The Art of Accessorizing: Home Decor Tips and Ideas

Getting Started

Home decor is more than just arranging furniture and picking out paint colors – it’s about creating an atmosphere that reflects your personality and style. One of the best ways to bring your personal flair to your home’s aesthetic is through accessorizing. Accessories apply the finishing touch to the masterpiece that is your home and can elevate a simple space into an exquisite experience.

Start with a Neutral Palette

Like most endeavors, you need a solid starting point before adding accessories. A neutral palette as your color scheme will give more opportunities for a diverse range of accessories. Whites, grays, beiges, and cream colors create an agreeable canvas on which to layer your accessories.

Mix Textures

Texture is a powerful, yet understated tool in home decor. Mixing a variety of textures together adds depth and intrigue to a room. Combining rough and smooth elements is a great springboard for texture contrast. Silk curtains with a rustic wooden table or a plush rug on a hardwood floor are just a couple of ideas to get your creative wheels turning.

Create a Focal Point

Every well-designed room needs a focal point. This could be a piece of artwork, a unique piece of furniture, or an architectural feature like a fireplace. Once you’ve identified the focal point of your room, accessorize around it in such a way that draws the eye to that central element.

Make it Personal

Accessories don’t imply clutter – but rather carefully curated elements that are meaningful or pleasing to the eye. Keeping in line with your personal taste, choose accessories like vintage books, artwork, personal photos, or antiques. Elements that tell a story never go out of style.

Let Lighting Inspire

Work with the natural lighting of the room to create the perfect balance between colors, textures, and placement of accessories. You can also introduce elements for artificial lighting to rooms with less natural light. Chandeliers, floor and table lamps, wall sconces, or pendant lights are excellent for shedding artful light in a space. Choose the lighting that best suits the room, or invest in dimming bulbs to change the ambiance as desired.

Layering Accessories

Layering is an essential technique in the art of accessorizing. This method of decorating involves thoughtful arrangement of accessories at varying heights and sizes to create visual interest, like placing a stack of books on a coffee table along with a decorative bowl and a tall vase with flowers or greenery.

Be mindful of scale when layering. An oversized accessory can easily overpower smaller elements – or even an entire room – if they aren’t placed carefully. Similarly, small accessories may get lost in a large room or in the company of multiple similarly-sized companions.

Balance is Key

When you bring everything together, there should be a comfortable balance within the space. Whether you find balance in symmetry – where both sides of a room are mirror images of each other, or in an asymmetrical space that finds balance in contrasting elements, the overall feel should be peaceful and welcoming. A well-balanced room is both visually appealing and welcoming to all who enter.

Experiment and Evolve

The art of accessorizing with home decor is an ongoing endeavor that may evolve over time. Experiment with different accessories and arrangements, and rethink areas that may no longer hold the same fascination for you that they once did. Above all, decorating should be an expression of your creativity and personal taste.

Visit us at Furniture Source International to find inspiration for accessorizing and talk with our talented team members for more decorating tips and tricks.