This luxury interior designer can help you turn your house from drab to fab.
Bilal Rehman, owner of Bilal Rehman Studio, has taken to social media to share his tips to ensure that your home doesn’t look “tacky” or “cheap.”
In his videos, which have garnered millions of views, he claims that many of the decor mistakes people make are easily fixable.
“The amount of time I see these common mistakes in my client’s home is insane,” Rehman says in one video, which he titled “3 things making your home look cheap as f – – k.”
Here are some of his tips on what to avoid:
1. No furniture sets
Rehman advises staying away from any matching furniture sets, as it doesn’t make the space feel “collected” or “high end.” Warning that you should avoid these items at all costs, he recommends instead picking out just one piece from any given furniture collection.
“There is no reason in 2023 why your nightstands, dresser, bed, every single piece in your room matches,” he explains in a video. “It makes the room feel like you went to one store and bought everything.”
2. No mass-produced art work or ‘Live Laugh Love’ signs
No more going to HomeGoods for artwork and wall décor, says Rehman. The interior designer said that it’s better to get pieces from a local artist or on Etsy, as those look more unique. He even suggests making something yourself.
“In the long run, you get a lot more for your money when you have a cool, original piece that nobody else has in their house,” he says on TikTok.
Don’t bother with those “Live, Laugh, Love” signs, either, he explained, or the ones that say things like, “Laundry,” or “Meals and memories are made here.”
3. Say goodbye to contact paper as a decoration
If you have used contact paper to transform the look of a table or your countertops, it’s time to peel it away and stick it in the trash. And if the paper is a marble pattern? Forget about it.
“That marble contact paper that you think is giving you that real stone look? It’s not,” Rehman says. “That cabinet, with that wooden top that’s being covered in a giant sticker, it looks horrendous.”
The designer recommended going to a slab yard or a home salvage shop instead to pick up some scraps that will give you the look for less.
4. Overhead lighting is a major no-no
“My number one rule when it comes to lighting is no overhead lighting,” he shared in a video directed at people who rent their homes. “I always tell my clients that if you use overhead lighting, everybody in your space is going to look like a zombie.”
He adds that by having overhead lighting, no one who enters your house will feel “attractive” or “sexy” — they’ll just looking “exhausted.”
So, to switch it up, he suggests going with different types of lighting, like a floor lamp or a table lamp, or even wall sconces. Rehman calls this “layers of lighting.”
5. Paint is your friend
Don’t be afraid of a little paint! Even when renting, you can use paint to your advantage to spruce up the space.
“The reality of it is these greedy ass apartment complexes are always going to end up keeping some [of your] security deposit, if not all, so you might as well take the leap and spend the $30, $40, $50 to get some paint and make your space your own for the duration of your rental,” he said in the clip.
In the video, Rehman also showed off how he styled his entryway — using black paint to cover a few of the walls, and then having a local artist friend paint a mural on top of it with a white color.
“It’s an instant statement, and sets the tone for the rest of my space,” he said.
The Post reached out to Rehman for comment.