my home interior?
Although it's nice to have a beautiful home exterior, it's likely that the most important part of any luxury home is what it's like on the inside. After all, you'll probably see the inside of your home more frequently and in more detail than you will the outside. The inside of a home is the part that is the most important for function, as well, which is a significant part of modern design.
Modern home decor styles have lots of ideas that you can incorporate into your home. For example, here are some easy and cost-effective ways of updating the look and function of your home without an extensive remodel:
Refinish your cabinets: A new finish or paint job for your cabinets (say, in a kitchen or bathroom) can make a huge difference! Lighten up the color on your cabinets to make a room feel roomier, or just update the color to match the rest of your furniture and other design choices.
Upgrade and match your appliances: Remember, luxury is planned, so one thing that makes a home's interior feel luxurious and modern is matched appliances. If you have a stainless steel dishwasher, a black-colored oven, and a bright white refrigerator, your kitchen probably doesn't look like it was all planned to work together. Sticking with a color scheme and design plan whenever you update an appliance can help you make everything look like it's part of a matching set. You may also have some appliances that could be refinished or painted to match others; some refrigerators can be refinished in new colors, for example.
Update and match your furniture: Just like with your appliances, you might have some furniture that doesn't really go together. Many people end up with a couch in one place or in one style, a chair in another, a table in another, and so on. The more you can match the style and coloration of your furniture pieces with each other, the more planned and modern your home will look. Consider choosing a style of furniture to stick with for each room; remember, you don't have to replace everything all at once. You just need a plan!
Upgrade or switch out your light switches and outlet covers: Modern characteristics in a home can apply to even little details like these. You might be surprised by how big of a difference it can make when you get some new plates for your light switches or outlets in your home! Paying attention to this small and simple improvement gives your home a chance to shine, even in small ways.
Molding and trim: Taking a look at your home's molding and trim, for instance, at the top or base of walls, you may find yourself wanting a newer style. Replacing these parts of your home is much simpler than undertaking a massive project, and new molding can give you yet another chance to show off your eye for detail with some fun designs.
There's lots more that you could do for your home on a budget! Remember, luxury is what you decide it is, and you should find the things you care about that will make a difference and spend your time improving them. Work on whatever home design changes make you feel happier with where you live at whatever pace you want.
Where can I find luxury home inspiration?
You might be able to find a helpful or inspiring guide to modern home design or some
modern luxury examples, whether you see them on social media sites, real estate sites, or any other location where people have gathered information about home designs they like.
When looking at these examples, there are a lot of things that you could consider for your own home. However, at its most basic, looking at luxury home inspiration can help you start realizing what colors and styles you most appreciate. Notice if you find yourself drawn to homes that use a lot of one color or emphasize pillars and upright supports with decorative trimming. Those are things that could influence the design choices you make in your own home.
One final note about finding inspiration: remember, this is the part where you dream big and find the luxury looks and feels most inspiring to you. You don't have to automatically reject anything because it's "too fancy" or "too expensive" at this stage-you're just coming up with ideas you like and making a list of the qualities of luxury homes that are most important to you. Even if you can't do exactly what you see in some of your inspiration homes, you can use them to discover possibilities. Later, when you're discussing the details of any actual plans that you make, you can decide if something is too expensive or impractical or just plain won't fit in your home-but for now, dream big and see where you end up!
How big should a luxury house be? Can I create a luxury feel in a smaller home?
Although the "typical" modern luxury house tends to be large and make use of open spaces (with vaulted ceilings, wide hallways, and so on), you don't have to be discouraged if your home doesn't have these qualities. In fact, having a smaller space can make some things easier when creating a luxury feel in your home.
Rather than focusing on a sense of large scale, if you have a smaller space, you'll likely want to focus much more on the colors, styles, layout, and on reducing clutter and visual "noise" in your home design.
If you love the sense of space luxury homes have, but you're working with a home that doesn't quite have that same scale right now, try keeping some of your design simpler. Use only the furniture and decoration you need, focusing on getting everything just right rather than having many things in one room. This is one reason why minimalist luxury designs are sometimes useful: they allow you to make the most out of spaces that otherwise might feel cluttered due to their small size.
As a side note here, remember that "minimalist" often means not only how much you have in space but also the look and design of your space and furniture. Minimalist designs often use very simple lines and basic, solid colors, which may or may not be what you're looking for. Fortunately, you can have a space decorated minimally (only using what's needed and keeping it simple) without using a Minimalist style if you prefer a different look for your home.
Your interior design choices can make a huge difference in how a room feels-bright colors tend to make rooms seem larger, and large mirrors will amplify that effect when artfully located. Of course, you don't need mirrors everywhere, but having a few in some key locations will help open up rooms and make them feel more modern.
What is the typical cost of a luxury home design?
For a large-scale redesign of your home into a modern, luxury design, you'll likely be faced with a price tag of at least $50,000. This could be even higher if you have a large space or want extensive renovations.
How can Modern Aspect help me?
So, where can you get these kinds of results for your home without paying those prices? One place to look is Modern Aspect, whose goal is to help people like you get luxury design results without the typical price of luxury. So, for redesign ideas and for more affordable luxury solutions for your home, consider contacting Modern Aspect today.