In the the "improvement of your home game" progression, playing on a surface that isn't hard is the first step (piece of felt, HD foam, etc). Losing the SB and BB buttons is another one of the first things to consider, along with using a cut card. Then comes plastic cards and quality chips. This last improvement has a very high ceiling, so be prepared.
A lot of people are obsessed with playing surface (i.e. getting a good table), but this is an expensive and space consuming step that some may skip entirely.