Showcase Your Creative Self
With Home Decorating Accents!
Home decorating accents are what make any room special and I think the most personal part of home decorating.
Make your interiors a reflection of yourself by showing off the things that you love.
Choose decorative accents with your room's color scheme in mind, considering the size and overall effect each object will have on the room.
Accessories that are too large will dominate, and those that are too small will disappear.
But smaller decorations that are grouped together can have great impact like those of a larger scale.
If you are in a new house with high ceilings, think in terms of a large scale.
Home decorating accents that are smaller in scale in a large space can look too much like “clutter.”
When decorating with accessories, push your creative self, and find beauty in the unexpected.
Eclectic objects become a cohesive display...
and anything can be considered a collection if unified with consistence.
A collection of your favorite things, (vintage vases, boxes, rocking horses), lend everyday objects importance and prized possessions attention. You may not even realize you have been collecting stuff, but the fact that you like and have been saving things is all the more reason to display and enjoy them.
Collections benefit from being displayed together in one place, and with home decorating, a collection can be anything involving three or more of the same item or objects that are related in color, theme or mood.
Keep your collections tastefully done and well balanced to avoid a "cluttered" effect, creating an aesthetically pleasing arrangement.
Scale and Proportion
Scale, balance and proper proportion are as important when placing home decorating accents as they are when choosing the right furniture for the room.
Look for ways to organize objects by visual importance, grouping in levels of high, medium, low and off center.
Group items by theme, size, shape and color and arrange in groups of three or five. This increases the visual impact of your cherished objects.
Harmony and Contrast
Large table tops offer room to display your treasures in multitude. Displaying objects in repetition creates drama. Keep balance and harmony by grouping objects with similar or complimentary colors, materials, shape, or theme.
Rooms are more interesting when using a variety of textures with your home decorating accents.
Combine smooth finishes w/ rough, shiny with matte and hard materials against soft for a comfortable feeling in a room.
Create a sculptural effect using objects in same material but in different sizes and contrasting colors.
Or,
A unified monochromatic effect by one color rather than material. Bring together many different silhouettes and styles into one arrangement, highlighting the textures and varying the tonal range of each object.
Place larger pieces on the bottom to balance and draw the eye upward.
Empty spaces and bare surfaces are essential to appreciate your treasured objects!
Layer and Soften
One technique when displaying home decorating accents in the home is to layer pieces from front to back and from high to low.
Create dimension and depth by starting with a large or tall piece, and slightly off center. Add the middle layer slightly in front of the tall piece you started with and to the sides.
Place the tiniest layer in front of the tall and middle layers. Soften the edge with greenery, or a piece of ribbon to add color.
It's best not to combine too many elements in one display. To appear cohesive a display only needs a single common element. Edit your choices to allow a few pieces to show.
Create interesting tableaus with fewer, rather than with too many insignificant items.
Maintain focus on your collections by leaving negative space and allow the pieces to "breathe". The unpopulated areas can speak volumes, leading the eye directly to the beautiful objects.
Layer textures:
add in items that create texture and contrast
- leather bound antique books
- a mother of pearl box
- woven wicker baskets
- the soft folds of draping fabric
- candles
- and potpourri for the sensory pleasure and richness
Emphasize form with an architectural fragment, a sculptural wire topiary, or an orchid.
Best Displays are not Necessarily the Most Valuable
The most interesting home decorating accents and accessory arrangements don't need or require expensive collections or family heirlooms. There are decorating elements all around us:
- A simple potted plant in a decorative container set on a coffee table , bookshelf, or on top of an armoire adds instant life and color.
- Colorful berries and branches for a casual arrangement.
- Books are always a welcome accessory that warm a room with grace.
Try removing jackets to reveal their bindings for a more uniform look when using in a bookcase. Stack books as well as lining them upright to create interest and dimension.
Expanding on a theme can provide focus and offer ideas for adding home decorating accents to a room.
- Place three dimensional objects in the foreground of hanging artwork, echoing shapes found in the art.
- A string of pearls, or a tassel atop an open book,
- A large scarf casually tossed across a table for softness and color,
The use of tassels will add texture, on top of a coffee table among other accessories,
- at the base of a lamp or candlestick,
- a key tassel on the door to an armoire,
- to tie up towels in the powder room, or resting on the towel rack.
Stack books, small chest type boxes or even cake stands to raise a candlestick, potted plant or other objects, adding height to your arrangements.
Elements from nature, fragrant flowers, plants, branches give a connection to the outdoors and add a freshness to your interior.
Tuck flowers or a live plant into an arrangement that seems static.
Give children's artwork a proud place of honor.
Keep your eye out for trays in your travels.
Trays are meant to be displayed decoratively and when combined with other objects, the effect is beautiful.
- Place a collection of small porcelain boxes or perfume bottles on a silver tray.
- Organize your desk accessories on a wooden or woven rattan tray,
- Or use a tray for beside the bed for reading material, glasses, rings, etc.
Boxes are another easy and effective decorating tool for instant elegance.
Use several in different sizes and finishes that compliment each other.
When you see an arrangement that appeals to you, whether in a store as a display, or a tabletop tableau in a shelter magazine, take a few minutes to look closely at it. Notice the different elements that are grouped together, and take note of the various textures and materials that are juxtaposed and interwoven into the mix.
Work instinctively, but don't put too much thought into it. The results will look contrived and there is a tenancy to use things that are too small for the surroundings.
Practice and observe...
If it still looks cluttered or lost, chances are that you are trying to display too much. Experiment and improvise and you will create interesting compositions.
Be sure to move things around seasonally , to keep things looking fresh.
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