Design Elements

 by: Lata Budhrani

A well-decorated room can still lack personality. To give your room a personality, choose from among these basic design elements, modify them to suit your tastes and implement them in a way which is just right for you.

1. A Theme - A 'themed' room says something about you, the person who has done it, your family or the place where you live. A theme will also provide you a place to showcase your collections, prized possessions, arts and crafts.

There are endless possibilities for using themes, but once you decide upon one, it will give you focus, as it will eliminate many things which don't fit into it. This results in great ease in shopping, planning, implementing etc. Some best decorated rooms have had themes like Water, Nature, Eighteenth Century England, Contemporary, Ethnic, Pastels etc.

2. Artifacts - A piece of artistic value will always give your room that special touch you have always wanted. It can add texture and depth to a room. Depending upon your theme, the artifact may be an an antique chair, a painted bookshelf, an original painting or even an original watercolor by your local artist.

3. Collections - It is the most effective way to display your collections in a special arrangement. Whether you collect shells, dolls or trinkets, arrange them tastefully instead of just lining things up in a row. Lining things looks even worse when objects are small in size. Instead, group them together to project variety within your collections. Lovely trays, glass cupboards, corner shelves etc. are some ideas for displaying your collections.

4. Color - Color does not get limited to painting the walls of your room. Use colors that make you feel good about them in fabrics, linen, pillows, shelves, curtains etc. Blend colors to suit your style.

Add fabrics to liven up your room with a print that contains the color of your upholstery. To maintain harmony in colors, use the same accent at least THRICE around the same room. For eg. pillows, tablecloths and curtains could have similar accents. For more on using colors, read my article 'Using Colors in Your Room'.

Use of the above elements will still leave everything to your own imagination and creativity. These will only help you in drawing out a plan for your Home-Decorating exercise. The details of the plan are still left to you to fill up.

Happy Decorating!