All About Home Accessories
The accessories we put into the room can do more to express you than the furniture does.Accessories are the finishing touches that express the personality of the people who live in the home and that enhances the beauty and character of the decor.Even in selecting the smallest item such as an ash tray, you must consider the appropriateness of the color, design and texture of the article.
Accessories can usually be sharper in color than the larger areas in a room.The strongest color should ordinarily be on a small accessory.But too many small accessories of different strong color will make a room look spotty.
Your choice of toiletries and towels, cushions and throws, tablecloths and bedlinen add life and interest to a room and turn a house into a home.Accessories can be inexpensive or priceless, but whichever you choose make sure that they suit the room.
Shopping Around
Whatever your budget, shopping for accessories should be considered a work in progress, with items bought as and when you see them, or as your likes evolve or your lifestyle changes.
Search for accessories wherever you can; antiques markets are filled with quirky extras you won’t find elsewhere; modern interiors shops are good for both inexpensive buys and up-to-the-minute designer pieces; while online shopping is a great way to source items from shops that you aren’t physically able to visit.For one-off pieces such as antiques, vintage or secondhand buys, it usually pays to but when you see them as the items may not be available when you return.
To prevent mistakes, especially with articles that are hard to return to the seller, such as boot-fair buys or those bought far from home, have a clear picture in your head of what exactly you think the room needs.Our memory of color can be unreliable, so take swatches of your fabrics, paints or wallpapers with you when shopping so you can be certain of a color match to what’s already in the room; this is particularly helpful when buying soft furnishing accessories such as cushions, throws, rugs and bed linen.
If you are on a look-out for a painting or picture for a particular wall, take measurements and keep these with you so you can work out whether a picture you like will fit the available space.Be aware of dimensions, both of your room and of the item you are buying, especially if you are buying online, and keep a measuring tape alongside your fabric swatches when shopping.You might find it helpful to photograph newly redecorated rooms.You can either take the prints or the camera with you when shopping, so a quick glance will refresh your memory of exactly how your room now looks.
Bear in mind how you wanted the room to look when you began to decorate.You might need to search out those magazine or book images which initially inspired you, in order to source accessories that capture the style.
A tight budget can encourage inventiveness.Consider how you can recycle your existing accessories to fit the newly decorated room.Changing picture frames and light-shades gives prints and lamps a completely new look, while confident seamstresses may be able to turn discarded curtains into cushion covers, or large bedspreads into smaller curtains.Think about swapping items from room to room.
Arranging Accessories
Furniture arrangement is usually limited by the proportion and space available in a room, especially in today’s smaller homes.The arrangement of accessories however can be a challenge to your imagination and sense of design.
Formal Balance
Matching lamps on a matching small tables on each side of a sofa is an example of formal balance.
It was custom in the past to hang a picture or a mirror over the fire place and place a fairly low object in the centre of the mantle.Identical lamps or candles would then be placed on the two ends of the mantle.Such formal balance has a stilted and uncomfortable appearance.
Today, whether decorating in a modern or period style informal balance is often preferred.Instead of mirrors being centered over dresses, a tall mirror may be placed to left of centre.A lamp, large bowl or vases of flower or a hanging light fixtures towards the side gives informal balance.Two small objects balances one large object.A bright color small balances a dull or light colored large object.
Informal Balance
Informal balance is a visual balance or balance of areas according to visual weight.If a smaller object appears lighter in visual weight then the larger one plays them further away from the centre and they may then appears to balance.Think of balance in terms of equalizing visual weights rather than of matching objects of same size or kind.
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Passionate about design, I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in many areas of concentration alongside seasoned professionals in the areas of Interior Design, Architecture. Throughout my years of work experience in the field, this has allowed me to develop a rather unique approach to solving interior design problems, one that encompasses a view to finding comprehensive unified solutions in all the work i had undertaken.
The design philosophy that I follow stems from the belief that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. In interior design projects, excellent communication between client and designer begins through the attentive listening to the clients stated needs, wants, and desires. The designer identifies the problems that need to be addressed in the project and begins to the morph the functional solutions and aesthetic expression with the clients’ vision into a final unifying concept. The design solution should stress the preeminence of function, incorporate high quality workmanship, and deliver the superior aesthetic required in achieving client satisfaction in any given project.
