10 Clever Hacks From Michel Smith Boyd to Design a Luxe Space for Less

“What is your luxury?” This simple question gets to the heart of the design blueprint for each of Michel Smith Boyd’s clients. Whether their answer is stunning surfaces, smart home technology or organization with a place for everything, Luxe for Less is all about defining luxury for the homeowner to create the abode of their dreams. His talent is doing just that with impressive, cost-saving hacks that anyone can implement at home. Here are 10 of Michel and his talented design team’s best tricks for going luxe for less. Because as Michel says, “Everyone deserves luxury.”

In their Rock the Block Season 4 Colorado kitchen, Michel and design partner and couturier Anthony Elle make a splash with a bilevel island, which sports a counter-height prep zone and table-height entertaining area, plus a luxurious waterfall edge. The result is a stunning statement piece that looks much more expensive than the price tag. Michel’s secret? Opting for porcelain, a durable, marble-esque countertop surface that saved them $4,500 compared to what they would have spent on real marble. The savings allowed them to splurge on a 60-inch range and rich herringbone hardwoods. “It’s just a beautiful blend between the wood finish as well as the porcelain,” Anthony says.

The vision for their Rock the Block Season 4 primary bath was a chic and spacious wet room with floor-to-ceiling porcelain, another cost-saving hack that helped them double down on tile without breaking the bank. “Using porcelain like we did in the kitchen gets a gorgeous, marble-like look at almost half the price,” says Michel.

Michel and Anthony used another cost-effective material hack during Rock the Block. Embellishing this living room’s cathedral ceiling in dark-stained wood draws the eye up, making the space appear larger and calling attention to the picturesque mountain views beyond. Michel and Anthony’s trick to adding this drama, depth and texture at a steal is using beetle kill wood: timber from trees damaged by bark beetles, which they were able to secure for less than the cost of typical lumber. “We love dark colors. They’re masculine and modern. It’s a real look-for-less moment,” Michel says. Another showstopping focal point Michel achieved was wrapping the striking, linear fireplace in sleek porcelain, a cost saving when compared to a similar look in marble.

“I want a yacht life on a pontoon budget,” joked the homeowner of this Atlanta abode. Like the rest of the home, the husband’s office was overdue for a refresh that modernized the space and spoke to his love of rugged places. Michel brought in the warmth of a mountain lodge with wallpaper that’s made of wood, but saves thousands — $8,000 to be exact — compared to the cost of constructing a true wood accent wall. The team echoed the wallpaper on the backsplash of the new wet bar just outside the office for a true get-away-from-it-all feeling in the heart of Atlanta.

With twin toddler girls, this young family wanted a special space for playtime on the first floor. Anthony put his talents to work, painting a whimsical mural using a cost-saving hack dreamed up by contractor Laura Green: mistinted paint — paints returned by customers because they're not the right shade — which can be as cheap as 25 cents a gallon. This cool trick saved the team $500. The result is a sweet playroom that will grow with the girls and bring life and energy to the home’s main level.

That pristine pair of mustard-colored swivel chairs was passed down from this homeowner's grandmother. They’re a perfect way to inject a little generational history into a young family’s home — and add some priceless, vintage luxury in the process.

Another Rock the Block trick: The big spend on the primary bedroom in Michel and Anthony’s house was adding a sweeping deck extension via breezy French doors. The duo saved on decor by hand-painting the interior themselves for a dreamy ombre look that echoes the tones of the mountains and sky outside. Michel extended the deep hue to the ceiling for a cozy, jewel-box effect.

In this Atlanta kitchen from Luxe for Less Season 1, double islands — one for work (meal prep), one for play (with a built-in banquet on one side and a wine and coffee station on the other) — mean double the luxury. While Michel and his team splurged on the beautiful duo of built-ins, they saved in smart ways. Contractor Laura Green kept an eye out for end-of-run flooring, which hardwoods companies discontinue and sell at reduced prices, to grab quality floors at a fraction of the price, saving nearly $2,000. With Michel’s vision, she also crafted a genius pop-up coffee bar in the second island for $750 (for a savings of $2,500), which literally pops up out of the cabinetry and retracts when not in use. The team also saved $300 on cabinet hardware, which they snagged at $7.95 a piece.

“Modern farmhouse” was the design direction for this family of five’s Atlanta home update. A fresh fireplace surround features a rustic-meets-industrial effect thanks to inspiration Michel, Anthony and the homeowners encountered on a visit to an ultra-modern and ultra-luxe farmhouse that was listed for sale. For this luxe-for-less endeavor, the team painted the fireplace’s formerly whitewashed red brick a striking black and enveloped it in a sleek-but-rustic wood surround. Above it, they replicated the concrete shiplap they saw at the million-dollar listing by applying a concrete finish to exterior siding for a grand total of $200. Combined with furnishings in soft hues and rugged textures, and the project’s signature hue — a pop of soft, forest green — the room is stylish and inviting.