accessorizing made easy.

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When we see a room that hasn’t been accessorized, we feel a little let down. Overreaction perhaps, but that’s just who we are. A room that hasn’t been styled just isn’t finished – even if the architecture and furniture are downright brilliant. It’s like getting dressed up and forgetting the jewelry and shoes. It’s like writing a novel without punctuation.

“It’s natural to want your rooms to look as pulled-together as the rooms in magazines. That completed look comes from the perfect accessories, so it’s important to plan for them as much as the furniture.”

A quick way to take your home from blah to bravo is to layer on the small things that add personality, style, and warmth. With luck and ingenuity, they’ll also be great conversation starters while making your domestic life a bit more blissful by fulfilling a necessary function.

When we invented our seven Lifestyles – Loft, Metro, Estate, Global, Villa, Glamour, Country House – we thought about the total home and the total room right down to the last detail. It’s like life, really – we all know well how the little moments add up. It makes sense to plan our homes in the same spirit.

Accessories are a beautiful way to tie a room together, but we’re especially fond of them because they also solve problems. For instance, whose home doesn’t have at least one lonely chest, dresser, or console? You know the one. There it sits, as useful as can be, but with a sad gaping space on the wall above it, just begging to be filled. In an entryway, a living room, a dining room, or a bedroom, the right mirror, art, vases, and lamps can be combined to turn that blank slate into an uplifting treat for the eye.

Hutches and bookcases present other challenges. What exact combination of accessories, and in what number, will make a big piece look filled out without seeming overdone? What will catapult it from functionary to focal point?

Accessories are a great way to add importance. In a bedroom, for instance, the bed ought to take center stage, but in an under-accessorized room, it will seem to fade away. Bedcoverings and pillows can work wonders, as can the strategic placement of art, lamps, and objets.

Accessories are essential in every style of room—but for different reasons. Here, the idea is to do more with less, so each accessory has to be chosen with the utmost care. For example, a rug will stand out more here than in a formal space, so it had better be the right one! Our favorite modern accessories right now? Black-and-white architectural photographs and eco-chic vases.

Always remember: The word is accessorize, not excessorize. Our design pros are expert stylists: They’ll help you do it up, without overdoing it. Their advice is on the house; the fresh, pulled-together look will be in yours.