How to Approach Luxury Interior Design and Avoid Being Tacky
How to Approach Luxury Interior Design and Avoid Being Tacky

An interior designer has a complicated job — it’s not just about having an excellent taste and being creative. Designers have to approach their projects almost like scientists. Survey the area, examine the space, take measures, double-check the measures, take notes, do your research, recruit the team. It’s a lot to handle.

It’s even more difficult when you’re working on luxury interior design projects. Since the cost is much higher, the stakes are much higher as well, and you don’t want to make mistakes here.

The biggest problem in luxury interior design is that it’s difficult to determine when it’s enough. Should you add more colors and a few other statement pieces? Should all the floors be marble? Does this look sophisticated or tacky?

If you want to avoid being tacky when working on luxury interior design, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look at what you should and shouldn’t do when taking on luxury interior design.

A Common Mistake

There are no specific rules when it comes to interior design. It all depends on your style and creativity, and on what your client wants.

However, just because it isn’t an exact science doesn’t mean that you cannot make mistakes, and one of the most common errors many interior designers make is following the trends regardless of what they are.

Trends in interior design are ever-changing. Every year a new Pantone’s “color of the year” is announced, new styles become popular, and different patterns become sought after. Just because something is a trend doesn’t mean that you have to incorporate it into your interior design.

The best-designed spaces will have a timeless appeal, so you shouldn’t always follow all the latest trends. Use them as a source of inspiration, not as instruction manuals. Otherwise, not a lot of time will pass before your luxury interior design project is compared to the 70s tacky, over-the-top style.

Communication with Clients Is Key

Being tacky means different things to different people. While one person might think that a leopard-print throw blanket looks impressive and elegant over a neutral-colored sofa, another person will feel it’s excessive. Keep in mind, Renovation Capital understands the importance of individual tastes and preferences, and with their design expertise, they can help you strike the perfect balance between bold creativity and elegant simplicity. Everyone has a unique taste, and you can never know what to expect from different clients.

So, communication is of utmost importance. If your client tells you that they don’t want their space to look tacky, ask them what they mean by it. Communicate with them every step of the way.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that you should be limited by what the client says, offer your own advice and opinions, and explain why you think your idea might be better — you’re the designer after all.

Besides having open and continuing conversations with your clients, make sure that your team is always on the same page. You can take advantage of some of the best collaborative tools to save yourself some time and keep everyone informed about the project.

Less Is More

Currently, minimalism is one of the most significant trends in interior design, and unlike some others — it’s a trend that you should follow. The minimalist approach can suit any style, whether we’re speaking about modern spaces, gothic-inspired rooms, or western-style homes. It’s clean, functional, and, most importantly, timeless.

The most luxurious homes will have plenty of open space, and most of the furniture and items found within it will be sleek and elegant.

You should be careful here, though. While minimalism was a response to the over-the-top styles popular just a few years ago, this doesn’t mean that you should keep everything to the bare minimum. If you want to avoid being tacky, you don’t have to go to extremes and have the space looking empty.

Luxury interior design is about balance.

Declutter

Luxury interior designs vary by client and taste, but one thing that all luxury interiors have in common is that they’re free of any clutter. Decluttering goes hand-in-hand with the minimalist approach. If you want to design a luxurious interior, you should get organized and ensure that everything is kept clean and tidy.

You can keep it simple by coming up with a plan and finding a place for every item. You can create discreet storage solutions, design custom cabinetry, focusing on solutions for the functional home office spaces, and more.

It’s vital to keep new technology in mind when you’re doing luxury interior design and focusing on decluttering. Not every item is wireless, so you’ll have to think of the best ways to hide all the cables and wires that come with smart homes and devices.

Step out of Your Comfort Zone

If you’ve been in interior design for a while, you’ve probably learned what works and what doesn’t, and you’ve developed your unique style and approach. However, when you get into luxury interior design, you should try and think outside the box a little.

Throw some ideas around when you’re talking about the project with your client. Or, ask your team members to pitch some of their ideas.

Brainstorming and stepping out of your comfort zone will allow you to design new and unique spaces that will leave everyone breathless.

Be Bold

If you have a fear of being tacky, you risk going the other way and being dull and boring. Luxury and sophistication aren’t supposed to be boring. They’re supposed to take your breath away, so be bold.

You don’t have to use only the neutral colors that are so often present in the subpar minimalist design. It’s not all about the whites, creams, and beiges. You’ll need to introduce life and pops of color into your designs.

The neutrals that are often associated with minimalism should serve as the base, not as your only color palette. It’s completely acceptable, and not to mention desirable, to have colorful pieces of art, bright throw blankets, or decorative pillows of unusual textures.

Play Around

One of the most enjoyable aspects of interior design is playing around with ideas and experimenting. Don’t neglect this crucial aspect when you’re coming up with your luxury interior design.

Just like you can introduce some pops of color to a room, you can introduce unusual pieces of furniture or creative decorations.

Not every armchair, sofa, and couch have to match. Not everything has to be either straight or oval. Play around with different shapes, textures, and styles to truly make your luxury interior design unique.

A word of caution, however. Remember not to go overboard. Fun and exciting items won’t be as eye-catching if everything is uniformly unique. Just like with colors, have a neutral base, then introduce a unique, attention-grabbing detail.

Focus on the Lighting

Lighting might be the most critical aspect of luxury interior design. It’s what will set the mood of the room and what will completely transform the space and bring everything together. Play around with some lighting ideas that will genuinely suit the style of the room.

If the rooms you’re working on have plenty of natural light, use this to your advantage. Don’t introduce heavy curtains that will block the sunlight and close up the room.

If there isn’t much natural light, come up with exciting light sources that will bring the room together. You can have an eye-catching chandelier and attractive desk lamps, but you can also play around with LEDs and light up the kitchen cabinets, shelves, and TV stands. Placing mirrors in strategic locations can also work wonders.

Again, don’t go overboard. Don’t use excessively bright lights that will be blinding. Your light sources should have warmer tones for the best effect.

Take Advantage of 3D Rendering

As a final way to avoid being tacky with luxury interior design, you should start using 3D rendering software. This piece of software can make your job much more manageable and help you and your clients to visualize what the results might look like before you’ve even started with the project.

The best 3D software will give you access to a variety of different colors, textures, furniture, decorations, and more, and if the library doesn’t contain the pieces that you need, you can always design your own.

Most 3D rendering software today allows you to create photorealistic designs that are quite literally picture-perfect. You can go on a virtual tour of the space and see whether everything comes together nicely.

It’s a perfect tool for experimenting with different ideas before you commit to them, so if you want to avoid being tacky, design your luxury interior in 3D before you do so in real life.

It takes practice to learn how to do luxury interior design without being tacky, but the mentioned tips should make it all much more comfortable. Play around, experiment, and use 3D rendering software to your advantage.