Innovations Interior Design

Everyone's home should reflect their lifestyle, their passions, and their personal taste. Adding your personality is most easily done through the placement of accessories. Accessories include artwork, mirrors, lamps, plants, and a myriad of interesting smaller pieces that give your home a warm, inviting feeling. Accessories are the key to creating a design that feels grounded and connected to the space. It is also the best way to personalize your home. Whenever possible, your accessory pieces should be ones that are meaningful to you. Perhaps a piece that you purchased on a vacation, or something that was given to you by a close friend or family member.

Artwork is one of the best ways to add your personality to your home. We already covered placement of your art pieces in the article above. Now you need to decide which of the pieces that you have should you keep. If a piece has no sentimental value to you, you should probably find it another home. It's not enough to find art pieces that you love. They also need to relate to the walls of your home. Try starting with one room. Look at the size of the walls that need art. For example, an art piece is often hung over a sofa. Measure the width of your sofa, and keep in mind that you need a piece no wider than that. It also needs to be tall enough to make a statement. If you find two or three pieces that relate to each other, they can be hung in that space as well. See the photo below. The artwork makes a striking statement in this room, and the colors in the art relate to the room, as well. The dark frames and light colored mats work well with the high contrast in this room. Experiment until you find the right combination.

Mirrors are also wonderful pieces to have in your home. Be sure that the mirror serves a purpose. They work extremely well in an entry over a console table or chest. Just be sure that it is hung at eye level.

I think of lamps as the jewelry of a room. They not only add necessary lighting for tasks and for mood, but they also add personality. There are so many styles of lamps available, you are sure to find some that reflect your taste. An average sized living room should have at least three lamps. They should be placed on end tables and sofa tables. Floor lamps are great when lighting is needed in an area where a table doesn't work.

Plants are a wonderful way to soften your home and bring the outdoors inside. Live plants also add life force. They are constantly growing and changing. However, live plants also require care and are not always feasible on a high shelf or a place that you want to make sure doesn't get wet. There are beautiful silk plants available that look extremely lifelike. Try adding a few plants to your home. Larger plants can be placed on the floor (see top photo above), and can be used to soften empty corners.

There's no limit to the types of accessory pieces that you can use in your home. They can have sentimental value or can be something that you think is beautiful and that makes you smile when you look at it. For example, I love seashells. I've collected them since I was a child and I pick them up on every beach I visit. I love their colors and the fact that they're all so unique and that they exist in nature. I use them in every room as pieces that I love to see. Accessories can also be functional, like decorative boxes that can be used to hold remote controls, small books, keys, and many other items. A beautiful decorative box can hide the clutter while making a statement on a coffee table or entry console. Pottery, vases, decorative glass, candleholders, trays, sculptures, and clocks are examples other types of accessories.

One of the reactions that I receive most from my clients is their delight when they see the accessories that we select for their homes. We always start with their own pieces that are meaningful to them and build from there. I know how hard it is to find excellent quality, unique, and beautiful accessories in retail stores. I'm very excited that very soon I will have available on my website a selection of the same types of accessories that I use with my interior design clients. Each piece will include a "Designer's Note" where I will comment on how I have used the piece or where I feel it is best used. I will let you know as soon as the shopping link is available to you.