Decorative Home Accessories

By Julie Smith Vincenti, Nine Muses Media LLC

If furniture is the cocktail dress, then decorative home accessories are the jewelry, shoes, handbags, scarves, wraps, makeup, hair and everything else you put on that completes the look.

No room is complete without a balanced and edited assortment of decorative home accessories, which span a broad range of products from area rugs and portable lighting to pillows and wall decor. These on-trend home goods add color, texture, warmth, dimension, symmetry and individuality to interiors.

What’s more, decorative home accessories are an incredibly easy way to update a tired room without breaking the budget. Refresh an older sofa or sectional by changing the pillows and adding a throw. Create a better-looking bedroom with new bedside lamps and a plush duvet. Or, update a boring entryway with a hand-carved mirror and a permanent floral arrangement. The possibilities are endless.

Still, moderation is key when it comes to how many decorative accessories one should display at any given time. In fact, much of the enjoyment that comes from decorating a room lies in the steady rotation of accessories—add or subtract and put in storage as often as the season, holiday, occasion or your mood dictates.

Just as you have the go-to handbag, the one pair of shoes that goes with everything, or the bracelet you wear everyday, so, too, are certain decorative accessories more versatile that others. How do you know which ones?

Candleholders
Candles may look decorative on their own, but it’s the candleholder than elevates the twosome to decorative accessory status. When purchasing candleholders, avoid overtly themed designs that can be too seasonal or holiday specific. Function matters, too, so invest in holders for taper, pillar and votive candles, as you’ll want to have options when creating tabletop displays.

What we’re liking now: Glass and metal candleholders with limited ornamentation. These designs will blend with both everyday and special occasion china, tabletop linens and floral arrangements. Tall candleholders add height to tabletop displays, but remember your guests want to be able to see one another across the table. Votives are effective when several are precisely placed along the length of a dining table—ultimately, they draw the eye toward the center of the table, as well as provide symmetry and balance.

Vases
Vases are a reliable decorative accessory, because there is no limit to where they can be displayed: a cluster of bud vases on a nightstand in a guest bedroom; a colorful vase on an end table in the living room; a dramatic glass vessel on the entryway console table; or, of course, a crystal vase filled with flowers in the center of a dining table.

You can’t go wrong with a simple glass silhouette, and every well-appointed home should have several of such vases in multiple sizes. But you’ll find plenty of exciting artisanal options, too, which span all style categories, from contemporary and Country to transitional and traditional.

What we’re liking now: With the holiday season approaching, we like vases with metallic finishes, specifically the mercury glass-inspired designs. Why? For starters, they can be dressed up for formal presentations or dressed down to complement the more rustic finishes you’re seeing in medium high-end catalogs and retail stores right now. Because the reflective surfaces on these designs will bounce light from candles or lighting fixtures, these versatile vases create warmth and mood.

Wall Decor
Wall decor makes the most personal statement of all decorative accessories, as every homeowner is the curator for her walls. Mirrors deliver a fine balance of form and function, because they reflect light, can make a space look larger, refine a decorative statement and, of course, let the viewer see her reflection. Meanwhile, framed prints, canvas reproductions, plaques, carved ornaments, decorative brackets and shelves, and more are offered in all sizes, finishes, patterns, genres and subject matter.

What we’re liking now: Grid-based wall decor solutions that employ many parts to make a whole. These groupings let the homeowner create a custom-like solution that suits her specific needs. Also on the radar: rustic designs with reclaimed elements. These weathered designs enable the homeowner to introduce new textures and tones to an interior, without having to redecorate the entire room.

Area Rugs
Once you’ve experienced the transformative power of an area rug in updating an interior, you’ll want all the rooms in your home to have one. Good thing area rugs are offered in so many sizes, colors, patterns, textures, materials, weaves and prices. Unlike other decorative accessories, area rugs are a heftier investment than, say, a pillow or table lamp. In other words, buying an area rug is like buying a sofa—you’re going to live with it for a while, and years may pass before it is moved to a new spot.

What we’re liking now: Patterns that feature big blossoms; wool area rugs with accents of art silk, a synthetically manufactured fiber that adds luster and sheen; two-tone neutrals; and chunky textures that create the look of organic materials and landscapes.