Interior Decorating 101

Lesson 6: Adding the Personal Touch

You really don't want a clone of that magazine photo, do you? Of course not! Your room, your home, should reflect your taste and your personality. It should contain those little touches that come from your heart - the things that your family treasures and will remember always as representing "home."

Colorful Accessories

By "accessories" I am referring to fabrics, lamps, plants, rugs, linens, even kitchen ware.

For these things to really complement your decor, you'll need to refer to the color palette you chose in Lesson One. When you picked out paints you referred to paint chips available from the retailer where you purchased the paint or wallpaper. Now you can go back to those (you saved them, didn't you?) and choose one color either three shades lighter or darker. This color will be a good choice for ONE of your accents.

Now refer to the color wheel in Lesson One's bibliography (Sherwin-Williams.com) and identify the opposite color from your wall color. This color, or a shade within its family, can be the SECOND accent color.

Some color palettes will work a little differently: if you liked the nautical or New England regional palette, you might have chosen a blue wall color. Your complementary colors will probably be white (or off-white) and a medium red.

A child's room with a color palette of primary colors (red, blue, yellow) can use any of the "crayon-box" colors for accents. Yellow walls, red toy box, blue rug, and green linens with a toy motif would work very well together.

If your palette is very neutral, (i.e. taupe walls, beige fabrics, ivory trim) then you will find black to be an excellent accent. Try animal prints in small doses, such as faux leopard, or fake furs in dark brown.

You may also want to try a monochromatic approach to accessorizing your room. This means your palette stays within the same color family, or uses only one complementary accent color. For example, you might have cranberry red walls, toile window treatments in red and off-white, off-white upholstery with red pillows, and off-white crown molding. Or, use several shades of white in a bedroom, from white walls to cream linens and distressed-whitewashed furniture.

It's a good idea to choose a solid color fabric for upholstered pieces if your walls have a distinct pattern. Similarly, if your upholstered pieces have a pattern, then an area rug in a solid or inconspicuous pattern will work with it rather than compete with it.

These are not strict rules, but when you step back to look at these fabrics together, you'll be amazed at the chaotic effect of too many patterns fighting for attention. Decorators in the 1990's often advocated mixing stripes, plaids, checks and prints in the same room. This can work if the colors are in the same family, but often just looks "cluttered." Try introducing just one different pattern in your fabrics at a time, until you find that "perfect" combination.

Your taste will take center stage in this process. Err on the side of conservative choices, if you are unsure. You'll only need two accents colors, one in the same family as the wall color and one that is its opposite or complement. Remember that when artwork and collections are added to the room, more color will be introduced. It's easier to add than to subtract accessories if you don't like the initial results.