12 Things Making Your Home Look Cheap (Plus Simple Fixes!)
Have you ever walked into a room and immediately felt that something was just… off? Even the prettiest pieces of furniture can lose impact if surrounded by common décor mistakes. The truth is, there are subtle details and other things that can make your home look cheap or feel less polished, whether or not it’s intentional!
But don’t worry—you don’t need a house full of expensive furniture or a professional designer to fix it. A few easy, simple tweaks can dramatically upgrade the look and feel of your home.
There are exceptions to every one of these, but for the most part, unless done with intention or a special reason, these 12 things will make your home look “cheap” or not as well designed.
I’ve broken a few of them over the years, but for the most part, I’ve tried to avoid these things. I’ll share if and when I challenged my own “rules” and the why behind them. Let’s dive in!
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Top 12 Ways That Make Your Home Look Cheap
If you’re dreaming of a home that feels cozy, stylish, and a little more put together, this guide is for you! Below, you’ll learn about 12 design missteps that might be undermining your space—and, more importantly, how to fix them.
1. Misplaced Curtains
I’ve shared for years about hanging curtains “high and wide” and how it opens up the room and window. I have shared everything you need to know about hanging curtains in this post, but the bottom line is that:
Fix It: If you find yourself with “high water” curtains that are sitting right on top of the window, simply buy curtains that are the correct length for your room and hang them higher! Yes, it’s a pain, but it will make the biggest difference of the look and feel of your home!
2. Wrong-Sized Rugs
Choosing a rug that’s too small or skipping one entirely can leave your room feeling cold and disconnected. We love having rugs in most all of the rooms of our main floor, and we get the largest size that the room can handle! It makes the hardwood floors feel soft and cozy, adds texture and color, and brings the room together!
Fix it: Invest in the right-sized rug for your room. A living room rug should be large enough for at least the front legs of your furniture to rest on it, while a dining room rug should extend past the chairs. Find the right size for every room in your home with this rug size guide!
3. Matchy Matchy Furniture
Buying a set of furniture from a big box store is a thing of the past! Mixing and matching furniture pieces and coordinating the finishes will give a collected look instead of a bought-all-at-the-same time look.
Now, I have a few pieces of matching furniture in my home that were bought as sets, two bedrooms in particular. But, I do have different nightstands that did not come with the bed and dresser.
Fix it: Take a piece of furniture from one room and swap it something in another room for a quick and cost-effective solution. Or, better yet, when buying furniture, buy each individual piece to coordinate with the rest of the room, instead of buying one set.
4. Poor Lighting Choices
Lighting is one of the most overlooked elements in home design, yet it can make or break a room. Harsh fluorescent lighting or relying on overhead lights alone can make your space feel cold and one-dimensional.
Beautiful lighting is something I’m willing to save up for and spend big bucks on because it’s so important to the look and feel of a room. My biggest regret in my previous home is not replacing more lighting before we got ready to sell it.
And so one of the first things we did when we moved into this house was to replace almost all of the lighting. It doesn’t always have to be expensive, but I’m willing to save and splurge on this category to get what looks best!
Using too-small light fixtures for your space is also a no-no. And don’t forget to replace the old “boob” lights or amber light shades.
Fix it: Layer your lighting! Combine ambient lighting (overhead lights) with accent lighting (table or floor lamps). Add some warmer, softer light bulbs to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere.
5. Ignoring Cords and Wires
Messy cords hanging behind your TV or under your desk are an eyesore and can make your space look unkempt. It’s not very hard to tuck those wires and cords away for a clean and high-end look!
Fix it: Tidy up wires using cord organizers or clips. If possible, mount your TV on the wall and hide the cords inside cable covers or behind the wall for a seamless look.
6. Misaligned or Wrong-Sized Art
Hanging art too high (or too low) makes walls look awkward and unbalanced. Plus, mismatched frames or poorly arranged gallery walls can turn an elegant piece into an eyesore.
It’s also important to choose art that fills the space correctly. Bigger is usually better when it comes to a piece of art.
Fix it: Hang art at eye level to create a harmonious look—typically 57″-60″ from the floor to the center of the artwork. When creating gallery walls, use similar frame styles for a cohesive feel. It’s also better to choose one large piece for a wall than too many tiny sized pieces of art.
7. Accent Walls
While the accent wall was popular at one point, it’s not longer the optimal choice for decorating your home. It gives the illusion that you didn’t have enough paint, wallpaper or money to finish the room.
Fix it: Instead of choosing one wall to paint or decorate, create a wall treatment with beadboard or molding to paint two-thirds of the way up the wall, and then paint or wallpaper above the trim in the entire room. This allows you to spend less money on wallpaper or a mural, but gives the whole room the same look.
Personal Note: I DO have an accent wall in my home, but I feel like I have a good reason! I painted a plaid wall treatment on the wall behind the desk in my office. BUT, my reasoning is that there’s hardly any wall space in the rest of the room because one wall is windows, one is a built-in bookcase and the other has French doors. And nobody goes in the room, but me! So, nobody else sees the non-plaid walls. I wouldn’t have done this in any other room in my home.
8. Too Much Clutter
Clutter is the quickest way to make a home feel disorganized and cheap. Piles of paperwork, toys, or too many knick-knacks can overwhelm the eye.
Whether it’s too much decor on every surface, or just too much stuff. Countertops covered in stuff will make your home look less expensive and not like it belongs in a magazine.
There’s an art to editing your things, and throwing away trash and decluttering junk. Sometimes less is more. And knowing how to place to the right amoutn of things on a shelf or counter is te
Fix it: Declutter regularly by incorporating storage solutions like baskets, bins, and shelves. Follow the “one in, one out” rule—if you bring something new into your home, donate or trash something old.
9. Inconsistent Flooring
Flooring transitions can make or break your space. Have you ever walked into a home where the floors change drastically from one room to the next? It can feel chaotic, even if the rest of the décor is stunning. Smooth transitions are key to creating harmony in your interiors.
Fix it: Try to keep the same flooring throughout a level. On the main level, use the same hardwood continuously throughout the home and soften the rooms with rugs instead of carpet.
For example, my entire main floor, except for the laundry room and my primary bathroom, has medium brown-toned wood flooring. Even the kitchen and powder room have the hardwood flooring in them.
10. Ignoring Greenery
A lack of plants or natural elements can leave a home feeling boring and lifeless. A combination of real and faux plants softens the look of your home and fills it with life!
Fix it: Bring the outdoors in! Add houseplants, fresh flowers, or even faux greenery to your space. A fiddle-leaf fig or small pothos plants are fantastic options for beginners.
11. Too Short Cabinets
Not extending cabinets to the ceiling is one of the things that make your home look cheap. It makes a home feel squatty and brings your eye down. Having that weird gap above the cabinets merely acts as a dust collector and looks like your cabinets came straight off the sales floor of the big box hardware store.
Fix it: Even if you have to create faux enclosures above your current cabinets, extending the cabinets to the ceiling will give your kitchen a custom and sophisticated look.
For example, my old kitchen cabinets (pictured on the left) had that weird space above them, which collected dust and cast a dark shadow in the room. But in my current home (pictured right), the builder drywalled in the space above the cabinets and used it to display beautiful crown molding instead! Much better!
12. Cheap Looking Window Treatments
Plastic blinds or thin, poorly hung curtains can instantly make a space look less polished—even with gorgeous furniture nearby.
Fix it: Upgrade to fabric curtains that touch the floor, wolid wood blinds, wood shutters or high-end roller shades for a more luxurious feel. Hang your curtain rod higher than the window frame and extend it past the sides to create an illusion of taller ceilings and wider windows.
Elevate Your Home—One Step at a Time
Creating a polished, cohesive space doesn’t have to require a major renovation or a designer’s budget. By tackling even one or two of the fixes mentioned above, you’ll instantly elevate the look and feel of your home. Remember, small changes—like upgrading lighting or swapping out outdated hardware—can have a huge impact!
If you’re excited to start transforming your home, don’t be afraid to experiment! Your space should reflect your personal style and make you feel comfortable every time you walk through the door.
Have your own tips for creating a polished home? Share your secrets in the comments below—we’d love to hear them!
Great insights! Love how simple tweaks can make such a big difference in home decor.