The secret to a successful home build budget is deciding where to spend, and where to save for maximum impact (with minimal investment)
But the question on everyone’s lips is: where, exactly?!
We’re coming to rescue your budget with the pro tips and our splurge vs save breakdown of our kitchen, laundry and bathroom.
To us, ‘luxury for less’ means balancing where to invest your dollars versus where to save your precious pennies. If you nail the balance, your home will look like a million dollars, even though you haven’t spent a small fortune on extravagant extras.
Open up your spreadsheet and learn from us as we talk you through what we spent vs. what we saved in our latest project, the Luxe for Less Coastal Home.
KITCHEN
Spend: Statement gold cabinetry handles. Jewellery for your drawers.
Save: Plain profiled Laminex cabinetry (let the handles shine).
Spend: Beautiful handmade tiles for your splashback. Instantly adds wow factor and makes the kitchen feel expensive.
Save: basic shelves in the walk-in pantry (they don’t have to be the star of the show).
Spend: Lighting or pendant lights like our hand-woven pendants from that Dharma Door. It’s a focal point and a piece of art in its own right.
Save: London Grey Caesarstone benchtop. (It adds luxury with a marble look however is substantially cheaper than real marble. Plus its in the second most affordable category of stone benchtops from Caesarstone.) #winwin
BATHROOM
Spend: Beautiful or handmade tiles. Practical and a stand-out feature, they instantly make the room feel more luxe.
Save: Choose only 1 feature wall or small area and use basic floor and wall tiles to the rest.
Spend: Gold fixtures and tapware. They really add a sense of luxury to these predominantly white and neutral bathrooms.
Save: We selected Laminex Classic Oak for the cabinetry and added the Caesarstone London grey marble look top. We love timber cabinetry however a real timber vanity can stretch the budget.
Spend: Statement mirrors. We are very reluctant to put these under “spend” because they’re more like “trade”. They don’t add much to the budget at all but definitely add their worth in gold to the final look of the room!
Save: Framed shower screens. Although we looooove fully frameless, sometimes a saving is worth a save when it can add up to thousands of dollars. Saving here meant we could splurge on smaller features that all add up to create a luxury looking bathroom for less.
LAUNDRY
Spend: Gold door handles. They are what elevates this laundry and takes it from ordinary to glorious.
Save: basic laminate cabinetry paired with Laminex marble look bench top.
Spend: Beautiful or handmade tiles for your splashback. Instantly makes this laundry feel more luxurious.
Save: Basic floor tiles with 1 skirting tile to walls.
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