How to Make Your Living Room Look Expensive

In this video, I go over some of my favourite ways to make your living room look more expensive. I've got some great ways to make your living room feel more customized to you and your own personality and to make it feel more personal to you.

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⏱ Timestamps:
00:00 - How to Make Your Living Room Look Expensive
00:35 - Paneling and Other Wall Treatments
02:28 - Create Vignettes
04:54 - Keep it Clean and Organized
06:40 - Unique Items
08:37 - Lighting
11:50 - Large Scale Art
14:17 - Incorporate Scents and Flowers
16:07 - Cohesive Color Scheme

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[SteveL]

“Go live in a hospital for a few weeks, and tell me design doesn’t matter.” Such a stark, impactful statement and pithiest argument ever! ❤️

[soulsticegirl]

'Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful' - William Morris

I’ve been following this golden rule for the home since I learned it in 1992. Eventually I took it to a new level- make sure your useful things are also beautiful (or at least aesthetically pleasing.) No visible branding allowed and keep useful things stored in beautiful containers. Following these simple rules keeps everything looking considered, intentional & “expensive” in Nick’s terms.

[AlexHider]

Best kept design secret? Thrift stores in rich neighborhoods. That’s all.

[victorialove]

Oh Nick, I adore you. Not only do you provide us with excellent information but you deliver it with the perfect amount of lighthearted snark. ❤

[saltycrunch]

Sleeping in on a Saturday to wake up to coffee and a new Nick Lewis video = perfection.

[gnomealone]

I’ve had people in my life who’ve rolled their eyes and sort of imply that I’m shallow since the design of my space matters so much to me. And I’ve always let them know that, then, I guess the cave-people who scratched images of woolly mammoths and sabre tooth tigers on the walls of their caves were shallow too. Design does indeed matter!

[jeanvignes]

Oh, Nick. Three years after having my sense of smell nuked by COVID your words about scents and our sense of smell made me cry. Yes! scents do connect directly to our emotions and memories. I remember once walking in an unfamiliar neighborhood and stopping dead in my tracks because a house I was passing was giving off the EXACT scent profile of my grandmother's house: lavender, coffee, bacon, pound cake, Ivory soap, oil paints, and something salty reminiscent of the back bay of Biloxi circa 1966. BOOM I was transported back forty years. It was uncanny. Those of you who can still enjoy the magic of scents, indulge yourselves. It's precious and much missed by those of us who lost it or had it severely damaged during this cursed pandemic.

[catherinesmitko]

it makes me so happy that you rip on the tom ford book every chance you get!
also love you constantly trying to teach naysayers the concept of "as applicable - common sense"
✨♥️✨

[amberbanuelos]

Don’t point mirrors at each other to avoid the funhouse look as well as to avoid creating a portal for ghosts and demons. Those things will bring back dead decor, like boob lights and ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ signs.

[izamalczykjewelry]

When it comes to large scale art, you can also make your own out of: 1. wallpaper (find some nice prints or "mural" type wallpapers and glue them to the frame board, then attach the frame), 2. fabric (same as wallpaper - just cut it to size and attach to the frame), 3. small collectibles (arrange and attach multiple items of the same theme / color scheme to a shadow box type picture frame and you'll have a unique, large piece of visual interest on your wall).

[NatalieBennett]

Literally remodeling our living room TODAY. This video is perfect timing! ❤

[arlenerivera-gwst]

It has taken me at least 5 years to design my home so that I feel proud and comfortable at the same time. I couldn't have done it without you, Nick. I actually worked at a jail for a short time, and yes, design does matter 😄 You made me laugh out loud with that one.

[marianav]

hi Nick, another topic suggestion: when adding color to walls, how do you figure out what walls to paint? you've mentioned before you don't like accent walls, and neither do i. but then do you paint ALL the walls the same color? what do you do in an open space concept? can you choose 2-3 colors (including ceiling) or just the whole box goes the same color? i have a hard time with this and haven't found anyone talking about it!

[Patti-]

My husband is an avid reader.... and likes to leave his books everywhere. SO, beside his favorite chair, I put a basket (slightly hidden underneath the side table) where all his reading material goes. Even if I have to put them away!
One "rule" I do break is I have a lot of family pictures displayed. Having five grandchildren who I love SO MUCH means I want to have pics of them!!

[Qtopian]

I love intentional clutter. My motto is if you love it you can make it work in your space. If you can ask yourself for every piece in your home do you actually love it or are you trying to fit the style of the home/fit someone else’s style.

[cs]

I don’t know that I care about my home looking expensive, but I do want it to look intentional and like me. I especially like the idea of putting in unique-to-you decor. We have things from our travels and framed photos I’ve taken. But even things from big box stores can be unique. I was at Target once and on the clearance rack in the kitchen section found two chargers -one made of crushed eggshells and the other strips of bamboo. I have them hanging on the wall in my kitchen and I get compliments on them all the time.

[lowcountry]

You are a treasure. Always learning and your quite humorous.

[jh-oo]

Everytime that Nick says "uh-gaynst the wall", an angel gets their wings. 🥰

[peachfountain]

Hi Nick! Thanks for another awesome video.

Can you cover vignettes sometime and just describe where they make sense, how to make them look good, etc?

I've seen other channels do critiques of viewers' homes and how to improve them, and no one seems to say "here's where a vignette makes sense, " much less how to make it both intentional and fit with the rest of the space

[mamalovesthebeach]

People often comment that my house smells like a spa. When people walked into my prior home that I designed and built, they went nuts over all the big windows, tons of wood, and the forest views. The beach house we’re in now is no architects fantasy by any means. We do have harbor and ocean views but what people notice when they walk into this house is that it’s flooded with light. It doesn’t seem to matter what else is going on in my house. All of the natural light elevates this space. Natural light makes people feel uplifted. Even if you don’t have natural light, there are so many ways to incorporate that feeling into your home. I’ve walked into beautiful homes that are dark and that’s what I remember. Another beautiful sweater Nick!