10 Ways to Achieve High End Home Design Without Breaking the Bank
Don’t Mistake “High Cost” for “High End” Design
When someone asks what I do, I explain that my career is in “high end residential construction.” Lately, I’ve had a few people ask me what that means, and I had to take some time to reflect on what it exactly means to me. My reflex is to say that it means the projects are carefully considered and of a high quality, but does that mean the projects are expensive? Surprisingly, this is not necessarily the case. The best way to convey what “high end” means is through examples—so here are 10 ways to make your project high end, but not necessarily high cost.
#1. Design.
This is the absolute most important component for creating a project’s “high end” feel. Hiring a designer or architect to create not just an overall plan, but to ensure that the design is consistent down to the smallest details, is one of the most valuable investments that you can make. Even if you are approaching the project with a budget, having a designer can ensure that no big mistakes are made, and that the overall layout and theme of the job is consistent. In fact, the remainder of this list are aspects that any good designer will include in your project.
#2. Consistent Finishes.
Every year in San Francisco, the decorator showcase happens, in which a multi-million dollar mansion is taken over by approximately 20 interior designers. Each designer transforms one of the rooms to meet their individual vision, resulting in the most disjointed and aesthetically jarring experience that one can undergo. This is because there is no continuity between the rooms and no overarching vision. To achieve a high end feel, your home should take the opposite approach. The baseboard, door knobs, countertops, and plumbing fixtures should all be consistent. Paint colors and themes should match (with the exception of a well-placed accent wall or a child’s bedroom). This consistency should extend from the landscaping on the exterior all the way to the smallest closet on the interior to ensure a thoughtful and cohesive aesthetic.
#3. Smooth Transitions.
One way I can immediately tell if a project is high end or not is if the transition between wood flooring and tile is flush. There are a million reasons that wood floor and tile will not line up, but only one reason that they will (without significant luck). That reason is planning and a willingness to make the transition perfect. This is never easy, and requires significant planning and sometimes re-framing, making it unfortunately rare. However, when it is done properly it is immediately obvious that the entire design and construction team had tight tolerances and a willingness to go the distance to create a high end outcome.
#4. Impactful Touch.
The majority of a home is never actually touched by its occupants. When one glances at the interior of a home, his or her eyes are likely to fall on drywall, a surface that is less than pleasant to caress. This makes the surfaces that are touched by humans that much more impactful. As one enters the home, the front door should be substantial and carry some weight. I love a heavy metal doorknob with a large mechanical mortise latching mechanism that creates a pleasant sound when its mechanism is activated by hand. From there, once inside the home, all levers, handles, furniture, carpet, flooring, and countertops should emulate the substantial feeling imparted by the entry door, maintaining the pleasing and high quality tactile experience.
#5. Furniture.
Perhaps the most crucial part of a home and I strongly believe that any layout should be designed with the furnishings in mind. You don’t ever want to be the person that spends all your money on construction and then can’t afford to buy nice furniture that actually fits the space. All of the high end projects that I have worked on have included a significant budget for the furniture and furnishings after our remodeling work is done. I will never forget the time that, while I was working on a thoughtful and very nice home, I asked the designers for their furniture specifications. I was initially surprised when the cost list showed that the furniture budget was actually more than the very involved remodel I was contracted to undertake. However, the result was fantastic, and clearly a result of homeowners and designers who understood the importance of furniture and who were willing to spend accordingly.
#6. Paint.
This one is simple, but cannot be accidental. The paint colors must be correct (refer to #1 on hiring a designer who can help with this), but they also must be the correct sheen. The woodwork should have a higher sheen than the walls, and generally the ceiling should have a very flat sheen. However,the application is nearly as important as the colors and sheens. Many “run of the mill” or lower quality projects will attempt to cut costs when it comes to the painter they hire. A true high end project will have a professional painter who takes the time to get everything right. All woodwork should be property prepared, all brush and roller textures should be consistent and correct for the application, and there should be no overspray, drops, or inconsistencies. Once again, you can’t fake a good paint job, and the quality of the “last trade in the home” speaks volumes to the overall quality of the project.
#7. Designed Around You.
“The Swimmers”
A common trap of “commodity projects” is the constant search for finishes and fixtures that will retain resale value. Unless a sale is imminent, a high end project will strive to meet the specific and unique needs of the person or family residing in the home. We recently did a project where, during the entire design phase of the living room, we had lengthy discussions on where we would put “The Swimmers” (a unique pair of small statues depicting athletes swimming). Building for your unique situation does not need to be as detailed as The Swimmers required. It could be that you have a tall family, and therefore you may decide to install the countertops slightly higher than normal because that is what best suits your family. If all your installations are geared to the average height, or optimized for the “normal” person who will likely never live in the space, you will never get the custom, high end outcome that you seek.
#8. Real & Solid Materials.
If you are attempting to make one material appear like another for cost reasons, you might even fool some of your friends (and hopefully yourself). But deep down we will all know that it's not authentic, and therefore the polar opposite of high end.
#9. Built-Ins.
Much like our discussion about furniture, high end structures are built around the items they will contain. These built-ins may be a distinct recess where the television resides, or a bookcase that displays the homeowners’ favorite books. Nowhere is more important for this than the kitchen. A high end home will display the Japanese concept of kaizen, with each appliance or kitchen tool having its own designated space.
Example of built ins from our Glen Park Basement Project
#10. Not too much.
One of the most important aspects of achieving a high end project is the concept of taste. The use of neutral colors throughout the majority of the home, for example, allows for the impact of a colorful accent wall. Too many accents or busy materials create a frenetic or frenzied experience, regardless of cost or how “nice” they are. Your home should seek to allow for the unique features and accents by leaving the remainder more muted. People commonly mistake high cost with high end, which could not be further from the reality. A distinct project may have very neutral or budget-friendly materials throughout with only a few expensive or impactful items. It's the contrast that creates the intrigue, not the overall expense of the finishes.
While this may seem like a long list of items, I feel like it's really just a list of what all excellent home projects should include. Surprisingly,the majority of homes include few, if any, of the above concepts. Therefore, like the accent wall mentioned above, a home that includes some or many of the items on this list will stand out as a contrast against your common commodity home. Simply put, what will distinguish your home is the thought and care allocated to the largest decisions all the way down to the smallest. Achieving a high end feel is more the result of a rigorous process than the result of spending money, even though such a process can, and will likely, result in adding to the overall budget.
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