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Apart from complimenting your newly painted walls with soft furnishings and effective flooring, home decor accessories in a room are just as equally important. Accessories ranging from flowers in a contemporary vase to art pictures hanging on your walls, all add the finishing touches to any room. Above all, 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. Decorating with Art Pictures You will be surprised at the important role that art pictures play in home decor accessories. Not only do pictures add your own personality into the room, they absorb noise and can actually help change the illusion of a rooms' shape if placed in the right places.

If a room in your house lacks character, by simply placing some fine art prints on the walls can actually make quite an impact. Wall pictures are a necessary accessory in your home and are great to tie in with the room's style and color accent. Before you go off to buy some new pictures for your walls there are a few things you need to plan and decide upon. Here is a home interior design guide on how to decorate your space with wall art. Shop for Wall Art by Room The kind of home you have and the mood, ambience and style of decor you create, should be perfectly designed to suit your lifestyle. Deciding on a style for your room should be determined by the lifestyle you choose and not by what's the latest home interior design trend.

You've got the house, apartment - now what? Some people love decorating their home, while others, well, dread it. While picking out furniture, lamps, artwork, rugs, and accessories - many people find it overwhelming and even stressful. Here are some of our ideas for putting those finishing touches to make your house a home, without the stress and without breaking the bank!

Where was your last vacation? At the beach or in the mountains? If you chose mountains, this look is for you. No matter the weather or locale, we are drawn to trees. They provide shade, awe, our kids climb on them, birds live in their branches, and we eat their fruit and syrup. We decorate them for Christmas. If you chose a beach as your last vacation, chances are you took a sunburned breath beneath a palm tree. Infinite variety, different personality, yet there is nothing as lovely as a tree. For hundreds of years we have also used them for shelter, eventually utilizing wood for furniture in many forms: from the crude three legged milking stool to the exquisite fine furnishings of Versailles.

Decorating small spaces in your home can be a complicated task if you're not quite sure where to begin. But there's good news: It doesn't have to be difficult at all. In any home, especially a small one, every inch of free space counts. Small shelves, tiny niches, and other unique spaces can help accent a home in a tasteful, uncluttered way. By using the small spaces wisely and leaving the larger areas open, the living space will feel larger. You may think because a room is smaller, having large furniture pieces are out of the question. Not true! Oversized furniture will not make your rooms appear smaller, but instead give them a warm inviting feeling. Of course the layout and size of a room will determine how many pieces can comfortably go into it. After all, you may be looking for drama and comfort, but you still need to be able to maneuver around. This also applies to accessories; it's better to have a few large dramatic pieces as opposed to a lot of small items, which tend to turn into clutter and dust collectors. The exception to this would be with collections. But again, you want to have places to showcase them like glass front hutches, cabinets, bookcases or shelves.

You can have only one metallic tone in a room. A look at the faucet display at your local home improvement center will demonstrate that silver and gold tones can be mixed. You can even combine different brushed nickel with shiny gold. You can't mix floral fabrics and plaids. Many fabric companies now offer coordinates of florals and plaids in the same color pallet and designed to be used together. You should pick one style and stick with it. Today's interior styles reflect an eclectic mix of influences. Not only can you switch up your style from room to room, but within a room as well. Whether you prefer a casual or a more formal approach to furnishing your home, the contrast of different styles enlivens the space. Furnishings should be placed symmetrically. Just as your furnishings don't have to match, the left side of the room doesn't have to match the right. An asymmetrical arrangement can create interest and emphasize a focal point. An asymmetrical arrangement lends a room a more casual air. Books belong on bookshelves. Books are a great way to add color and interest to a room. The idea of a coffee table book deserves some updating. Stacks of books can be used to elevate a lamp or a plant in a table top arrangement. If you are feeling adventurous, you can stack several oversized books to the side of a chair to serve as an end table. When you use a bookcase, not every book has to be standing on end; try laying some flat and place decorative accessories on top.

Redecorating your home, or just one room, can be a daunting task. Many of us are plagued with unanswered questions from the outset: Where do I start? Am I making the right choice? Is this the right color to pick? These questions can leave us full of self-doubt, indecision and fear. These simple guidelines are intended to help you decorate your home without fear and self-doubt, so you can live your life in a setting that improves your attitude, state of mind and over-all well-being.

I caught screen fever at an early age. I was just a little kid, playing at my friend's house, when I happened into her dining room and spotted the most amazing floor screen standing behind the buffet. The large screen was bold and beautiful, stretching almost to the ceiling, and it sucked me in with a force stronger than gravity. Years later, when I was furnishing my own home, I knew I had to use a few screens, not only because they are stylish but also because they can be used to solve a host of decorating dilemmas. Screens are amazing decorating tools. They can singlehandedly ground a room without eating up much space or making the area feel cluttered. No matter what style you like, you'll find a screen that will make your heart flutter and bring your room alive. How about a simple wooden screen featuring louvered shutters? A regal screen featuring an Oriental motif? One that sports rustic leather veneer or tarnished mirrors? Once you find a screen you adore -- or two, or three or maybe even four, like I have -- you'll discover a million ways to use it. Here are a few suggestions:

With children's bedrooms-arguably more than any other room in the house-it is startlingly simple to fall into traps when it comes to design, furniture selection and motif. Recently, Residence caught up with a few East End designers-husband-and-wife team Jennifer Mabley and Austin Handler of Mabley Handler Interior Design in Water Mill, and Sag Harbor-based Betsy Nichol of E.N. Interiors-to learn the do's and don'ts behind the definitive children's bedroom.

From the runway to the living room, hot trends in home fashion can take the style of a room from simple to stunning. Incorporating trendy furniture into home decor is an easy way to add style without having to make costly renovations.

Finishing furniture is an art form - you can create whatever you want. The terms "distressing" and "antiquing" are often used interchangeably in the wood finishing world. These techniques can be used separately or together along with glazing to obtain the degree of "aging" that you desire

To adequately fill a room with light, ambient and task lighting are needed. Ambient light comes from a single source, like natural light, whereas task lighting is used to light a specific area such as a desk, workbench, reading chair or kitchen surface. Adding a little light to your respective living areas seems like a simple task, provided that you consider some of the factors affecting which lamp fixture you should buy. How to Choose the Right Lamp Many people choose a lamp without first taking measurements and considering both the style and the purpose of the lamp. Size, brightness, and look are very important when purchasing any type of home lighting, but lamp fixtures are especially particular because they serve the dual purpose of providing light and decorating the room. Before you go hunting for a new lamp, be prepared with a few helpful hints. The size of the lamp is possibly the most important matter to determine. This is somewhat dependant on how the lamp will be used.

When decorating a room, color affords almost limitless possibilities. Color invokes feelings and adds personality to your room. No other single element can alter the appearance of space and objects like color. In home furnishings, it can visually enlarge, reduce and even change the feel of a piece of furniture. Here are some easy tips to consider: The best color schemes are usually found in a single element: a sofa, rug, painting, virtually anything. Consider the intended use, room's size, desired mood and its lighting and exposure. Lighting and exposure affect the way color behaves. Most homes have incandescent lighting, which makes reds more vibrant and blues more neutral. Examine fabrics and paint chips under incandescent lighting as well as under natural daylight. When planning large purchases such as, carpeting, wallpaper, and large pieces of furniture, choose colors carefully since these items will not be frequently changed. Observe color relationships in photography, public places, private homes, printed fabrics and even clothing. Outdoor, natural settings can be great inspirations as well! If you aren't completely confident about a color scheme, stick to neutral, simple colors when it comes to large, expensive purchases.

Bookshelves are a great way to add some functionality and personality into a relatively small amount of square footage in your home. In addition to displaying your book collection, bookshelves can be a great place to display your favorite collectibles or to store other items you want to keep handy. Regardless of how you use them, arranging your bookshelves to look interesting and organized takes a little know-how. Here are a few ideas to help you use your bookshelves to display and store your favorite items: 1. Mix things up. Have some of your books vertical, and some in a horizontal stack. This simple trick can add a professional and interesting touch to your display. It also allows stacks of books to act as bookends for one another and gives a few flat spots for a few special accessories. 2. Introduce items other than books! Try setting off a stack of books with a decorative box, a porcelain figurine or attractive plate. Any of these things, as well as candles, collectibles, woven baskets, framed photos, or even a plant or two, will give your shelves some nice contrasts in shape and texture. Plus, it will create both balance and visual interest at once. A neat and beautiful way to store items such as CDs, DVDs, or toys is to fill the bottom shelves with identical square baskets. The baskets will keep your shelves looking clean and organized, but your things are still very easy to access. Woven wicker or rattan baskets will also lend an earthy and natural texture to your room.

Having a beautiful home is a goal for many homeowners, but no one wants a cookie-cutter approach to decorating. Part of the joy of home ownership is the ability to personalize your space, making it a reflection of who you are and what is important to you. And think about it: the more comfortable you are in your own space, the more time you'll want to spend there and share it with your loved ones. Adding a dose of your personality to your living space is simpler than you might think. Here are a few ways you can make your home a place that is uniquely YOU.

When money is tight, we tend to spend more time at home, so we want it to be a stylish and fun place to be. But how can you give your home a fresh look without breaking the bank? If HGTV and decorating magazines have taught us anything, it's that we can make over a room without spending thousands of dollars! There are plenty of ways to improve the look of your home without a big investment. Whether you're looking for ways to put the finishing touches on your room or just wanting to refresh your space, here are a few tricks and some well-picked accessories for under $100 that can go a long way to making your home look like a million bucks.

Protect the natural beauty of your Shaw Hardwood flooring Shaw Hardwood products, with their ScuffResist finish, provide superior wear; easy, no-wax care; plus superior resistance to staining from all common household products such as coffee, shoe polish, lipstick, acetone, mustard, and more. A few simple maintenance steps, however, will help protect your investment and keep your Shaw Hardwood flooring looking like new. For cleaning, make sure you...

Solid Solid wood is milled from a single 3/4"-thick piece of hardwood. Because of its thickness, a solid hardwood floor can be sanded and refinished over several generations of use. Solid wood flooring expands and contracts with changes in your home's relative humidity. Normally, installers compensate for this movement by leaving an expansion gap between the floor and the wall. Base molding or quarter-round is traditionally used to hide the extra space. Engineered Engineered wood is produced with three to five layers of hardwood. Each layer is stacked in a cross-grain configuration and bonded together under heat and pressure. As a result, engineered wood flooring is less likely to be affected by changes in humidity and can be installed at all levels of the home.

Along with housing and cars, furniture can be one of life's major expenses. Buying used furniture can save you big bucks while giving your house or apartment a one-of-a-kind look. * Older furniture tends to be solidly made, with all-wood construction and dovetailed drawers. And unless you're talking about the very cheapest pieces at Ikea or Walmart, even the flimsiest new stuff tends to cost considerably more than what you'd pay for used. * The resale value is also considerable. New furniture, like cars, depreciates the minute it leaves the store. If you get sick of a used piece, you can probably resell it for what you paid.

Its not as farfetched as you think. And you dont have to have a huge house and a million-dollar budget to be able to live in comfort and sophistication. All you need is a keen sense of style and the necessary know-how.. For a more comfortable and sophisticated dwelling, you must design your home so that it has the right element of cheerfulness and style. Yet again, you dont need to have a big budget for this one. All you need is the right theme and elegant yet affordable furniture and home accessories.. You can rely on the basics of interior designing for the know-how that you need. Through interior design, you can manipulate the general feel of your interiors and its perceived space. You can make a gloomy room feel cheerful and small rooms look bigger. What you need is knowledge of the basic techniques so that you know how to use the right furniture and home accessories for a maximized use of space..