Accessorizing

Posted by Nate

Does your room need a "face lift? Sometimes buying just a few new accessories or re-arranging your existing accessories will completely change the entire look of your room. The following are some fun ideas which will "freshen-up" and "enliven" an existing space in your home:

1. There are so many unique decorative pillows in varying sizes, colors, and fabrics. The choices are limitless! It is amazing how much a few new throw pillows will change the entire look of your sofa, love seat, or chair. Try it! When shopping for new pillows, carry a fabric swatch or existing pillow from your sofa to the store with you. Choose pillows which really catch your eye; after all, it is important to create living spaces for ourselves which truly reflect our individual personalities and style. In today's design world, almost anything goes. Have fun with it! Choose some pillows with prints and others which are solid to mix it up. If you are working with a sofa which is a solid color such as leather, this is a time you can really create and manifest your personality into your living spaces by selecting various fabrics and colors in pillows which reflect the person you are. Generally, pillows which measure approximately 16"-18" are great sizes to use on sofas. Sometimes, a shorter, longer pillow is great to use in the middle of a sofa as well.

2. It is amazing what a new area rug can do to change the look and feel of your living space. For example, a few months ago I decided that I desperately needed a new look in my living room. As I thought about what I could do, I then decided that an area rug would be just the thing that I needed to create the change that I was looking for. Rug shopping can be very fun because there are so many differing styles, colors, and qualities available to us as well. Because of this, sometimes the "hunt" can be rather intimidating. Area rugs can be rather "forgiving" in many ways, so the search for the perfect rug may not be as intimidating as you may think. Again, it is important to bring a swatch of fabric or pillow from your sofa with you when you shop. As you begin, search for similar colors which are currently in your fabric swatch or pillow. As you are doing this, pay attention to lines or geometric patterns which may be common in both the fabric swatch and the rugs. For example, you may see small square or rectangular patterns in your pillow and find a rug which carries larger rectangular or square patterns in it's design as well. If you have a sofa which has a very busy pattern, a more simple rug with a border or interesting texture may be the way to go. The rug which you ultimately choose does not have to be limited only to the colors in your sofa. As long as some of the dominant colors are found in your rug selection, other additional colors in the rug only add interest and dimension to the overall look. Also, get the opinion of a friend or sales associate. This may help relieve the pressure of trying to find the perfect rug yourself!

Design Pointer: Animal prints are very popular in fashion as well as interior design. They are very classic and never seem to go out of style. They seem to go with various styles and colors of home furnishings, whether contemporary, traditional, or transitional. I actually purchased a an animal-print wool rug and threw it in front of my sofa. It added a sense of "high style" to my room, and I was very happy with the outcome.

3. This is a trick which will give your living space a whole new look! Gather up your existing accessories in your home, such as greenery, candle holders, statuary, picture frames, decorative boxes, etc. After making a clean sweep, begin re-placing these objects around your room again. Try clustering your accessories in groups of "three" or in odd numbers. Try placing objects with varying heights together in one grouping, which will create a sense of "oneness" or balance within the grouping. For example, begin this exercise with a set of three candle holders with the sizes of large, medium, and small in height. Creating this balance with like-objects first will assist you when pulling together groupings of accessories which are not like-objects but seem to look good together. This is where the fun begins! Experiment--there are so many possibilities!

After you have rearranged your existing accessories around your room, you may decide that you still may need a few new and exciting pieces. Again, as you shop for those special pieces, make sure that you buy those items which truly catch your eye and capture your personality.

Now, go and have some fun!

Wendy Wittwer
Decorative Accessory Buyer
Boulevard Home Furnishings