Styling tips

Ever wonder how the professionals get each nook and cranny of a room looking picture perfect? Practice, practice, and more practice. Here's how to hone your skills as a budding stylist.

1. Remind yourself at the outset of any decorating project how you want the overall room to look and feel - what mood you intend to create. Formal rooms require a stricter symmetry and will benefit from the inclusion of rich materials such as velvet, brocade, jacquard, and tapestry. Exotic rooms thrive on spicy colours such as curry, cinnamon, and mango as well as plenty of seductive textures like raffia, grass cloth, and chenille. Modern rooms require little pattern but thrive on subtle changes in tone and texture which might be provided by interesting woven textures or tone on tone geometrics.
2. Start with a small vignette that requires a styling makeover - a sofa table or mantel is a good option. Take a digital photo of the space as it is and examine it without personal feeling. What's wrong? Is it too cluttered? Not interesting? Is there an awkward gap, or not enough variation?
3. Re-position the desired objects, remembering to vary height, shape and textures for interest. For example, a pewter candlestick is more striking beside glossy porcelain then next to a matt tin or wooden bucket - contrast creates interest.
4. Once you have a composition you like, take a second photo and examine it again with a critical eye. Does the grouping look like it stepped from the pages of a magazine? If not, repeat the process until you find several vignettes that are pleasing.
5. Group collections together. Mix a cluster of candlesticks in the center of a dining room or large end table, dress a window ledge with a collection of coloured glass bottles, or create a wall display by grouping antique or reproduction plates in a pleasing formation.
6. Mix expensive and inexpensive items for more interest, just make sure the objects compliment each other. The most humble vase can look like a collector's item when grouped with a few of your more valued items.
7. When creating a display on a mantel, table, or shelf, be sure to vary the heights of objects. Raise a focal point such as a sculpture or piece of pottery by placing it on some books laid horizontally on the table.
8. Fresh flowers are a must since they give life to rooms. Be creative - collect miniature bud vases, fill with one or two blossoms and line them along a window sill, or fill a simple water jug with spring flowers.
9. Finally, the most successful groupings offer the viewer an element of surprise or delight. A collection of red glass is arresting because of its mass of colour, a series of leather books is dull without the addition of objets d'art such as bronze figures. Experiment with everyday objects you already own - a watering can may look great near the hearth, grandma's teapots can be charming displayed on the mantel, or a collection of seashells can be cleverly composed in a powder room.