Designer secrets

Get your home looking stylish on a small budget. Canadian designers reveal how to find stellar style at sale prices.

Get a designer look by framing luxury wallpaper – hand-painted chinoiserie from Thibaut, for example – in inexpensive frames (fake brass looks great). Place three huge frames side by side, all featuring the same pattern but in different colours. — Jackie Campbell, designer, Jackie Campbell Interiors, Montreal, 514-355-4340

Add luxury by accentuating walls with tall baseboards and crown moulding made of MDF, which looks similar to wood but costs less. • If the cost of refinishing existing flooring is not an option, think area rugs. • For a budget-friendly kitchen facelift, update the cabinetry with a fresh coat of highgloss paint. If it's in your budget, replace the cabinetry knobs and pulls with new ones as well. — Dean Debienne, designer, Douglas Cridland Interior Design, Calgary, 403-228-0636

Create luxe-looking faux wall panels with inexpensive moulding. Apply narrow moulding to the wall, creating a traditional pattern, and paint it the same colour as the wall for understated elegance. • Get a custom-sewn look for an off-the-rack price by adding fabric borders to the bottom of drapery panels.— Jay Hodgins, designer, Gluckstein Design Planning, Toronto, 416-928-2067

Save on pricey upholstery materials by using men's suit fabric instead. Many textile wholesalers are open to the public and it's quite possible to find some real gems – perfect for upholstery, drapery and wall coverings – for as little as $15 per yard. — Mitchell Davey, designer, Mitchell Davey Design, Montreal, 514-933-9039

Go for the glow with rope lighting. It's cheap, available at most hardware stores, and when installed behind a window valance or focal point in a room, creates a soft glow that flatters practically any space. — Stephen Lunney, designer, Rock Paper Scissors Creative Group, Vancouver, 604-734-0370; rockpaperscissors.com

Recreate expensive baseboard moulding very inexpensively by adding one-inch-diameter half-round trim above your existing baseboards, eight inches from the floor. Paint the new “baseboard” the same colour. — Jerilyn Wright, designer, Jerilyn Wright & Associates, Calgary, 403-229-3300; jwadesign.com

Can't afford fine art? Show off your kids' artwork – it can look like a Picasso when framed! - Paint an accent wall a great colour. An inexpensive can of paint can give you the biggest bang for your decor buck. — Timothy Mather, designer, TM Design, Toronto, 416-963-9720

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