Many people have difficulty placing accessories in their homes to get a designer magazine appearance.
Often rooms are filled with little vacation trinkets, decor gifts that may not suit your home's style, children's art projects, and cheap decor purchased to fill the space.
Here are a few tips to help you get a designer look in your home using accessories.
photo courtesy of kaboompics.com/photo/3490/books-and-purple-flowers-on-a-wooden-stool-by-the-bed
Remove everything
Start in just one room and take all of your accessories out of that room.
Sort your accessories into 3 groups - group 1 is accessories to not use (donate, recycle, or trash), group 2 is nicer accessories that have no sentimental value and are just fillers, and group 3 is accessories that are cherished and must return to this room.
Start putting the accessories from group 3 back into the room first, then you can fill in as needed with accessories in group 2.
Less is more
If you surround a precious accessory with a cheap accessory, the cheap accessory makes the precious accessory seem less important.
Make sure to properly showcase important meaningful accessories by themselves to highlight their importance and beauty.
If the precious accessory is small, you can set it on a stack of hard back books to make it look taller.
Bigger is better
The number 1 mistake people make with accessories is scale.
When purchasing accessories for your home, select one larger item instead of several smaller items.
Smaller items tend to look cluttered while larger accessories feel bold and special.
When in doubt, select something a bit oversized.
One of a kind
Your most prominent accessories in the living areas of your home should be one of a kind or limited edition items instead of mass produced items that local discount stores sell in mass quantities.
You can use architectural antiques, items from your travels, unique items found in nature, or anything else that might cause someone to stop a moment and look at your accessories instead of passing by them.
Consider shopping at flea markets, estate sales, antique centers, online sources with limited quantities of designer goods, and other places that sell one of a kind items that can be used as accessories.
Don't overdo it
Especially in rooms that are very task oriented (such as a kitchen, bathroom, or office), don't overdo the accessories.
If you must use accessories, make them functional. Consider using clear glass jars filled with functional items such as rice, cotton balls, paper clips, etc.
Plants and flowers
Add a plant or flowers to your room to make it feel more lived in.
Avoid using fake flowers or fake plants if at all possible.
