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Decorative Accessories For Your Rooms

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 12Aug2011
Word count: 2859
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Just as you would accessorize an outfit, putting the finishing touches on a room involves accessories. A few accessories, carefully chosen, can make a dull room come to life. A room can be accessorized in many ways, such as with wall art, tablescapes, decorated mantles or shelves, and with the use of pillows and throws, even area rugs.

Wall Art

Wall art doesn't only consist of paintings, posters, or prints anymore - today you can let your imagination run wild; hang anything on the wall that can be hung on a nail. Plates and architectural elements make great wall art. For a more laid-back, fun and eclectic look, consider road signs, boat oars, even a pair of skis - who knows, you may be going for a lodge look and feel. Things that cannot be hung on the wall, like pottery or figurines can still be incorporated into a grouping by placing them on wall shelves. You can use one shelf alone, or stack several to look like a book case.

If you plan to hang a grouping of mixed items like plates, pottery and some prints, it's best to use a symmetrical arrangement because it allows each piece to be able to stand out prominently on its own.

Of course, photographs hung in striking unique picture frames always give a room a warm, classic feel and can bring personality into any decor.

Collections of prints also make for great wall art. Here are some examples of wall art:

A group of contemporary prints in brilliant orange picture frames, the orange color (or any other appropriate color for your room) also being found on a few other accessories in the room makes one wonder what came first - was the room's color scheme inspired by the color of the frames or vice versa?

Mimic the horizontal lines of a relatively tall headboard with a trio of colorful paintings that are hung side by side in a straight line above the headboard.

If you have a room whose asset is its soaring high ceiling, draw the eye upward with a set of prints stacked vertically on a wall. Frame the prints in black or dark wood picture frames so that they stand out and further emphasize the architectural feature.

Mixing different materials is okay, as long as the subject matter provides the necessary continuity in a grouping - like a grouping that includes a couple of gold framed black and white prints on a wall just above a table and black and white pictures in frames on the table that range from gold to contemporary acrylic. The fact that the prints and pictures are all black and white provides the continuity to make the grouping cohesive.

Sometimes it only takes one piece to make a dramatic difference in a room, like a large architectural piece on a wall in a room with all clean, simple lines and smooth surfaces.

Tablescapes

To create a successful arrangement on a flat surface, the first rule is that the amount of items used cannot overwhelm the available space. A large collection of family photos would look great on top of a grand piano, but not so much atop a small end table. Once you figure out how much space is available, pare down what you want to display to an odd number; it helps encourage the eye to move from item to item and not focus on just one part of a display.

Place your tallest object at the back, set in just slightly from one side or the other. Work your way forward, ending up with the placement of the smallest piece in the front. Make sure that the heights do go up and down (from side to side and front to back) for a balanced look. If too many of your items are around the same height, you can always use old (antique) books to set them atop and create height. Make sure each piece has some breathing room, so don't crowd the pieces together.

Tip for maintaining a pleasing tablescape come cleaning day: Once you have a pleasing arrangement, take a picture of it and keep it close-by and handy, so when it's time to clean the dust off the objects you can place them back into their proper design.

So, follow these tips for using accessories to decorate your rooms, and you are sure to be pleased with the results!

Shop online and see our selection of decorative double picture frames in a wide variety of styles, shapes and sizes. See all of our quality picture frames by visiting our website or calling us at 1-800-780-0699.

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