Remodelista editors know the secret to chic on the cheap: basics. Here are five budget classics.
1. Mixing High and Low
Above: Gabi Hutchison’s cozy home shows the magic that happens when you expertly combine high and low elements. Here, Ikea chairs surround an antique dining table. Photograph by Gabi Hutchison, from Artist in Residence: A Collage Artist’s Soulful Bungalow in Augusta, Georgia.
2. All-White Bathrooms
Above: When in doubt, paint it white—all white. Case in point: Artist and curator Donna McNeil’s white powder room is both basic and dramatic. Photograph by Greta Rybus for Remodelista, from The New Sanctuary: Inside a Curator’s Haven on the Coast of Maine, Ikea Kitchen Included.
3. Basic Diner Dinnerware
Above: You can’t go wrong with white dinnerware, especially if they’re of the hard-wearing diner variety. Nick Poe stocks his kitchen with plates and bowls sourced from a restaurant supply store. Photograph courtesy of Lee’s, from Kitchen of the Week: A Clandestine Private Dining Loft in NYC’s Chinatown.
4. Stainless Steel Kitchen Table
Above: Another restaurant supply store classic: the stainless steel kitchen table. This one, in a cottage in Provincetown, is the “heart of household operations,” say the owners. Photograph by Justine Hand, from ‘The Simple Truth’: An Architect’s Historically Respectful Retreat in Provincetown.
5. Flea Market Art
Above: Cheap flea-market paintings can add instant character. See Dark Horse: 7 Design Ideas from the Brentwood Hotel in Saratoga Springs.