How to Accessorize When Decorating

Prepare the room for your redecorating project. Clear the room, if necessary, of existing decorations and furniture if you intend to redecorate completely. Fill holes in the wall with spackling if you are not going to hang pictures in the same places as before. Apply a fresh coat of paint on the walls. The color or colors that you use will guide the general theme or mood of the room.

Bring furniture back into the room and add slipcovers to chairs or sofas if they are worn out or if you want to change colors and patterns. If desired, make the furniture stand out by choosing a slipcover color that contrasts that of the walls. Alternately, make the furniture blend in by using slipcover colors that match the color of the walls. Add pillows of different shapes and sizes.

Hang large framed artwork or photographs on the walls. Or, arrange smaller ones in clusters to create interest. Coordinate the colors of the pictures with the frames, drawing on one or more colors that are repeated throughout the room. Place pictures at eye level so that they are easy to see. Using your own photographs of family, friends and vacations can help start conversation when visitors come to your home.

Add flowers and plants. Place these on end tables, in the middle of a table, on top of a bookshelf or on a windowsill. Live plants provide double benefits: They add charm to a room while absorbing toxins in the air and releasing oxygen. Remember to dust leaves often and water as needed. Make sure enough light filters into the room so the plants can grow.

Line bookshelves with your favorite books. Leave some shelves free from books and fill in with knickknacks such as a basket of yarn balls, small framed pictures, a vase filled with dried flowers or a miniature sculpture. If you don't have a bookshelf but have a table or mantel, use interesting bookends to display a few books. Additionally, stack or spread a few books on a coffee or end table. Open some up, leaving them on a page filled with colorful pictures.