Interior accessories to add style and personality to your living room

Whilst furniture is usually the main attraction and focal point in your living room, attention to detail in your interior is always key to a successful scheme, and this can be achieved with well chosen accessories. They can make your room cosier, add character and interest to your room. But it is important to know when less is more. We want to create harmony and not clutter.

Interior design, décor and accessories 

Accessorising your home is a fantastic way to add your own individuality to your interior. Accessories can be a collection of your life’s treasures, the latest interior trends, sentimental objects, or for most people, a combination of all. When we think of interior accessories, we often associate them with:

• vases – glass or ceramic,
• textiles - cushions, throws and rugs,
• candles,
• plants and foliage,
• mirrors and pictures,
• curtains and blinds,
• photo frames,
• clocks,
• art – wall or freestanding,
• ornaments and sculptures.

Adding different textures into your room adds interest and depth to the design. A faux fur throw on a lounge chair will add cosiness; a simple collection of vases in different shapes and heights will be visually appealing; an oversized wall clock will create a dramatic feature; and a houseplant, whether artificial or real, will give a nod to nature. All need to be considered when deciding what is important to you and the look you are creating. 

Occasional furniture

Create a feature in a corner of a room that needs more visual interest or a splash of colour with a lounge chair, and for extra comfort and relaxation select one with a matching footstool. For practicality and a reason to add an additional material to your interior, a table is essential. The choice is whether you would prefer a large central coffee table for all to share or would a nest of tables work better for you and the space you have. There’s a great choice of materials, such as traditional wood, or more contemporary glass, metal, or even concrete versions. Introducing items to your living room that incorporate different elements, including colour and pattern, can both complement and enhance your style.

Footstools and pouffes

If you have the space, a footstool is perfect not just for resting your feet but can also be used as additional occasional seating. With some models having a storage compartment too, they are ideal for storing magazines, newspapers and books. When the weather is cooler, they can make the perfect place for keeping throws for extra warmth and added cosiness on chilly evenings.

Rugs, cushions and throws

When you want to easily transform the look of your living room, changing or adding a rug is a great solution. With a huge variety of styles and colours to choose from, a rug can be a relatively inexpensive addition to your scheme. It can add a more luxurious feel underfoot, especially on a wooden or tiled floor. It is important to decide whether a patterned rug that has colours that match your décor is the best choice; or do you select a contrasting colour that can be echoed in maybe cushions and throws too. Additional textiles are the perfect excuse for you to easily makeover your living room, even changing with the seasons, from darker colours for the cold months to lighter and brighter colours for the Spring and Summer.

Lighting your room

Whilst not always considered an accessory, lighting will always be something that should be well considered whatever style your home is and can easily alter the look of your room. An oversized floor lamp can be considered almost an art installation, as well as offering practicality. Add subtle wall lighting for atmosphere or a grand chandelier for drama. The lighting can sometimes be overlooked when thinking about accessories, but it is important to consider how it looks in your room, as it still offers a visual purpose as well as a practical function.

Living room accessories

Looking for interesting and understated accessories for the living room can be a challenge, especially when starting with a blank canvas, but it doesn’t have to be done initially. Sometimes it’s easier to select the basics for your room and live in it for a while to see what is important - what will enhance your space and decide what you definitely don’t need or want. Firstly, what accessories should we choose for our interior that are needed for it to function effectively such as curtains, blinds and carpets. Secondly, look at what additions will create a coherent whole with the rest of décor. Do you have lots of wall space for pictures – grouping different sizes together is a great interior designer trick. If you want to create an illusion of more space in your room, adding a mirror is a great idea and it can also increase light in your interior with its reflective properties. 

Stylish living room accessories also include:

• floor lights,
• candle holders,
• decorative screens, room dividers,
• storage baskets for small items such as remote controls,
• newspaper/magazine racks
• pet beds,
• table lamps.

Fashionable additions to the living room

It is always worth researching the latest interior trends, and often it is easy to incorporate these into your interior, to either a greater or lesser extent. For example, dried Pampas grass in a tall ceramic vase is seen in the most fashionable of rooms currently and when this trend is over, it is easy to remove and replace with the next in-vogue piece. To create a coherent look, whether that is through colour or style, can still look fashionable without it featuring the latest trends. If it doesn’t suit you, or the style of your home, then it isn’t needed. 

It can be very effective to mix the modern and traditional together, particularly with colour, picking out the architectural features. A bold colour on a chimney breast in a Victorian house with accessories, such as cushions and vases to match around the room, is a great combination. A white minimalist room can look super effective with a more traditional piece as it becomes a focal point and feature of the room. 

Whether you prefer a more minimalist approach or an eclectic selection of objet d’art, it is always important to create the room that you feel relaxed and comfortable in. The great advantage about accessorising your interior is that it allows you to be as creative as you want - to add your personality, to showcase the things you love and create a space that is as unique as you.