The last dash of spice in the recipe for great design!
“The final judge in decorating, as any decorator knows, is not the “logic of the mind, but the logic of the eye” – Billy Baldwin
Accessories are the finishing touches of texture, style, color and shape that impact your décor more than you may realize. They are critical in bringing it all together. They bring a sense of your style, your passions, your family and other pieces and parts of your design selections all together, so that it all makes sense. We have a joke in the office “No more Mr. Potato Head” because sometimes you can see quite a random assortment of objects in a space and it is kind of funny!
As my designer ML always says, “the devil is in the details” and it really rings true for interiors!
When designing a new space, or moving into a new home, always allocate a part of your budget for art and accessories. Many times, we see clients who are so tapped from building, landscaping, etc., that they don’t have the dollars to finish the project. Years go by and there are sad guest rooms with a bed and that’s about it. It can make a home feel kind of sad.
Great accessorizing should follow some specific steps to be successful. It’s all about layering. Take some time to peruse your favorite design magazines and you will see this in full display. First, look at your space and determine what it needs to function: A great reading light? Side tables? Comfy pillows?
This is the first step. Next, consider your color palette; you can either add a punch or play it calm by keeping in the same hues…. This is the fun part, and helps imbue your personality. Remember to take a step back and look at the whole vignette, too much color and pattern can get a bit unsettling, so always go back and edit, try different color combinations. If you have a monochromatic scheme, you also want to make sure it’s not too boring, adding an oversize vase or plant may be just the thing to heighten the drama in a more traditional or tailored and calm interior. After you analyze your functionality, then you can determine what other types of objects are needed. Family pictures, favorite objects, collections, heirlooms, these are all important. But it’s also important to display them in a context that has a point of view and appears well-connected in both meaning, space and form. This is where you want to avoid looking like Mr. Potato Head: just lots of random things put together!
Accessorizing is not easy, and if you just don’t know what it is your home is trying to say, then consider having help from a professional. I have wonderful clients who entrust me with their most precious possessions and I always find a way to make it work. It needs to have meaning, provenance, and the spirit of the family who inhabits the space. And, as I insist, still follow classic design principles!
So many times, I see clients get wrapped up and worried about the size of the floor moldings, door trims, or hinges. Honestly, no one will notice those things all that much, but the feeling of the whole package is where the “logic of the eye” comes into its full meaning!