How to Get the Look of a Celebrity Home
Interior Designer and CEO Leura Fine has made her living creating beautiful homes for those who deserve it—AKA everyone. Founding the online interior design service Laurel & Wolf in 2014 to help bring a client’s design dreams to life, Fine has redefined who interior designer services are for. But while Fine is bringing design to the masses, she’s no stranger to designing celebrity homes either. Her clients include everyone from Christina Applegate to Rebecca Minkoff to Kelsea Ballerini.
Armed with her years of knowledge, she brings the same passion and know-how to all her projects, big and small. Here, she shares her best tips for bringing that celebrity home appeal to your home—for a lot, lot less.
1. Stay Flexible
“Sometimes your original vision for a space might have lots of “high impact” moments and then to stay on budget you need to trim down to a few. However, that doesn’t mean that your space can’t still be just as spectacular. In fact, sometimes, trimming down your original vision can actually lead to a stronger design. It just requires more creativity!”
2. Explore New Materials
“These days I’m all about self-adhesive wallpaper. I think wallpaper can really bring a “wow” factor into space, but people often don’t choose it because it has historically been an expensive material and even pricier to have professionally installed. But today there are so many incredibly luxe-looking options that you can viably install yourself. Also, there are a plethora of new vendors out there that have gotten really good at mimicking higher end options when it comes to wood, stone, and metal finishes. A good designer will know what the expensive version will look like and figure out how to select something that has a comparable look.”
3. Don’t Neglect the Small Stuff
“Decorative objects, art, and books really make a room feel “done.” So many times people forget that great design is all in the details. Furniture and finishes alone don’t make a great space, it’s all the small finishing touches that really pulls it all together.”
4. Know When to Splurge and When to Save
“Window treatments and rugs are always a good place to splurge. They can add dimension, color, texture, and help to establish the room’s overall tone. I don’t think you need to spend lots of money on accent furniture or decorative objects to make a space special. If it were fashion, think of the drapes and rug as your expensive handbag you’ll have forever and your accents as the trendy t-shirt you buy from Target.”
5. Shop at the Right Stores
“Laurel & Wolf works with hundreds of vendors that all offer stylish and affordable items. Some of my favorites are Loloi, Skyline, and Surya. Also, Home Depot is one of our favorite vendors! They carry an incredible selection of all types of beautiful and budget-friendly items.”
6. Stay True to Your Own Design Sensibility
“Always start with inspiration. Pinterest is my go-to when I’m looking for imagery and new ideas. What is important though is to really analyze the image that you’ve selected and try to pinpoint why you love it. Is it the flooring? The great piece of art? The overall mood? Sometimes collecting inspiration images can be more confusing to people if they aren’t taking a step back to figure out why they like it.”
