How to Decorate Coordinates

Choose one room to work with. Try not to decorate more than one room at a time so that you can focus solely on the task at hand. Walk through the entire room and take notes regarding all items in room, and then determine which items are to remain and which are to be replaced or removed. Use a digital camera to snap pictures of everything for a visual reference.

Start with floors and ceilings. Determine if the color scheme that currently exists will remain. Assess the largest and most expensive pieces of furniture in the same manner. For example, if you have light beige walls, light to medium wood furniture, a white ceiling and a tan couch, you have a neutral base to work with rooted in a brown and beige color theme.

Determine what coordinate items in the room can be reworked to add some new life or color to the area. For example, if you have floor lamps that were bought as coordinate pieces to the couch, consider changing the plain, neutral color shades to colored shades such as sage green, navy blue or even dark red. Decide what colors you want to use throughout the area as accent colors.

Look at throw rugs, pillows, blankets and curtains. If you want to keep what you have, decorate the pieces with accent colors to change the look of the room, yet maintain the coordinated appeal of the items. For example, if you have light-colored curtains, initially purchased to match all of the other neutral items in the room, consider having panel toppers in the accent color or colors to breathe new life in to the curtains. Other ideas include adding different window curtain rods; adding accent color trim or new coverings to pillows; adding colored trim to blankets; or replacing some of the monochromatic coordinates with new items in your accent color. You can change picture frames, photo frames and even face plates to bring a more coordinated look that matches your new theme.

Consider replacing small decorative items throughout the area once you have transformed the room. Your room should have all of your original items, the redesigned items that still are coordinates to the main items and a few new items thrown in for extra color. Go through the room and shift other items around. Add extra items as necessary, such as new candles in shades that coordinate with both your base and accent colors.