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For Luxury, Look to the Details

You don't need to live in a mansion to live in luxury. It's the small touches throughout a home that supply a sense of comfort and satisfaction: heavy doors, hardwood floors, a brass doorknocker. Relatively simple upgrades to the items you see, touch, and use in day-to-day life can change the feel of a home, often dramatically.

According to Maria Nanamaker, interior designer of One Room at a Time in Guilford, putting on a new coat of paint—even just white or cream—is a good way to start.

"Changing the room color can give you a whole new feel for a room," she says. "It just makes your furniture pop."

Another easy upgrade is swapping out regular bulbs for energy-efficient LED bulbs.

"That just gives it a totally different feel than the old light bulbs," Nanamaker says.

Margaret Muir, a realtor with William Pitt Sotheby's in Madison, suggests installing recessed lighting that swivels to highlight your art.

"That gives it a very upscale look," she says.

Lighting can also be used to dramatic effect in an open floor plan with living and dining areas.

"If you're trying to suggest a separation between the spaces, you can do that with nice sconce lighting," Muir says.

In the kitchen, consider upgrading to stainless steel appliances or cabinetry with glass doors.

"You can see your glassware and see your plates," says Maddy Mattson, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker in Old Lyme. "Families love that because children don't have to open up every door to find something."

Countertops made of granite or other high-end stone have become synonymous with luxury.

"Granite is ideal because it doesn't stain, and you can put very hot pans on it and it won't burn," says Mattson.

Another popular option is marble, such as Carrara marble. Marble stains and you cannot cut on it, but it's ideal in certain circumstances.

"Marble is very popular for cooks that are bakers primarily," Mattson says. "There's different colors of Carrara marble—some have kind of a gold stain to it and it's beautiful, that's really popular in bathrooms."

Want a bathroom that feels like a spa? Options abound: a freestanding soaking tub, touchless faucets, a curbless walk-in shower, multiple shower heads, a steam unit in the shower, or frameless glass shower doors. Heated floors add another note of luxury to a bathroom. It's basically a heated mat that sits underneath the flooring; the owner can program the thermostat for when they'd like to find warm floors underfoot.

"Heated floors under tile or wood is amazing," says Nanamaker. "It's really not that expensive, and it's pretty simple to do."

Overall, remember that first impressions matter. Take time to improve the elements of your home that both you and your guests see first, such as your front door.

"A nice brass door knocker gives a feeling of quality and solidness," says Muir. "If you've got inexpensive exterior light fixtures that are weathered or pitted or have seen a better day, take them down, spray paint them black, and put them back or upgrade.

"If you have hollow core or composite doors that are not real wood, when you change them out to real wood with a heavy feel and good hardware it transforms the feel of a place," Muir adds. "It's a really wonderful way to give a much higher quality feel to a space."

In general, installing high-end fittings, fixtures, and other components changes the atmosphere of a home without too much effort.

"When someone walks into a space they will notice doorknobs, hardware on cabinets, they'll notice sinks and countertop materials," Muir says. "Those are the things that say somebody spent money or they didn't."

Finally, get techy. Nothing says luxury like using your smart phone or iPad to control your lighting, TV, or security system.

"Folks who have a NEST system swear by them," says Rose Ciardiello, a realtor with William Raveis Real Estate in Guilford. "It adjusts the temperature based on your activity, whether you're home or away. [The] system actually 'learns' the owner's routine and adjusts the temperature according to time of day."

Take a stroll through your home and note what catches your eye. Simple upgrades to the objects that you engage with on a daily basis, from door knockers to thermostats, can turn any home into your own personal mansion.