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

The Atlanta-based designer knows how to make a space shine on a dime. Discover his top tips for a home glow-up that doesn’t break the bank.

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April 20, 2023

By: Susan Hall

Show: Luxe For Less

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Photo By: Emilee Ramsier

Photo By: Gilles Mingasson

Photo By: Emilee Ramsier

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Photo By: Gilles Mingasson

Go Luxe for Less With Michel

“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.”

1) Pick Porcelain Like a Pro

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.

see more: The Winning Design: Tour Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle’s ‘Rock the Block’ Season 4 House

From: Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle

2) Try It in the Bathroom, Too

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.

see more: 50 Black and White Bathrooms We Love

From: Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle

3) Work With Alternative Woods

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.

see more: 7 Facts to Know About Michel Smith Boyd, Host of 'Luxe For Less'

From: Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle

4) Win Back Thousands With Wallpaper

“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.

see more: 30 Timeless Wallpapers You Won't Regret in 30 Years

From: Michel Smith Boyd

5) Make Do With Mistinted Paint

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.

see more: Cool Paint Shade Ideas We Love: Blue, Green, Purple and More

From: Michel Smith Boyd

6) Fix Up Your Family Heirlooms

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.

see more: Tour a Style-Savvy Artist's Color-Packed Family Home

From: Michel Smith Boyd

7) Break Out Your Brushes

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.

see more: 25 Stylish Bedroom Accent Wall Ideas

From: Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle

8) Find End-of-Run Flooring

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.

see more: Our 25 Favorite Kitchen Makeovers From HGTV Pros

From: Michel Smith Boyd

9) Replicate for Less

“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.

see more: 10 Design Tricks to Re-Create Jonathan Knight's 'Farmhouse Fixer' Style at Home

From: Michel Smith Boyd

10) Search for Scratch-and-Dent Appliances

They're fresh from the manufacturer, slightly dented or damaged, but work perfectly fine. Case in point: This dreamy Atlanta kitchen from Season 1. Before Michel and his team made their mark, the space screamed 1980s with Formica countertops and dated cabinets. After a full gut, the crew brought in brand-new touches with lots of thoughtful, cost-saving tricks. They used stock Shaker cabinets with budget-friendly hardware on the lowers and higher-end pulls on the uppers, since they’re more visible; found a scratch-and-dent 36-inch gas range that only required the change of one panel to look brand new, for a savings of $2,200; and struck gold with gleaming quartz countertops secured from remnants — aka other construction jobs that didn’t use the full slab — for a savings of nearly $5,000. The team chose economical red oak flooring stained dark to match existing hardwoods to save 25%. The homeowners, a family of five with a matriarch who loves to cook and entertain, can configure the two-piece island to make it extra long (shown here), L-shaped, or separated into two distinct seating or prep areas to maximize seating and workspace depending on the occasion.

see more: Luxe For Less

From: Michel Smith Boyd

Luxe For Less

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

Related To:

Shop This Look

Go Luxe for Less With Michel

1) Pick Porcelain Like a Pro

2) Try It in the Bathroom, Too

3) Work With Alternative Woods

4) Win Back Thousands With Wallpaper

5) Make Do With Mistinted Paint

6) Fix Up Your Family Heirlooms

7) Break Out Your Brushes

8) Find End-of-Run Flooring

9) Replicate for Less

10) Search for Scratch-and-Dent Appliances

7 Facts to Know About Michel Smith Boyd, Host of 'Luxe For Less'

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