Accessories add energy to any design plan. The right ones bring charm, warmth and interest to your country home, and make it more memorable. Rarely do people remember a couch, but the image of a beguiling painting lingers. A shot of color from a brilliant quilt, a few sumptuous pillows, the gleam off of a crystal collection—all are telling details that add personal style, that hard-to-define but essential element of successful rooms. Here are a few tips to make the most of your treasured accessories:
• Be sure that at least some of your accessories are “user friendly,” that is, touchable and fun. Balance, scale and proportion are important factors to consider when positioning these objects (just as they were when you were setting up a floor plan and deciding on furniture size).

• Consider a table surface as a landscape—a tablescape. Arrange with highs and lows as a landscaper would with grass, shrubs and trees, only you might use a plate, a box and a lamp. Just as important is the negative space: The empty space surrounding the objects must be pleasing. Don’t overfill or your objects will lose their importance.

• Large-scale paintings, sculpture; big, tall trees and enormous centerpieces are compelling. For one client’s country retreat, atop a pine dining table that seats 12, I put together a grand-scale centerpiece using a 2-1/2' market basket laden with ivy then tipped to frame a 2' white ceramic rooster.

• Giving rooms different themes makes the decorating easier and more fun. That ceramic rooster was enhanced by a yellow checked fabric embroidered with roosters that I used for the chair cushions. The roosters, copied and enlarged, were also painted on the four corners of a hand-painted floorcloth set under the table. Varying the materials, we layered the look with a black iron wall rack, a big pillow and a pair of old oil paintings, all with a rooster motif. The result? A lot to crow about!

• Relating colors is another way to coordinate accessories. In that same country house, there is a Wedgwood blue bedroom with white trim. Its white painted dresser is detailed with a blue-and-white floral lamp, as well as a silver-mirrored dresser tray holding cobalt blue bottles and a small white tureen filled with potpourri. A black iron headboard is flanked by an iron magazine rack table and a blue-and-white mosaic tile table. White wicker chairs have blue-and-white flowered cushions, and a royal blue chenille throw is tossed over one arm. A wonderful oil painting of hydrangeas adds just the right blue note.

• Varied textures also heighten interest. Think matte and shiny, rough and smooth, hard and soft. Fabrics and woods need gleam and shine. Mirrors, candlesticks and mercury balls play with light.

• Area rugs, throws, tapestries and pillows soften. Through color, pattern, size and fabric they can alter the entire look and feel of a room. Borders and trims add dimension. Greenery brings freshness.
• Travel treasures, books, collections and quirky personal mementos artfully displayed bring home your own unique personality—the most important accessory in any room!

Editor’s Note: Teri Seidman is a national, award-winning interior design consultant creating fine homes in the Greater New York area. E-mail her at Teriseidman@aol.com.