Home Accessories to Finish Any Room With Style

01.Accessories Are Important in Every Room

To put it simply, accessories are what give a room its personality. They add the details that let you know what the energy of the home is, and how you should feel when you step inside. A potted palm might make you think of a warm, tropical location. A framed concert poster lets you know the inhabitants here care about music.

There’s absolutely no rule that says your accessories can’t be an eclectic mix—one that makes you think and feel a few different ways at once. You just want that room to feel inviting and lived-in.

From plants to objects (perfectly exemplified in this home tour from The Glitter Guide), art and even lighting, we’re going to walk you through all the most important accessories and tips for arranging them in every room of your home.

02.Plants and Flowers Add Life and Energy

It sounds a little funny to say, but plants in the home has become one of the biggest design trends over the past few years. People crave bringing a bit of the outside in, from stately Fiddle Leaf Fig trees to tiny succulents and lush arrangements of flowers.

In this Glitter Guide home tour of an apartment in New York City, it’s amazing to see how a cactus, a Fiddle Leaf tree and other small plants make you feel completely transported. This room looks more like New Mexico than New York, in a good way.

In your own home, plants and flowers can be arranged and clustered or spread out throughout rooms. Not only do they look nice and add a pop of color, but they also help purify the air and can make you happier.

When getting started, make sure you understand how much light these rooms get, and shop for plants accordingly, so they don’t wither and die before you really get to enjoy them and see how they grow.

03.Window Treatments Can Create (or Temper) Drama

Window treatments play a big roll in the mood of a room, believe it or not. Floor-to-ceiling curtains create drama and a sense of grandeur, while bamboo blinds (like the ones shown here) can filter daylight in a really calming way. Likewise, window treatments can either add a pop of color or pattern and become a focal point in a room, or fade into the background, letting your other furniture and accessories take center stage.

For privacy, for light filtration or just for looks—window treatments are one of those room accessories that really help a room feel “finished.”

04.Lamps and Lighting Set The Mood

In this warm, cozy bedroom from French & French Interiors, it’s easy to see how lighting plays an important roll. From floor lamps and table lamps to sconces and statement-making pendants and chandeliers, lights set the mood in every room.

Consider dimmers and lamps in rooms where you want to create a warmer, cozier feeling, and track lighting in spaces where you want the room to feel bright and open all year long. From a design perspective, don’t be afraid to have some fun! Lampshades can be changed, and chandeliers and pendant lights can completely change the energy in a room.

05.Area Rugs Add Depth and Warmth

Hardwood floors are nice and everything… But aren’t they even nicer when mixed with really cool area rugs? We think so. And better yet, if you don’t have hardwood floors (hello, rental apartments!), area rugs are the perfect way to mask less-than-perfect flooring and take control of the warmth factor in any room. Rugs can also add depth; your eye will naturally follow the color or pattern to the end. They’re also a great way to grow up any room in your first place, when you’re just starting to get your feel for decor.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to rugs, but much like window treatments they can serve as a focal point in a room, or as a soft background feature, meant to let other elements shine.

The area rug in this nursery (designed by Amber Interiors) draws all the elements of the room together, and makes it feel a bit more cozy.

06.Over Time, Hang Art and Gather Objects

Often times when decorating a space, we feel rushed to make sure it gets “finished.” But the truth is, making a room or a home feel, well, like home, can take time! So when it comes to adding those special little touches, don’t be afraid to decorate slow. Take care and time to gather unique and interesting objects, and experiment by moving them around the house to see where they feel best. Same goes for hanging art—let that process happen naturally and we guarantee, you’ll be happier with the results. We love how this room, photographed for The Everygirl, feels like a collection of personal pieces, rather than an Ikea showroom.

07.Select a Statement Piece

In this room from Kirstin Corrigan’s home tour on The Everygirl, her pink velvet couch is the statement piece. It stands apart from the airy, white interior in a big way. In your own home, you might choose to make a piece of furniture your statement piece, or it could be your carefully chosen, large indoor plant, or a big piece of art hung on the wall. The point is, a statement piece helps to anchor the room, and can give you a center point around which all your other decor choices can be based.

08.Embrace A Mix of Textures

And finally, we encourage you to mix textures in every room. Supple worn-in leather on an armchair and soft cashmere throws, cozied up next to a raw wooden crate and topped with a sleek Mid Century Modern lamp, for example.

There’s really no limit to how you can combine and play with textures in your home—hard and soft, rough and smooth, you get the idea. Rugs are a part of this, as is furniture and the accessories we’ve been talking about—they all work together to create depth and interest and personality.