Create an Old Money Aesthetic on a Budget

When people enter my home, especially for the first time, I often get the look of awe or shock, accompanied by comments about how I must be doing really good in life. This is because my husband and I created that old money look in our home.

Our home is filled with ornate gold mirrors, oil paintings, tufted furniture, chandeliers, antiques, curated accessories, etc.

At first glance, one may believe we make bank or are trust fund babies, but surprise, we are not!

We are just average Joes with a love of sophisticated home decor. We’ve created this unique style in our home in a very affordable way. People are often surprised when we share with them what we did to achieve this aesthetic.

If you are looking to create the old money look in your home but you do not have a trust fund below are some helpful tips:

1. Shop Second-Hand: Instead of shopping for mass produced furniture at retail stores, I recommend purchasing home furnishings at estate sales, consignment shops, flea markets, garage sales, antique stores, and Facebook Marketplace.

Focus on higher income areas when you visit these places to increase the likelihood of finding high quality furniture at a bargain.

Shopping this way allows you to buy high quality items at a fraction of the cost. Avoiding the mass-produced furniture and sticking with high-end furnishings will make your home instantly look more expensive and will save you money in the long run.

Not only will buying a new sofa every couple of years be a thing of the past, but your home will look more elegant in the process.

My home is fully furnished with mostly estate sale and consignment shop finds, with a very limited number of new pieces.

All my home accents are from estate sales, flea markets, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, etc. I have some new decorative items sprinkled in here and there, but the majority is purchased second-hand.

For more tips and tricks to shopping second-hand, check out my other posts, Five Tips For Shopping a Flea Market and How to Make Your Home Look Expensive – 8 Tips to Achieve the Look for Less.

2. Mix Styles and Collect: Mixing styles will give your home a sophisticated and well-traveled look, which aids into a rich home aesthetic. The collected or gathered style really portrays an upscale ambience in your home because each piece tells a story, adds character and dimension.

You can achieve the collected or curated vibe in your home by decorating with unique finds from various sources, which include antiques, vintage items, family heirlooms, and even brand-new pieces.

Mixing old and new will also make your home decor look hand-picked and purposeful. When your home appears as if Items were selected over time versus acquired during one shopping trip, things will instantly look refined.

To ensure harmony in your home, be sure to stick with the 75% to 25% rule when it comes to mixing styles. 75% should be the main style of the home, whereas the other 25% can reflect a differing style. If you are indeed striving for the old money vibe, I recommend the 75% be traditional. The other 25% can be assortment of accent pieces from varying styles and eras.

3. Add Character: Character and customizations create a luxurious look in a home. If you do not live in a custom-built property, but rather in a cookie cutter type home, where floorplans and appearances in the neighborhood are either identical or similar, do not sweat it. Most average people do not live in a custom-built home.

The key to making your home look rich is to create character and charm. In other words, you want your home to stand out and look interesting. Adding customizations, like moldings, wallpaper, built-in cabinets, medallions, recessed lighting, etc. will transform your home from ordinary into extraordinary.

The below photograph shows a chair rail molding, which adds a decorative element and extra richness to the space. Chair molding is pretty affordable and not too difficult to install.

Ceiling medallions placed above a light fixture really provide that timeless elegance to a space and believe or not are very affordable. I’ve seen them range anywhere from $8 to $150, depending on size, material and intricacy level. Below are examples of ceiling medallions in my home to provide you with a visual.

Wallpaper will really transform an ordinary room into a room you’d see in an upscale hotel or penthouse apartment. The below photo shows my powder room all decked out with beautiful wallpaper.

My home, built in 2012, suddenly took on the old money vibe when I added wallpaper to the space. Wallpaper can add texture and interest to a room, something even a nice paint job cannot do.

4. Mix Patterns: Matchy-matchy may seem like it portrays a rich aesthetic, but it actually does the opposite. Instead, use different non-coordinating furniture, elements and patterns. Work to break up that matchy-matchy look, and you will see your space instantly look and feel more curated.

Colors should blend versus match but be sure to keep colors within the same family.

5. Display Collections: Another way to give your home a trust fund aesthetic is to display any collections you may have. Displaying items in a purposeful way will make things look more luxurious. This is because you are creating interest and uniqueness in your space. If you really like something, do not just buy one, buy many and show your collection off.

I have a large vintage silver collection, and I display it in various areas of my home to make things look interesting.

I also have a love for oil paintings and mirrors, so with that I have my collection displayed throughout my home. In various spaces I created gallery walls to show off these beautiful works of art.

The sky is the limit here. Think about the items you collect and how you can incorporate them into your home decor. This could be pottery, books, dishes, trophies, figurines, paintings, clocks, etc. You can showcase your collections by grouping items together on dedicated shelves, tables, or creating gallery walls.