Let's Talk Wall Decor (Step 1)

Let's talk accessorizing your home! Most clients tell me that they have no idea how to arrange home furnishings and accessories. They usually have no problem choosing the items they want but once getting them home, they are unsure what to do with them. Through four quick and easy steps, you can have the confidence to pull together the look of any room in your house.

First let's discuss WALL DECOR. This includes framed art work, mirrors, shelves, sconces, plaques and wall planters. Using accessories that complement your room's color scheme and enhance its style will add punch to your living space. In the picture above, a large oil painting is used as the feature in this symmetrical grouping. A pair of antique gold wall shelves are used on either side of the painting and provide a space to display some wooden finials. Rather than "hung" on the wall, this painting is sitting on the table below and "leaning" on the wall. This lends an artsy look to the arrangement. I love the way the two tall evergreen and fern arrangements add life to the overall grouping. We'll talk about florals and greenery in Step 3.

In this photo, two framed prints of the same size are hung one on top of the other rather than the traditional side-by-side arrangement. I rather like this approach. Two metal wall plaques are then used to extend the width of the grouping and balance it above the sideboard. Notice how the plaques are positioned in the lower 2/3 of the grouping. As a rule of thumb you will always want to "ground" your wall accessories to a piece of furniture or other accessory that is sitting on the floor. This will prevent your groupings from looking as if they are "floating" on the wall. I love this pair of antique lamps. They add great ambiance (Step 4) to this dinning room vignette and complement the golden frames of the prints above. The black, cream and gold accessories work wonderfully with the fresh minty-green wall paint. Very elegant.
Now I want to talk about scale and proportion. Notice that in the first photo the large oil painting is flanked on either side by smaller wall shelves and finials. Imagine who off balance the grouping would look without the tall evergreen arrangements that sit on the table below. They add needed balance and keep the shelves from looking out of proportion to the painting. In the second picture we see that the wall plaques are scaled in proportion to the framed prints. I find that this is one of the most popular challenges and biggest mistakes in most decor. On this dinning table a large fern is used at the centerpiece. Because of the height and width of the piece, two large painted urns are used on either side to balance the table top. I really like the way the painted urns add a little color to the room and break up the neutral color palette. Using a few smaller items in the table scape adds interest to the display and gives the arrangement some movement.

Here is another example of good use of scale and proportion. The tall lamps anchor the framed art to the table below. The scroll work above the painting frames the grouping and gives upward movement to the grouping. This is a great technique to use if you have high ceilings. Why waste all that wonderful space?

In this photo we see how the sofa is used to ground the grouping above. This vignette incorporates all four steps of accessorizing a home:
Wall Decor, Signature Accessories, Florals and Greenery, and Ambiance.