How to Arrange Home Decor on Accent Tables

Home decor items like flower and candle arrangements, sculptures, family photos and even decorative coffee table books all serve to make an accent table eye-catching. Find pieces that fit the scale of the table on which they're being displayed. Then follow some common decorating rules to ensure that the pieces look as though they belong with and complement the rest of the decor in the room. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Take advantage of glass-topped furniture like coffee tables. These pieces usually have a shelf underneath the tabletop as well the tabletop itself, which adds a new dimension to your decorating efforts. Place an art glass or ceramic bowl on the bottom shelf and fill it with fruit or flowers. Position decorative items such as coffee table books or candle arrangements on top of the table, making sure you place them on the table in a way that allows the decorative item underneath to show.

2

Position the decorative pieces from largest in the back to smallest in the front. For example, if you've select a variety of family photos for your accent tables, place the photograph with the tallest frame in the back of the grouping with the shortest frame standing in front.

3

Select items that contrast with one another. Using the photograph example again, when you're selecting photo frames, choose frames of contrasting colors and styles that fit within your decorating color palette. For example, a large black frame might be flanked by one smaller picture with a white frame and one with a red frame.

4

Create an arrangement of odd-numbered items --- usually groupings of three or five. This helps to bring more visual contrast to the decorative arrangement. For example, if you're making a candle arrangement for an accent table, choose three candles of various sizes to group together, with the largest one in the middle.

5

Find ways to introduce harmony to your decorating efforts. One way to do this is to ensure that the decorative pieces you choose tie in with the rest of your furnishings and decor in some way. Choosing items that blend in with your color scheme works to this end. Finding pieces that complement your decorating style also helps. For example, if you've chosen Tuscan-style decorating, make sure the candles on your tables feature Tuscan colors like brick red or sand along with wrought iron elements.