The devil is in the details

home decor

When designing or decorating a home, it’s always important to pay attention to small details. Of course, the other elements like the colour theme or the furniture are also important but it’s often the little details or accessories that make all the difference. What would a room, or an entire home for that matter, be without accessories? Much like the icing on a cake, although they are the last selections made in the interior design and decoration process, accessories are the finishing touches that make the home truly shine.

Accessories can take any shape or form, that’s what makes them so captivating. From modern finds or personal creations to antique treasures, the opportunities are endless. Share fond memories by displaying souvenirs that you have collected along your travels, marking a trail of your adventures, showcase ornamental objects that enrich the interior design style, or inject lashings of colour to offset a clean and crisp design scheme. Home accessories include photo frames, decoration pieces, table accessories, beautiful vases, candles, wall hangings, art work, lamps and many other design essentials which no interior should be without.

Normally it is seen that while designing their homes people don’t spend much on accessories because they are either tired of the process or have run short of funds. The result is an incomplete design. Accessories cannot be overlooked or ignored. These are the things that will make or break the design. It is a mistake to spend a lot of money on the architectural elements of the project and never finish the job. Accessories play a very important role in completing and paying off the design. These are the final details. Stopping short of this very important final step is much like getting dressed up without putting on jewellery or shoes. Accessories add personality to a room, they inject your own personal touch making your home unique to you and comfortable and inviting for you and your family.

Recently, Nazneen Tariq Khan exhibited her first collection of home accessories in Karachi. Though she is basically a jewellery designer, she is naturally inclined towards home decor. “I have always been interested in decorating houses. I furnished my own home without the help of any interior designer. After being encouraged by my friends and family, I have started doing interiors on a professional basis,” elucidates Nazneen.

While talking about her collection she says, “I collected accessories mostly from Thailand and China. It took me nearly three months to put up my exhibition based on home accessories. These were all hand-picked decoration pieces consisting of console tables, mirrors, lamps, vases and assorted ornaments. People who came to my exhibition loved the exotic pieces as they were not only different but affordable too.”

While sharing an interior tip Nazneen suggests, “When it comes to room accessories, less is often more. One specially chosen, unique piece may work better in your space than loads of tiny knickknacks that have no value beyond price.”

The art of accessorising:

The art of accessorising is a well thought out process where the room is not cluttered with ‘stuff’, but is decorated for interest, texture, balance and function. Here are a few tips:

• Start small, with accessories like a quirky bowl or statement vase. Don’t be afraid to take some chances to make bold statements, updating classic, timeless elements to make them current and your own.
• When decorating your home with accessories, play around with grouping different objects together. In order to achieve harmony, combine items that complement one another in terms of their weight, colour, theme and size. Varying colours and textures should also be considered to create visual intrigue and a sense of variety.
• Beautiful flowers placed in the vase can give the room a classy look. However, it isn’t necessary to have flowers in your vase. If you don’t like them, then it’s fine because vases make a great antique piece in the room. Elegant and eye-catching, they look great no matter where you place them.
• Mirrors are great to expand a smaller space. Try leaning a tall mirror behind a bed as a head board for a dramatic look. Try a large mirror that stands on the floor attached to the wall behind a small dining room table.
• When hanging pictures, ensure that the centre of the picture is exactly at eye level, place art works eight inches above the table, or six inches above the sofa.
• Think of accessories as decorations on a cake. Large accessories should be placed first and sparingly, with medium and small-sized accessories filling in and adding balance where needed. Several small accessories can give the ‘feel’ of a large item when grouped, but don’t forget to leave some breathing room. Not every nook and cranny in a room needs to be filled with decor.
• The only real rule in decorating is to buy things that you love. Before you make a purchase, ask yourself if the items really resonate with your sense of style. If the answer is yes, you’ll always have a place for it, regardless of trends.

Pictures courtesy: Nazneen Tariq Khan