Post-Holiday Home Accessory Refresh!

A Chester living room's new coffee table complete with accessories.

As the holiday decor is stored away this month, I look forward to putting out my everyday decor. These decorations, that are beautiful for any season, always seem fresh to me at the start of the new year. I haven't seen these decorations since September when I tucked them away to make room for harvest decor.

Accessories are an important final step in room design. After all of the major items are in place such as sofas, chairs, rugs and window treatments, I turn my attention to the small but impactful decision of accessories. In this article, I'd like to explain some easy ways to accessorize tables, mantels, and shelves.

A tried and true formula for accessorizing coffee tables is: tray, floral, books, candles. Aim for the accessories to cover about one-third to one-half the area of the coffee table. Ensure there is height variety with tall, medium and short accessories as well as a variety of widths.

For example, a tall vase, shorter candle sticks, and a book or two.

Experiment with putting all of the items on the tray or only some.

A tray corrals items into an impressive display.

Alternatives to a vase are a tall ginger jar or terrarium. Try keeping your book open instead of closed. Layer on an extra object such as a decorative bowl.

You can always forgo this formula for a singular large floral. This can make sense if you prefer a minimalistic look or if you have many other flat surfaces in the same room for accessory display.

Keep in mind floral can mean fresh, dried, realistic faux, or just branches, twigs or leaves.

Moving on to mantels, establish the focal point above the fireplace with art or a mirror that is approximately one-third to one-half of the total width of the mantel. On the right and left sides of the mantle, look to achieve balance with symmetrical objects or asymmetrical objects.

Symmetrical objects will be the same object and give a more formal appearance. Asymmetrical objects will carry the same visual weight but be different from each other; this tends to be a more casual look.

Objects with height bode well, such as vases, candle sticks, and sculpture. Make sure the objects compliment the art. I discourage small framed photos on mantels because they detract from the art and also deserve their own spotlight elsewhere in the room, such as on a console table or gallery wall where they are easier to see.

Lastly, for shelves, three objects per shelf is pleasing to the eye.

Vary the heights in a pattern such as tall, short, tall. Shelves are a good place for framed photos and then mix in stacked books (vertically or horizontally), objects such as pottery, sculpture or mementos, and mini artwork (leaning on back of shelf). Depending upon the width and number of shelves, some shelves can have only two objects each.

Accessories require some playing around with to achieve the desired effect—so have some fun!