Home Decor Accessories - How to Create a New Look in a Room

Apart from complimenting your newly painted walls with soft furnishings and effective flooring, home decor accessories in a room are just as equally important. Accessories ranging from flowers in a contemporary vase to art pictures hanging on your walls, all add the finishing touches to any room. Above all, accessories add personality to a room, they inject your own personal touch making your home unique to you and comfortable and inviting for you and your family.

Decorating with Art Pictures

You will be surprised at the important role that art pictures play in home decor accessories. Not only do pictures add your own personality into the room, they absorb noise and can actually help change the illusion of a rooms' shape if placed in the right places. For example:

  • horizontal landscape pictures help widen a room;
  • Portrait floral pictures help give the illusion of height; and
  • one large picture reflected through a mirror gives the sensation of additional broader space.

Creating Art Arrangements:-

For a maximum effect and to make interesting wall arrangements that can become a dynamic focal point of the room, try to hang smaller pictures in a cluster.

If you hang an even number of smaller prints tightly together in a cluster, this will help balance out a large space and give a window effect in a small space. Remember to hang the prints together tightly to create one unit and one focal point.

For larger pictures, place them in proportion to the furniture. For example, hang a large picture approximately six to nine inches above a sofa or at eye level. By hanging a larger print too high above any piece of furniture can leave both pieces feeling disconnected.

Tips Before Hanging Art:-

Before hanging any art on a wall, try different combinations of arrangements. Use painter's tape and brown paper bags and keep rearranging the bits of paper on the wall until you have come up with a great picture arrangement.

Always hang prints at eye level and use your hand in between pictures as a guide to space large and medium sized pictures.

Create Illusions with Mirrors

Mirrors are great to help create the illusion of space. By cleverly placing mirrors on an adjacent wall to a picture or something which is interesting in your room, will reflect the image and add a sense of space.

For darker rooms, hang a decorative mirror near a window. The light will then bounce off the mirror into the room portraying more natural much-needed light back into the area.

To give the illusion of depth in a room paint one of your walls in a darker contrasting color to your other walls. Then hang a mirror on that darker wall. This instantly gives the additional sense of depth to the dimensions of the room.

Lighten-up with Light Fixtures

Light fittings are one of the most important elements of home decor accessories as they set the ambience of the room. By using different types of lighting you can create different moods on different areas of the room, at different times of the day.

For example:-

  • accent lighting such as a spot light is used to emphasize wall paintings, ornaments or other interesting areas in a room;
  • soft lighting used by small wall light fittings or table lamps, help create a gentle romantic mood;
  • general lighting such as a ceiling center light, strip light or bright wall lamps are used for everyday purposes.

Tip: use a dimmer switch to create different moods with your lighting.

Adding Color with Flowers & Plants

Fresh flowers are always a wonderful accessory in a home. They are easy to blend in with any rooms accent and you can swap and change the color, type of flower and position at any time. They are such an easy and adaptable accessory to have. If you are allergic to flowers, try silk flowers instead - sometimes it is hard to distinguish between real flowers and silk ones...

By placing plants throughout your home helps add natural color, texture, and also softens the area making it more appealing to spend time there. Don't forget to use attractive plant pots and containers for your plants - they are a home decor accessory too!

Area Rugs and Textiles

Area Rugs:-

Area rugs add warmth and texture to a room. They help soften wooden or hard floors and add contrasting colors and patterns into the room.

First you must determine what you want the rug for - is it a focal point? or do you want to group furniture on it? Secondly, you must measure what size rug you need before you go shopping.

Other Textiles:-

By using other types of textile home decor accessories, you can create additional comfort and softness in using:-

  • scatter cushions made with different types of material;
  • throws on your sofa or lounge chair;
  • napkins, place mats and tablecloths in the dining room or kitchen;

Summary

Home decor accessories play a crucial part in your home decorating. Even if you don't need to repaint your walls, you can still change the look of your room. By rearranging furniture and wall pictures, adding soft light fixtures, flowers arrangements and plants, the placement of an area rug and using different textiles in a room, all help create a new look to reflect you and your personality.

Claire Bowes is a freelance writer and the owner of flower-pictures-n-posters.com and landscape-pictures-n-posters.com. In addition to fine-art prints, these two sites offer landscape photography prints and flower posters.

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Auto industry executives, from left, General Motors  Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner; Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli; and Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the state of the auto industry.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP - The Senate's top Democrat has called off a planned vote this week on a $25 billion auto industry bailout. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that he wanted to figure out some way to help Detroit's struggling Big Three but that efforts to do so had stalled.



Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)AP - A growing fear of economic deflation helped take the air out of the stock market Wednesday, and another white-knuckle final hour on Wall Street pushed the Dow Jones industrials under 8,000 to their lowest close since the financial meltdown began.



In this Oct. 20, 2004 file photo, then-Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., talks with a supporter during a campaign stop in Redfield, S.D. Democratic officials say Daschle has accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. (AP Photo/Doug Dreyer, File)AP - Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Democratic officials said Wednesday. The appointment has not been announced, but these officials said the job is Daschle's, barring an unforeseen problem as Obama's team reviews the background of the South Dakota Democrat.



Rev. Amos Brown,  a national board member of the NAACP, raises his hands as he speaks to a large crowd of supporters of same-sex marriage, as they cheer in front of San Francisco City Hall on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008.  Thousands of demonstrators gathered to listen to speakers and protest the passage of Proposition 8, a ballot measure amending California's constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The event is part of a simultaneous protest planned in in hundreds of communities.  (AP Photo/Darryl Bush)AP - California's highest court agreed Wednesday to hear several legal challenges to the state's new ban on same-sex marriage but refused to allow gay couples to resume marrying before it rules.



In a frame from a video provided by IntelCenter, posted on the Internet Thursday, April 13, 2006, al-Qaida's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri praises insurgents in Iraq. Al-Zawahri insulted Barack Obama in the terror group's first reaction to his election, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that the president-elect is a black American who does the bidding of whites. Al-Zawahri said in a message, which appeared on militant Web sites Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, that Obama is 'the direct opposite of honorable black Americans' like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader. (AP Photo/IntelCenter)AP - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader used a racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, describing the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites. The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies.



Lavennia Coover of Decatur, Neb., who gave up her 11 year-old son under Nebraska's safe haven law on Sept. 24, 2008, fights back tears while testifying before the Judiciary Committee, during a public hearing in Lincoln, Neb., Monday, Nov. 17, 2008, on bills that would amend Nebraska's safe-haven law.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)AP - A 30-day age limit in the Nebraska safe-haven law appears headed for final approval. The state Legislature voted 41-6 Wednesday to give second-round approval to the limit. A final vote is expected Friday and then the bill will go to Gov. Dave Heineman, who has said he would support a 30-day age limit.



This undated handout photo provided by Stephen Schuster, Penn State University, shows a ball of permafrost-preserved mammoth hair containing thick outer-coat and thin under-coat hairs. (AP Photo/Stephen Schuster, Penn State University)AP - Bringing "Jurassic Park" one step closer to reality, scientists have deciphered much of the genetic code of the woolly mammoth, a feat they say could allow them to recreate the shaggy, prehistoric beast in as little as a decade or two.



The remains of a sarcophagus believed to be King Herod's are on display during a press conference at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. Israeli archaeologist Prof. Ehud Netzer announced at a press conference Wednesday that analysis of newly revealed items found at the site of King Herod's mausoleum at Herodium provided researchers with further proof of the site being the actual grave site of the Jewish King. (AP photos/Bernat Armangue)AP - King Herod may have been buried in a crypt with lavish Roman-style wall paintings of a kind previously unseen in the Middle East, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. The scientists found such paintings and signs of a regal two-story mausoleum, bolstering their conviction that the ancient Jewish monarch was buried there.



AP - Three male and three female inmates at a southern Indiana jail face charges that they devised a way to sneak between cell blocks to help pass their time behind bars by having sex.

In this Aug. 14, 2008 file photo, Boston Red Sox's Coco Crisp watches the flight of his RBI single off Texas Rangers' Tommy Hunter in the second inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston. The Boston Red Sox have traded outfielder Coco Crisp to the Kansas City Royals for reliever Ramon Ramirez. A baseball official confirmed the trade to The Associated Press Wednesday Nov. 19, 2008 on condition of anonymity because it had not yet been officially announced.  (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)AP - The Kansas City Royals picked up the leadoff hitter they had been seeking, acquiring center fielder Coco Crisp from the Boston Red Sox for reliever Ramon Ramirez on Wednesday.



Leaders of the U.S. automotive industry testify at a hearing held by the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill, November 19, 2008. From left are General Motors CEO Richard Wagoner, Chrysler Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli and Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. auto executives went to Capitol Hill for a second day on Wednesday to argue their case for $25 billion in aid as legislators proposed changes to help a bailout pass Congressional and White House muster.



The Federal Reserve Board of Governors are seen during a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, March 28, 2006. (U.S. Federal Reserve/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Federal Reserve officials slashed economic growth forecasts through 2009 and some believed even deeper interest rate cuts may be needed if growth slows further, minutes of their October policy meeting show.



Newlyweds Sharon Papo (R) and Amber Weiss (2nd R) pick up their marriage certificate after exchanging wedding vows at City Hall on the first full day of legal same-sex marriages in San Francisco, California June 17, 2008. (Erin Siegal/Reuters)Reuters - California's Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a legal challenge against the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage and let the ban stand until it ruled.



Former Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) applauds during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, in this August 27, 2008 file photograph. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Tom Daschle, a key early supporter and former U.S. Senate leader, as his top official to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, two Democratic sources said on Wednesday.



A shopper passes a window display at high-end luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton along 5th Avenue in New York, November 19, 2008. (Mike Segar/Reuters)Reuters - Consumer prices fell at a record pace in October and new-home building slumped to fresh lows, according to government reports on Wednesday that suggested the economy likely is already in a recession that may be long and deep.



Staff enter the Citigroup building in London's financial district of Canary Wharf November 18, 2008. (Kevin Coombs/Reuters)Reuters - Citigroup Inc faced a crisis of confidence on Wednesday as investors questioned the survival prospects of the U.S. banking giant, and its shares tumbled 23 percent to a 13-year low.



Senator Hillary Clinton is helped offstage by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, after her remarks at her South Dakota and Montana presidential primary election night rally in New York, June 3, 2008. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has offered to allow ethics reviews of future business and charitable activities should his wife be picked by President-elect Barack Obama as secretary of state, Democrats familiar with the issue said on Wednesday.



A foreclosure sale sign sits in front of a house in Falls Church, Virginia, July 23, 2008. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)Reuters - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will loosen terms of its foreclosure-prevention effort so that the program, meant to backstop $300 billion in home loans, can be more effective, the agency said on Wednesday.



A picture taken in 2007 shows the Delight cargo ship anchored in the port of Hamburg, Germany. Somali pirate attacks have spun AFP - An Indian warship destroyed a pirate "mother vessel" in the Gulf of Aden, the navy said Wednesday, as bandits demanded a ransom for a Saudi super-tanker seized in the most daring sea raid yet.



This IntelCenter image shows a new al-Qaeda video entitled: AFP - Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Zawahiri ridiculed US president-elect Barack Obama as a "house negro" and warned him against sending more troops to Afghanistan, in an Internet audio message released on Wednesday.




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