Interior Design | Upholstery | Curtain Making | New Forest

January - time to declutter! Accessories....

Catherine Brennan

Accessories and how to use them.....

These things are as important as any other aspect of your home - floor, walls, furnishings and more. I call them magic touches.

If you struggle to use these well then I will give you a little tip. Remove all accessories from the room that you wish to transform. Look at the walls from a distance, observe bare set of furniture and cleared floor. How does it feel? Uncluttered? Cold and full of echo? Is this a good empty feel or bad empty feel? Now ask yourself what does the space needs to come alive, what will lift it up and very slowly start bringing item by item back into the room. Each time, pause, observe and check if it looks right. Think position, placement, size of the accessory and breathable space around it. You don't want to clatter the space but bring interest maintaining cohesion between all items. Do these items energise or calm the spirit of the room? What mood you are striving to achieve? Do they go with the style of the property and the room itself? Now most importantly - are they making you happy and smile?

What to do if your accessories are not in fact magic touches but a set of clatter - items that you gathered over time - unwanted gifts, memorable items but not necessarily ones you wish to display? It's easy! If you don't love it and it doesn't compliment your room then give it away maybe as a present to someone or donate it to a charity or even sell it! If it's one of them memorable items that you can't seem to part with than put it in a pretty box and display it on a shelf or put it in a cupboard or hide it in the attic.

If it all fails then please give us a call and we will be more than happy to help!