Luxury Apartment Decor on a Budget: Wayfair, Amazon & Photowall Finds That Elevate Any Space

Hello, Gorgeous!

Here are all the rules I established when decorating my new place to stay within my budget, prioritise quality, and commit to timeless style intended for generations to come. These are cheat codes I used to fool the natural light into my home and make it feel more luxurious. 

Keep in mind: I assembled these without industrial grade tools only using the implements the pieces included. These require minimal brain work, physical work, and one moment of heavy-lifting. 

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How to make your small apartment brighter and more luxurious 

Here are various home decor objects I use around my home to invite the natural light and spread it throughout my home to feel brighter and warmer. It also makes my little apartment appear grand and comfortable at the same time.

Light is a foundational element in transforming a rental into a home. It deserves thoughtful attention—through carefully chosen textiles and hardware—to ensure a harmonious and consistent design narrative throughout.

1. Counter wallpaper
2. Living room rug
3. Coffee table
4. Vanity rug
5. End table 
6. Wainscoting & Wallpaper for accent walls 
7. Silver touches: coasters, trays, tired stands
8. Mirror
9. Sofa cover

Create an accent wall with wallpaper.

Tip: This took the most work and takes a lot of time, but it is a simple task once you rinse and repeat the process. Overlap the slightest bit 0.0001 of a millimeter so you cannot see a thin white line / colour of the wall between wallpaper pieces. 

Originally, our counter was full of scratches of removed paint from the previously peeled wallpaper. It was literally sticking up from its edges wanting to be removed.

I used this opportunity to create an accent piece and focal point directly facing where the light enters the room as a sort of masterpiece in the heart of the home. 

This was a lot of work and took a lot of time, but it was easy to do. I had an absolute blast seeing the results. I felt so accomplished with a sense of pride observing the fruits of my labour. Afterwards, it was a matter of smiling everyday when I look at it.

The image is something to behold when it comes to the detail. Lately, I find myself staring at it for quite a while, because it is like having a work of art in your home. It made a huge difference. 

The website was simple and clear with the measuring instructions, even envisioning the precise part of the wallpaper you want to use. I did a ton of research on wallpaper peel and stick websites only to find it difficult to picture how the design would appear in my home. 

Caveat: It does peel a little bit sticking up from the wall from time to time. Especially when I noticed there is more moisture in the air than usual. This can be from cooking or particles when our balcony doors are ajar. However, it takes nothing to press it down again and it stays for quite a while.

Use a bright and large living room rug.

Having a rug was a matter of feeling more comfortable, because our apartment gets rather cold in an enclosed breeze-and-shade-creating building. Since our wooden laminate floors are dark (top shelf stuff – I am well aware), we wanted to find a method to bring natural light into our space. Without painting, of course. And having the balcony blinds open all day long.

Artificial lighting is not our friend in this apartment complex, because of the harsh Ralphs fluorescent situation in the kitchen and the boob light in the midst of the living room. 

I was looking for a light baby blue or green to make the space feel calm and cool without being the boring predictable beige. Pink makes it too girly and young. Something dark makes the room darker.

Whilst loud, warm tones such as red and orange are anxiety inducing. Also, I wanted something that naturally reflects cool tones, because those suit me best and any angle you look at me – whether it is my sweetheart staring lovingly, or camera lens is- – it suits my colour season. 

Wayfair was not my first choice when doing research for years on this, since I wanted to get something wool and thick. However, I realised we live in Los Angeles, and it did not make sense to get something itchy, hard to clean, and expensive to maintain.

I got this thinner, poly material that is soft like velvet with a bit of a longer weave, and easy to clean with a vacuum. It is also lighter when you roll it and carry it up and more malleable without permanent damage.

This colour was to-die for as I am definitely have been going through a cool-tone phase for the past few years. There are so many renditions to choose from on Wayfair including all the ideal dimensions and the insane price tag.

I wanted something large, so I planned on spending $600-$900 on a 6-7’x9-10’ rug. In lieu of such nonsense, I spent less than $200.

Our place looks more spacious, expensive, and brighter because of it. Feeling like I could have gone slightly bigger, its soft appearance and feel make it much more effortless on top of the value it adds. Perhaps in future I will purchase something slightly more considerable. All I know is I want more of this fabulousness. 

Warm up the room with an airy coffee table.

Tip: You will need someone with muscle to [help] lift this, because it is heavy. 

The plan was to make the rug tie the room together, however it was the coffee table that really made the space. A focal point that generates endless compliments, it has unquestionably lived up to its worth. Possibly more. 

My sweetheart carried this solid wood piece up flights of stairs and the lift, thank goodness. It was heavy, but well worth the unboxing. I rolled it out of the cut up cardboard to find an already assembled sensation.

The colour of its painted lightwash white-grey over natural wood warmed up the place, but also lifted it with more natural light. It has two drawers. One for my sweetheart’s accoutrement and another for mine. 

This fits so perfectly in our lives as we needed something to put all the chotchkes in away, use as a coffee table, and it really does add more dimension to our sanctuary. I love that it is round and deliberately selected this to not get caught in our clothes or scratch our legs as we walked by.

It also gives the territory a bit more femininity and mellowness because of its shape. The warmth of the wood was very much needed in this concrete jungle of a structure. It was under $500, but was worth the splurge as we use it everyday, nonstop, and keep loving it the more we have it.  

Embellish overlooked corners with an area rug.

Our vanity was not something I was planning on initially decorating, because I felt like there was not much I could do to bring in more light.

The installed sconces are very warm toned, and there are very harsh details that were not carefully applied when contractors designed this place. In other words, it feels very thrown together.

I needed something to carry light, but also my boyfriend kept moving our bath mat into the vanity. Still not certain why, I simply decided to measure it carefully, look at bright designs, and something to put you in a good mood when you first wake up for morning ablutions. 

It needs some rug pads underneath to keep it from sliding around, but it is a handy little piece that gets the job done, keeps becoming more interesting as you stare at it longer, and gives me something comfortable to sit down on when waxing myself.

Make a subtle statement with an end table.

Before moving into our first apartment together, my thoughtful sweetheart got these end tables at his work as his boss was getting rid of them. They have USB outlets and cords we never use, so they take up space, and look ugly.

I remember seeing them and getting excited as this was a symbol being one step closer to us moving in together, but I knew they were not so sightly. 

Once we moved in, he admitted to them being not so pleasing to the eye, and I surprised him with this end table! He has two of them, so I put them on our balcony for future use in the warmer weather. They do not match our light cool tone motif, so I think he is happy using the new end table, but will not say anything aloud.

He does not read this – do not worry. I will be eternally grateful for the moves he made for us to survive in this place and wanted to repay him with something beautiful he can use. 

I am not into faux marble and lean on carrera-inspired styles. If you have seen my past Williams-Sonoma luxury kitchen haul, you know I prefer to purchase the real thing. However, this was a small detail I saw on sale that was actually cheaper than the end tables we have. Ours are wobbly and get the job done, but I wanted something to give a new sense of movement in its grains.

We have the amiable velvet on our toes from the rug, smoothness of the coffee table, and bucolic scenery of the wallpaper. Why not a cold accent to commemorate our time in the city? It is better than acid-glazed concrete and was only $50 on Amazon and Wayfair. 

Transform your walls with wainscoting and wallpaper.

Tip: If you have someone tall to help you, it will be easier as they hold up the top pieces. It is also good to have someone hold it up and you check out the dimensions before permanently attaching it to your wall. If you are alone, masking tape and a pencil should do the trick with keeping it in place as you step back to check evenness. Also, a level is your friend and you can use your phone’s free app. It comes with the compass app if you have an iPhone. 

Since my life and times on the manor, farm, and forest I purchased a few years ago, I dreamt of making my dream home come true. It took years of research curating all the details I truly desired of living with for the rest of my life in my forever home.

That did not pan out, because here we are in a transient space in Los Angeles. Life moves fast, but your home design can slow things down with calm by adding old world touches. 

I have been dying to do wainscoting for the longest time. Especially since I sat down for multiple architectural design courses, falling in love with Corinthian builds and creatively luxurious walls on Pinterest.

I love all things Classical home and moved with a fervor when it came to looking at wainscoting and panelling. The compositions were endless. I fell in love with almost every type of toile, landscape, and watercolour. 

Originally, I was asked to do my version of de Gournay oil paintings on the walls. Yes, I was commissioned to Michelangelo my own farmhouse by my ex-husband, because he loved my artwork that much! Yet, I was hesitant, so I looked at something that took less time and material. Pigment is not cheap. 

Seeing all the wallpaper peel-and-stick prices were actually more costly than fine quality wallpaper and adhesive, I had to think on my feet on how to design our walls to have the look I wanted without spending over $1,000. To cover it in wallpaper alone would be about $600. The research on wainscoting was exorbitant, because you also have to be careful of 

1. Dimensions
2. How it adheres to the wall
3. The quality of adhesive and if it lasts
4. Ability to assemble

Add timelessness with heirloom silver accents.

Seeing silver elements as coasters, trays, and tiered stands take me to another time and enhance my space to an entirely new level. I am absolutely in love with is silvering. Silvered is the silver version of gilded and I love everything about this.

I used to be all about making everything gold or brass to create luxurious accents in my office of blush, white, and wannabe gold. But over time the gilding of my furniture chipped off and made me see the temporariness of such shining magpie decisions. 

Considering the long term effects of wanting to look expensive backfiring, I invested in high quality hardwares. This made me turn to pure silverware, rustic pewter, and immaculately (almost) immortal stainless steel. It also played into my penchant for cool tones.

Little details I use regularly, such as coasters and serving trays when presenting spillable items on my cloth furniture, create a substantial distinction between qualities. 

The prevailing sentiment is a bit more old money when I see silver pieces being used and intended to be passed down for generations. Along with mimicking the notion that the bequest had already been made with the sylvan character that pewter offers.

In other words, the timelessness in silvered style has turned my decor into an infallible essential that never fails to impress. Hopefully, one day my grandchildren will be able to appreciate the pieces as I did when they see how stylish they were and always will be in their own homes. 

Capture and diffuse light with a mirror.

Mirrors are a wonderful cheat code to emit light throughout the house. Whether it is recycling it from the solar glow in the open window or reflecting what exists in the space. Preferably, something tall and wide in floor orientation or hung up high on the wall as a larger art piece itself (optimally around the 40 inch mark). 

This can be done in the frame of a warming light wood, such as birch, ash, maple, or poplar, with a simple design and natural finish. Or one can take the metallic direction leaning on the silver rule or break the rules entirely with brass. 

At the end of the day, as long as it is not done cheaply with poorly imitation moulding, I am more than thrilled to display top quality and well made pieces.

I used to like the aged look, but it gets boring to me over time and I get sick of a simple silhouette. The more truly striking the frame is, the more I am drawn to it, wanting to stare at it over and over. But it has to be well made – no exceptions. 

True luxury is thoughtful pieces curated with personal meaning.

True luxury lies not in extravagance, but in the quiet confidence of thoughtful choices. Each piece in this haul was selected with care—an exercise in restraint, beauty, and purpose. Together, they compose a home that reflects not just our aesthetic ideals, but the values of longevity, comfort, and intention.

In a world that moves quickly, this space reminds me to slow down and savour the details: the soft glow of silver, the texture of well-worn wood, the dance of light across a carefully placed mirror. These are not just decor elements—they are heirlooms in the making, chosen to stand the test of time and taste. And in their stillness, they bring a sense of permanence—even in a temporary place.

Thank you so much for taking time to read the end of this post. I hope you find some inspiration in this and feel free to share with your friends as a free way to help my blog grow. Your support is endlessly appreciated. 

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