Most apartments don’t need a renovation to feel elevated. They need a few deliberate choices. When I walk into a rental that looks expensive, it’s almost never because of a big budget. It’s because someone made decisions with intention: a palette that holds together, light that feels warm, and furniture and decor that were edited instead of collected.
If you’ve been wondering how to make an apartment look expensive without starting over, this is the guide I give clients. Five steps, a short upgrade checklist, and one designer tip that ties it all together.
Step 1: Start with a cohesive palette
Pick two or three neutrals and one accent color, and let them carry the whole apartment. When every room speaks the same language, the space reads calm and unified, and that’s the look people describe as expensive. It also makes shopping easier: if a pillow or a print doesn’t fit the palette, it doesn’t come home.
Step 2: Layer your lighting
Most apartments come with one overhead fixture per room, and that’s what makes them feel flat. Mix three kinds of light: overhead, task (a reading lamp by the sofa, a lamp on the desk) and ambient (table lamps, a floor lamp in a corner). Layered light creates warmth and depth, and it’s one of the fastest changes you can make in a rental.
Step 3: Choose larger-scale art
A cluster of small frames can make a wall look busy. One bigger piece makes the room feel curated and more sophisticated. If you’re choosing between three small prints and one large one for the wall over the sofa, I’ll almost always point you to the large one.
Step 4: Upgrade your soft goods
Rugs, pillows, curtains and bedding are where quality shows, and they’re the pieces you touch every day. Investing here changes how a room feels far more than a new accessory does. Curtains hung high and wide, a rug that’s sized to define the space and bedding with real texture all quietly say “finished.”
Step 5: Style with restraint
Edit your decor. Negative space is a luxury in itself. A shelf with a few well-chosen objects looks more intentional than one that’s full. If this one feels hard, my post on why your room doesn’t need more stuff walks through how I edit a room.
The upgrade checklist
Once the five steps are in place, these are the finishing moves I check off in almost every apartment:
- Add an area rug to define the space
- Use matching storage
- Bring in greenery
- Swap basic lighting for stylish fixtures
- Choose one statement piece to anchor the room
That last one matters. A statement piece, like an accent chair, a sculptural lamp or a bold piece of art, gives the eye a place to land, and everything else can stay simple around it. For more quick ways to make a space feel complete, see how to instantly pull your room together.
Plan it before you buy it
In the guide you’ll see a sample one-bedroom plan (a 12′ x 16′ living room, an 11′ x 13′ bedroom and an 8′ x 10′ kitchen) next to a living room selections board: sofa, art, greenery, pillows, coffee table, console, accent chair, area rug, storage basket and lamp. That’s how I work. I decide what goes where, and how the pieces relate to each other, before anything gets ordered. It’s the difference between a room that was planned and one that just happened.
If you’re setting up an apartment now, my Apartment Setup Kit walks you through it step by step: the apartment setup guide, a planner and workbook, budget sheets, The Room Layout Fix lessons and a styling checklist, all in one download.
Designer tip
Good design isn’t about more. It’s about the right things, placed with purpose.
Want help with your own room?
If you’d like a designer’s eye on your apartment, book an online design consultation with me. We’ll look at your space together and decide what to keep, what to change and what to buy first.
How to make an apartment look expensive: FAQ
What’s the fastest way to make an apartment look more expensive?
Layer your lighting. Adding table and floor lamps to a room that only has an overhead fixture creates warmth and depth right away, and nothing has to be installed.
How many colors should I use in an apartment?
Two or three neutrals plus one accent color. Repeating the same palette from room to room is what makes the whole apartment feel calm and unified.
Is one large piece of art better than several small ones?
Usually, yes. Larger-scale art makes a room feel curated and more sophisticated, while lots of small frames can read as clutter.
Can I make a rental look high-end without renovating?
Yes. Everything in this guide works in a rental: the palette, the lighting, the art, the soft goods, editing your decor and one statement piece to anchor the room.
Follow along on Substack: I share guides like this one every week, plus room formulas and the full lessons for subscribers.
