How do you get a unique look in your home? With unique accents! Accents don't have to be limited to figurines and pictures. There are tons of items that can really help pull your home together when used right. Here are some ideas:

• Use dishes that coordinate with your bedroom or living room decor. A place setting - especially one that has different coordinating patterns for the different items - gives a great look. Hang the dinner and salad plate on the wall, fill the bowl with potpourri and display it with the teacup and saucer on a shelf under the plates. I'm doing this with a Jessica McClintock rosebud pattern that goes with my daughter's rosebud sheets.
• A shawl in the same colors or similar pattern gives a great touch draped over a bedpost or chair-back, or used as a runner over a wooden side table.
• Find one of those beautiful hard-cover spiral bound blank notebooks that coordinates with your room. Use it for a phone message book in the living room or kitchen, or a "To Do" notebook in the bedroom.
• Always keep an eye out for beautiful pillows that will go with your decor.
• Celestial Seasonings tea boxes (or other brands) are decorative little boxes that are charming displayed on a shelf with a doily hanging out.
• A bag of potpourri tied with a fancy bow in coordinating colors looks great resting in a basket or decorative box.
• Those photo boxes that you can get at Wal-Mart and K-Mart come in all sorts of great patterns, and are just as great for displaying as they are for storing odds and ends.

Just keep your eyes open at all times for absolutely ANYTHING that reflects the look of your room... don't limit yourself with ideas of the 'right' or 'wrong' ways to display and use things. You'll be surprised what you find!

Have fun!

Kathleen Peters - 'Katie' - is a custom window treatment and bedding designer, and the owner of and designer for KatieDid Design, an e-shop offering custom home decor. She is also the publisher of Decor, Decorating, and Design, a free monthly e-zine filled with articles, tips, and guidelines to help with your home decorating. To subscribe to Decor, Decorating, & Design, visit KatieDid Design at www.katiediddesign.com or www.decordecoratinganddesign.com.
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This article Copyright ©2004 - Kathleen M. Peters, KatieDid Design. Reproduced with permission.