When designing a new project, an interior designer will always plan through to completion.  We see the bigger picture and all of our design decisions are based on the end look.  Unfortunately, something that I see quite often is clients stopping short of following through with accessories because either they have spent all their money, or else they have run out of steam with the project The result is a design that is 98% there, but just not quite – which can be disappointing for both the designer and the client.

Getting the right paint colour for your walls is really important, but without artwork, the walls can be left looking a bit bare…The type of flooring you use and way it is laid is really important in defining spaces and the flow of the room, but without a great rug the seating arrangement just isn’t grounded and the room lacks colour, personality and spatial definition.   (I do believe rugs are deal breakers – read more about it here).   Having furniture adds functionality and style to a space, but without beautiful objet’ on top of it, or table lamps providing balance (and some mood lighting) it is just an item in a space that looks hanging…..

Accessories cannot be overlooked or ignored.  These are the things that will make or break the design – the final details.   It is a shame to spend a lot of money on the architectural elements of the project and never finish the job…

What is really important to remember, is that we don’t just accessorize for the sake of adding elements.  The art of accessorizing is a well thought out process where the room is not cluttered with “stuff”, but is decorated for interest, texture, balance and function.  This is often the part of the project where a client’s personality is brought through.

The best way to ensure that this part of the project gets done is to plan on it from the beginning and set aside the budget for it.  Sometimes there are special family items to take into consideration or memorable items collected on travels. It doesn’t all need to be new, and most times the best accessories are those ones that have a story.  When there are special décor items that you have and would like to use in a new space, the sooner you tell your designer or decorator about them the better as then they will be planned with the whole ‘bigger’ picture.

Even the most minimalist of interiors are designed with accessorizing in mind as instead of adorning walls or surfaces with ‘things’, visual interest is made up of special details like interesting ceiling details, the lighting layout or the materials have interest.   So again, it is crucial to plan with the end goal in mind right from the get go.

So just as a great pair of shoes or beautiful necklace can complete an outfit, remember that accessories play a very important role in completing and finishing off the design.