25 Designer Short-Cuts With the Biggest Impact

Cindi MacPherson, co-owner of The Interior Partners in Atlanta, offers this way to save on pillows in a chic living room. Use patterned fabric, which may be more expensive, on the front of the pillow. Then buy cheaper fabric in a solid color for the back of the pillow, which is often hidden on a couch.

Terracotta Design Build often adds wallpaper to the backs of bookshelves. "It’s a way to give depth and really set off any collection," says interior designer Ili Hidalgo-Nilsson. With wallpaper behind it, even a collection of inexpensive white vases can look amazingly expensive, she says. 

When redoing a fireplace, you can get a sophisticated look at a lower cost. For the hearth, Terracotta Design Build used 12-by-12 porcelain tile in a dark color that looks like slate, but was more affordable. They cut it into 3- by-12 tiles and installed it in a herringbone pattern. "That’s a great way to get what really is a high-end look and finish for hardly any cost," says architect and interior designer Ili Hidalgo-Nilsson. 

This model home’s fireplace is wrapped floor to ceiling in expensive marble. The same clean look can easily be achieved with an inexpensive plank-sized porcelain tile, says Atlanta interior designer Michael C. Morris with Monte Hewett Homes.