The Home Decor Genie!

Home Decor Genie Decorating Tip: Accessories Give Your Rooms Polish! And class! And variety!  When decorating your rooms, accessories are your chance to show your personality and make your rooms unique!

Last time we talked about rugs, plants and lighting.  This time, let’s look at the impact some other accessories have on your room.  We’ll concentrate on wall art this time, because there’s so much we can say about it!  Let your style and interests determine what to put on the walls.

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  Large, framed picture as focal point in this living room

  Wall art! There’s so much we could say about this, but here’s a tip to keep in mind: fit your art to the wall you are putting it on.  It doesn’t work to put a small picture on a large wall.  Or to put a very large one on a wall where it takes up too much space.  Think about scale and balance when putting it up.

• Family photos!  This is your space, so make it personal.  If you love collecting photos of the kids, or pets or whatever, make a place to display them.  The key here is to give it unity in one way or another.  You can do this by choosing matching frames.  For instance, use all black, or silver or the same wood.  My dad used to make frames for our family gallery out of scrapwood from pallets.  Sounds weird, but they looked great!
• You can also give it unity by making them all the same size and lining them up in interesting patterns.
• If family photos aren’t your thing, find interesting art that speaks to you!  Do you like abstract colors and patterns?  Or are you more the realist art fan?  Maybe you gravitate towards nature art or scenery or you like animals.  Whatever your passion is, you can display it on your walls.
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  Casual living room in rich browns and cream

  Another way to display things on your walls is to use shelves.  Match them to the decor in the room and be selective about what you display on them.  One or two well-choosen items look better than a lot of clutter.

• You can find those cute little boxes to put on your wall and then put a special item in each one.
• One other display that you might not have thought about: wall sconces.  These can be lighting, or candle holders or just interesting art that you hang on the wall. 
• Mix and match some of these elements on large walls to make it interesting and to create a focal point wall.

Go ahead and have fun!  Get a friend to give you some feedback on the art you want to put up.  Or if you’d like a  professional perspective, take advantage of my newest service: “Designer’s Eye Guided Home Decorating.”  I’ll take a look at your room and give you my suggestions.  You take it from there and decide if you can do it yourself or if you’d like continuing help!  Set up a Virtual Consultation or if you’re in the Denver/Front Range area, contact me for an in-home consultation!  Maybe all you need is a little guidance!

Home Decor Genie Decorating Tip: Accessories Are Key In Designing Your Rooms. Want your rooms to have that polished, well-decorated look?  Then pay attention to the accessories that you choose for that room.

Once you have the furniture in place; you’ve decided on hard flooring or carpet; and you have the perfect wall color; it’s time to accessorize your room!  Just like you add jewelry, belts, scarves and more to your perfectly choosen outfit, room accessories add the finishing touch to your home decorating!

What accessories should you consider adding?  Of course it depends on what room you are decorating, but some things work in most rooms.  (Maybe not in the laundry room or store room…but other rooms)

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  A more exotic or global decorating style

  Rugs!  With the vast array of rugs, you can change the look of your room by changing this one piece.  Go from contempory and bold to traditional, Victorian, or any style that suits you!  They should be large enough to place the furniture on and not look like they are “floating” in the room.

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  Dining area with plants

  Plants!  You can add life and zest to a room if you decorate with plants.  Be careful not to overdo it with large, sprawling, scraggly plants.  You want well-maintained, healthy plants that fill a space and draw the eye to it.  Consider large tree-like plants for empty corners and entryways.  Feature a plant on a lovely stand between pieces of furniture.  And use smaller plants to add life and interest to shelves, tables and obscure corners. 

  • What about faux plants? If you just don’t have a green thumb, or you travel and are busy, or you just don’t want to mess with them, I recommend decorating your rooms with silk and high-quality plants that look real and full.  Buy the best you can afford.  Keep them dusted and change them when they get old!
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  Table lamp with violets

  Lighting!  There is so much to choose from when it comes to lighting.  You can really give a room class with just the right lamp or chandelier, not to mention making the whole room come to life.  Decide on your decorating style and find lamps that fit that vision.  Mix overhead lighting with lamps to vary the amount of light and to provide task lighting for special projects. 

Plant on a wrought iron stand and fishing accessories

There are lots more accessories that give your room the finishing touch.  Join me again as we explore other elements that perk up your rooms and learn how to best use them!