It looks like a £7,000 designer piece but it’s actually a £2.99 find from B&M

The quest: make your home look like a Mayfair penthouse without taking out a second mortgage. Enter the little £2.99 thing from B&M that, at first glance, could pass for a £7,000 gallery piece. The trick isn’t magic. It’s eye-training.

I saw it on a drizzly Tuesday, the kind of day that makes fluorescent aisles feel like a warm pub. A small crowd had formed around a shelf of neutral-toned ornaments—stone-look knots, pebble vases, a sculptural tealight holder with a weighty base. A woman in a navy trench held one up to the light and mouthed “wow”, then checked the price sticker and laughed. A man on FaceTime whispered to his partner, “It’s a dupe. Properly good.” The piece felt cool, heavy, surprisingly matte. The lines were clean, the silhouette confident. Then the till flashed: £2.99.

From bargain bin to gallery vibe

Here’s the thing about “expensive-looking”: it’s rarely about the price. It’s about shape, finish, and how it sits in a room. This B&M find plays the same visual game as high-end sculpture—quiet form, generous negative space, a matte texture that eats light instead of screaming for it. You clock it across the room, then look twice. That second look creates the luxury.

There’s a mini-story playing out in living rooms everywhere. One reader sent a photo of her coffee table: a stack of travel books, a linen coaster, and the £2.99 sculptural knot perched like a little thought bubble. She said her sister asked if she’d “finally caved on a designer piece.” She didn’t correct her. And why should she? If it reads as art at three metres, the price tag becomes a private punchline.

Design logic supports the illusion. Our eyes infer value from weight, tactility, and restraint. A matte surface hides small imperfections, so a budget cast can mimic carved stone. Neutral tones—bone, sand, soot—feel timeless because they don’t date with seasonal colours. Scale matters too: a slightly oversized shape feels bespoke. When discount brands nail those signals, the brain files it with “gallery, not garden centre.” That’s how £2.99 starts to look like **£7,000**.

How to spot the £2.99 that reads like £7,000

Start with your hands. Pick the object up—does it feel weighty, even if it’s resin? That heft sells the fiction. Look for a soft, chalky-matte finish and clean geometry: knots, rounded cubes, vessels with thick lips. Avoid shiny, brittle gloss that reflects like plastic. Step back three metres and squint. If the silhouette is strong and the seams vanish, you’ve found it.

Then style it with breathing room. One sculptural piece on a plain tray can do more than six trinkets fighting for attention. Pair the object with texture—linen, rough wood, maybe a ribbed glass tumbler—to create contrast. Keep colours low-key so your £2.99 find reads as part of a story, not an outlier. Let’s be honest: nobody styles a coffee table every day. So choose one arrangement that survives school bags, remote controls, and Tuesday curry night.

Final polish matters. If a piece is a touch too shiny, a light mist of clear matte spray can tone it down. Felt pads underneath give a soft, expensive landing on your table. One reader dabbed a whisper of antique gold wax into the creases of a knot to fake hand-finished depth—she swears it “added two zeros to the look.”

“Luxury is ninety percent curation and ten percent price,” says an interior stylist I trust. “You’re buying the silhouette. The rest is styling.”

• Feel for weight and matte texture.
• Choose calm, sculptural shapes.
• Give it space—one hero per surface.
• Tweak shine with a matte spray if needed.
• Use neutral books or trays as a stage.

Why the dupe works—psychology, not trickery

We’ve all had that moment when a stranger’s living room looks expensive and you can’t work out why. It’s because the human eye reads balance faster than it reads labels. Good proportions, negative space, and tactile finishes soothe the brain. That calm feels like money. *The price tag doesn’t enter the room until someone asks.*

There’s also a cultural plot twist. After years of maximalism, many of us are craving quieter rooms. The market responded with “quiet luxury,” then social feeds did the rest. When a £2.99 object nails the cues—stone-look, weight, understatement—it slots directly into that mood. You start to judge by atmosphere, not pedigree. And that’s oddly liberating.

One more layer: ritual. The small act of placing an object with intention—next to a candle you actually light, on a book you actually read—signals care. Care reads as luxury. You don’t need a design degree or a trust fund to pull that off. You just need to look slowly, touch the thing, and ask, does this shape make the room breathe? That’s **quiet luxury on a shoestring**.

Small moves that make your £2.99 sing

Give your bargain a “stage.” A pale tray or a stack of two hardbacks lifts it from tabletop level and stops it feeling lost. Add one companion—maybe a low bowl or a single-stem vase—to create a pair, not a crowd. Swap in a warm bulb nearby so that matte surfaces glow softly at dusk. Ten seconds in the evening, job done.

Common pitfalls are easy to dodge. Don’t buy multiple dupes of the exact same shape; it reads like inventory, not design. Don’t mix five different faux stones either; pick one tone and repeat it once. And steer clear of tiny, fussy pieces that look like party favours. This is about sculptural calm, not clutter. If that means one hero and a clear surface, that’s still a win.

If you’re on the fence, try the three-metre test. Place the item, walk to the doorway, and look back. If your eyes rest instead of dart, you’ve nailed it.

“I tell clients to decorate for the walk-in moment,” says a North London home stager. “What calms you at the threshold is what sells the room.”

• Stage it: tray, books, or a low plinth.
• Limit companions to one or two.
• Repeat a material once for intention.
• Use warm light to flatter matte finishes.
• Edit weekly. Five minutes, tea in hand.

What this little B&M find says about taste now

There’s a generosity in the shift we’re seeing. People want rooms that feel held together by care, not invoices. A £2.99 object that reads like **looks like £7,000** doesn’t cheat the system; it opens the door. It says, come in, sit, there’s beauty here that didn’t break the bank. It asks us to notice shape and quiet, to measure value by how a space makes us breathe out.

Share a photo with your mate, swap tips in the group chat, let your aunt roll her eyes and then ask where you got it. These small finds are communal fun. They’re also democratic design lessons—tools you can carry forever. Once you see how material, scale, and space conspire, you start spotting “expensive” everywhere. The world becomes a catalogue of textures and shadows. And the best part? You spend less and enjoy more.

FAQ :

• What exactly is the £2.99 B&M piece?It’s a small sculptural ornament—think stone-look knot or rounded vessel—with a matte finish and a weighty feel.
• How do I style it so it looks expensive?Give it space, lift it on a tray or books, pair with one simple item, and use warm light nearby.
• Will it chip or look cheap over time?Treat it gently, add felt pads, dust with a soft cloth, and it should keep its calm, stone-like presence.
• Can I tweak the finish?Yes. A light coat of clear matte spray can tone down shine; a tiny touch of antique wax in creases adds depth.
• Is buying dupes bad etiquette?You’re not copying logos here—you’re borrowing a mood. It’s about proportion and texture, not counterfeiting.