Home / Vol. II Best Of 3 products · Updated September 18, 2026

CHEAPTHINGSTHAT LOOKEXPENSIVE

9 things under $70 that have been mistaken for something else.

Candlelight on the dining table at night
The $40 detail
Organised fridge, glass containers of prepped food
Bouclé counter stools at the kitchen island
all of it under $70 →
Lauren tested
Words & testing · Lauren Fowler Open story ↓ Photograph · Lauren
Filed under
Home / Under $70 / Best Of

Prices checked
09.18.2026

Published
May 27, 2026

Best by Lauren may earn a commission when you shop through certain links. Every product here was bought with my own money or tested for at least six weeks. No brand has paid to be included, and nothing is ranked higher because it pays more.

Everything here is under seventy dollars and every one of them has been asked about by someone who assumed it cost more.

Most of it is a material trick: real glass instead of plastic, stone instead of resin, linen instead of cotton blend. The material is what reads, not the price.

The ShortlistJump to a product
01
Candlelight on the dining table at night
Cheap thing
the one →
The $40 detail
Cheap thing

Tall Black Taper Candlesticks

Forty dollars. Photographs like four hundred. I have bought them for six people.

Why I love it
The single cheapest thing in the apartment and the one that changes a room.
Good for
Dinner · Every table · Gifts
The verdict
reads $400
Shop — $40CB2
02
Cheap thing

Glass Fridge Containers, set

The entire reason my fridge looks like that. You see what you have, so you use it.

Why I love it
You can see the food, so you eat the food.
Good for
Meal prep · Small fridges
The verdict
the reason it stays tidy
Shop — $52
Organised fridge, glass containers of prepped food
Cheap thing
03
Coffee on a balcony over the rice fields
Bialetti
Bialetti

Moka Express

It has come to a rice-field guesthouse and a Bangkok apartment. Twelve dollars of ground coffee and I never drink hotel coffee again.

Why I love it
No electricity, no filters, no bad hotel coffee.
Good for
Travel · Small kitchens · Rentals
The verdict
the only coffee thing worth packing
Shop — $35
The rest of the listAll under $70
04 Ribbed glass tumblers, set of sixthe hotel-bar ones $48
05 Linen napkins, stonewashed, never ironed $36
06 Marble soap dishone offcut, one room $22
07 Rattan pendant shadeswapped in ten minutes $64
08 Brass picture rail hooksno holes, no landlord $28
09 Olive tree in a terracotta potsurvives being forgotten $70
All under $708 frames · The material trick
Candlelight on the dining table at night
$40
Organised fridge, glass containers of prepped food
$52
Bouclé counter stools at the kitchen island
Black bouclé dining chairs around a round table
The bookcase, books and objects arranged
A vase of pink roses on a table looking over the hills
Flowers, constantly
Coffee on a balcony over the rice fields
Small plates and a cocktail on a table, heart-shaped dish
Questions
What cheap things make a home look expensive?

Tall black taper candlesticks, real glass tumblers, linen napkins and warm lamps. Material reads more than price — glass instead of plastic, stone instead of resin.

How do you decorate a rental without drilling?

Brass picture-rail hooks, a swapped pendant shade, and floor lamps instead of anything fixed. All three are reversible in ten minutes.

Best by Lauren Awards 2027
xo Lauren
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