Wait. Does a phonebook and half-empty coffee mug count? I change my stuff around every so often when I find something new or get tired of the look. Coffee table almost always has feet and wine glasses on it, but for company, we have a rustic iron bowl and stacks of magazines. On top of this old barwood cabinet where I keep an extra set of dishes, you can see where I loaded the top.
Candleholders from HomeGoods
Vintage pictures and an antique mirror on wall behind
Two vases, one with olive branches behind a rustic jar
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And if you could only see the top of my bedroom dresser right now.....the potted african violets are gone and there are some antique boxes, etc. The vintage pix are still on the wall, accompanied by the old beveled mirror and the Eifel tower in iron that I bought at the Coast.
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And while many of Judith's shots are of dining tables, there are a few side table photos too. She is an absolute artist.

Red

Here is a link that might be useful: From the Gallery on this site

oceanna, I'm not very good at accessories so I don't have anything fun to show but I did stumble upon this website for an Interior Designer that has lots of ideas in it. I hope it's okay to post it. No, I'm not advertising for her. I saw a picture of her work in a local magazine and I've been trying to find a coffee table I saw in one of her homes. If anyone is bored today and looking for a challenge. I'm trying to find the coffee table they show in the album "2007 COBA tour home" It's oversized, wood with some sort of insert on top (leather?) I emailed her too. Enjoy her photos!

Here is a link that might be useful: Susanne Marie Interiors

What's on your coffee table?

I don't have one in the family room. In the garden room -- it's more a bench/ottoman/table with our current books to read.

What's on your end tables?

Lamps. I use small end tables. I do have my banjo picks on one end table. :-)

What's on your walls?

Antique botanicals, our original photography, original oil paintings by local artists

What accessories are in your kitchen?

Pottery from NC artists as well as from France, Italy and Russia. Antique and vintage ironstone. Antique English mezzotint. Antique bookcase from my grandfather (holds my cookbooks).

Your bedroom?

Antique botanicals, photographs of our garden, my mother's handmade ceramics, her jewelry box and vintage lamp. A loveseat. Decorative needlepoint pillows (French). NO TV.

Your bathroom?

Powder room -- so far, I've hung Russian face cards from a playing deck. This room was repainted last month, so I'm still working on it.

Got pictures?

I feel like I've posted so many photos that they are now boring and over-used!

Some of you are just fantastic at accessorizing. How did you learn? What rules do you follow?

I'm not one of those who is fantastic at accessorizing. I just use original art and memorable objects from family and/or our travels. I move things around a lot for fun, including pictures and botanicals.

I tend to use as few things as possible on tables because I hate to move them all when I dust every week (I do my own housework since I retired).

With my personality, I tend to be more about functionality and logistics rather than decorative. I guess that's why I use things that have meaning. I don't think that I've ever gone to any store with the purpose of finding decorative objects or pictures.

I've learned a lot here.

When designing this house layout, I took a very long look at the principles of Feng Shui. I think there's something to it.

Cameron

Clarification -- when I stay that I don't go to store for finding decorative objects, etc....I do obviously shop for lamps and frames, linens, pillows and towels, etc. I just have always gone to antique stores, craft fairs/galleries or stores on my travels to look for really decorative accessories like vases, figures, bowls, etc.

I don't follow and rules, but tabletop accessories in odd numbers usually look better to my eye. I don't stand there and count, but it usually ends up that way! lol

Nothing comes home or stays out unless it "says" something to me or makes me happy to see when I pass by.

I started collecting antique architectural etchings 8yrs ago. I'm about to run out of wall space. :( Not many are in the slide show linked below. (Kindly do not post pictures or the link elsewhere. Thank you in advance.)

I like odd things, old things....things with a history. They tell a story and are more interesting to me. I rarely buy new items (accessories - Ditto Cameron, but I mostly have old lamps). I look for small items to carry or ship home when traveling. Love antique stores - the bargain kind, not the "I can't afford to eat this week" kind. ;)

Like Cameron, less is more. I want my home to look like a home, not a store. I like to be able to clean easily and "see" what's out rather than my eyes not be able to rest because of "too much."

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Here is a link that might be useful: Accessories

Red ~~

Thanks for responding. Your pictures show up as little red X's and even using the properties doesn't bring them up. :( I agree with you 100% about Judith -- that's the most beautiful accessorizing I've ever seen anywhere. I love that thread and was hoping to see more pics from others.

Cameron ~~

Sounds wonderful and where do you get the antique botanical prints? I love those.

Allison ~~

I won't post them anywhere. You have a wonderful way with antique pieces. What is the source of the glass balls you have in the wire basket on the table? They look great. There's too much good stuff there to even mention it all!

I've gotten botanical prints from www.panteek.com, from estate sales and from going to used book stores and finding books from the 1800's with plates in good condition. The plates are usually attached to a page and can easily be removed from the book without damage -- it just takes patience. There are also some books from the early 1900s that are nice. Before I dismantle any book, I do some research to make sure it's not so rare that it's too valuable to dismantle. Botanicals can be reasonably priced if not rare or astronomically priced if rare and in demand.

Cameron

The only thing on my coffee table is a wooden tray that contains the remotes, coasters, a pad of paper and a pen -- the bare essentials that seem to "have" to collect there. I'm a believer in keeping the top of the coffee table bare otherwise, so there is space for people to put down drinks, books, or whatever. Other tables might have a few decorative items but not too much, and like others have said, the "stuff" has to have some meaning for us, or we have to really love it. A few small plants here and there, but only in nice pottery/ceramic pots! No plastic pots! On our walls are mostly original paintings... we have become original-art fiends. It's not all expensive or "important," but I love having real art in my house. Even (or especially) if it's done by my 6 year old! I love framing my kids' artwork. My kitchen doesn't have a lot of decorative stuff except for the open bookshelves that are on one wall -- these have books as well as pottery I've collected over the years, and some family photos. Bedroom is still a work in progress, and none of our bathrooms are big enough to have many accessories! I think "accessorizing" takes a lot of trial and error. I move my stuff around pretty regularly, add and subtract, sometimes put something away for a while and then find a new spot for it, etc. Oh, and one of my favorite works of "art" is a masterpiece I got from ebay for $25 -- it's a large papier-mache moose head that we hung on our family room wall. We decorate him according to the seasons -- right now he still has tacky gold garland around his neck from Christmas, but soon we'll put his striped wool scarf back on. In the summer he wears a floral lei.

Thank you, Oceana. The glass balls are Japanese floats. There was a thread about them, but it must have scrolled off the board. I purchased mine locally at antique stores. Old ones can be found on ebay or by searching the internet.

If you can't find antique botanical prints, look at your local bookstore for coffee table books on flowers. In our last home, I had several hummingbirds with flowers framed from a large book.

Here is a link that might be useful: Book Example

What's on your coffee table?
Here is a pic from GR. Still working on ottoman for FR.
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What's on your end tables?
I'm still working on end tables for GR. Ditto for FR
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What's on your walls?
Not much. LOL - I am out almost every weekend looking for the perfect pieces and I have had not much luck. Frankly it doesn't help to see rooms posted here with beautiful artwork and identify something I like and then to go out and not have much luck finding either the same or comparable.

What accessories are in your kitchen?
Definitely still working on the kitchen. This area is not priority right now WRT accessories.

Your bedroom?
'm taking the fifth! LOL- Seriously another room on the back burner until I finish the public rooms.

Your bathroom?
See bedroom answer above.

Some of you are just fantastic at accessorizing. How did you learn? What rules do you follow?
I think I have a form of ADHD when it comes to accessorizing. LOL! As I've written before I don't have the naturally trained eye to "see" what others see. My brain gets fuzzy when there is too much to see or too many choices. I have to take it in small doses and really be patient to figure out what to choose. Using Z gallerie as an example, when I'm in a store I "see" colors and images and things but it is hard to focus on those accessories that work. Everything gets jumbled and overwhelming and it can be frustrating. Recently what I have started to do is walk slowly around the store and then rinse and repeat 2 or 3 times. As I'm walking, I try to focus on one small area at a time. This has helped a lot but is slow going. I think for me at least recognizing the problem has cut down on some of the frustration as I know that I have to take it slowly.

Sorry for the delay in answering everyone. My computer DIED.

Red ~~

Now that I have a new computer, your pictures are shwoing up. Funny about that, huh? lol! I love your bar cabinet and the accessories. Your plant on the top reminds me of a pineapple. Cute little Eiffel Tower. I have nad no luck with African Violets, I kill them. So hats off to you for keeping them alive. Real plants always look so wonderful and I love your grouping on the wall around your mirror. That's a great dresser. Your home looks so welcoming. Thanks for posting the pics.

Cameron ~~

I didn't even think of looking at a used book store -- that's a wonderful idea. I remember seeing a pic here quite a while back where a gal had gotten the most wonderful botanicals from a calendar and framed them in her dining room. I never did find anything like hers, though. Wish I had that picture now. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

Sueb ~~

I'm with you; I got rid of all plastic flower pots long ago. Yumm on the original artwork. I framed some of my kids' stuff when they were younger. It delighted them and encouraged them, and it delighted me too. Haha on the moose head. You should post a pic!

Allison ~~

I should have guessed those were fishing floats. Very nice! That book you linked to has beautiful prints... but I'd be very reluctant to pay $50 for a book and then cut it up.

Deborah ~~

What a great ottoman! That basket tray is so pretty on it, as are the pieces you have on it. Too bad remotes aren't more decorative, huh? Your pillows with the brush fringe look great on your pretty couch. Yumm on your curtains, too. Your glass top end tables are lovely with the crystal on them. I miss seeing Matt and Shari with a new show every day on HGTV. She is so good at accessorizing! I was trying to learn from her. I know just what you mean about copying a picture we like. It's not so easy to find things that are the same or similar. I think I just need to get a general feel for it. I keep hoping some of this talent will magically rub off on me if I see enough pictures. Some of the pics I like the best are groupings of things I'd have walked right by. I agree; I get in a store and see a million things and my brain starts drawing a dialing tone.

I love seeing all your pictures, thanks!

I miss Matt and Sheri as well as Kitty Barthelmew. I learned a lot from watching their shows.

I wish stores like PB, RH, Z Gallerie, HomeGoods and C&B held classes on accessorizing in their stores. It would be a great learning tool and I'm sure the classes would result in numerous purchases for the retailers. It is so much easier for someone like us, to do and visualize IRL!

Sorry about your computer. I hate when that happens!

That was just an example. You could look in the sale section. My sister bought my hummingbird book at Sam's. If you take a razor knife to cut out the pages (mine were thick), you won't even miss them when you look through the book.

If you'd like some hummingbirds, I'll be happy to send you a few. All include some type of flower in the picture and are "antique" looking. Just name what color(s) you would want them to include and I'll take a few pictures for you to choose from.

Here are some of my accessories and some of what is on my walls. The small pictures in the frame are a combination of some small Andrew Wyeth prints, a postcard from Shakertown at Pleasant Hill, Ky and my own photos. The desk is an 1840's tilt down storekeeper's desk. The top opens up for storage and there are cubbies all inside. We've had this desk since we were married...almost 40 years.

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Two old clocks and a new clock. :) The print in the back is called The First Friend...an infant sleeping in a basket with a dog standing by.

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Two old candlesticks and a stylized wonderful ceramic frog. I just love him.

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My office/computer room. I spend a lot of time in here and I like having the things I love around me. Prints of Charleston and Savannah, a photo of my mother taken in 1930 at age 6, a print of a Mennonite barn, etc. And, of course, the computer.

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Some things on top of a silver cupboard in the dining area...a basket shaped like a goose, some bunny things and an Eldreth pottery piece of Noah's Ark

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A comfy bedroom with family photos. The print above the bed is In From the Fields by Peter Sculthorpe.

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Deborah ~~

I never saw Kitty Bartholemew. I love your ideas about the classes! Some of the folks here could make money teaching them. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them.

Allison ~~

What a sweet offer! I'm not so sure about the birds... and I have a long way to go before I get to this. But that was very kind of you. Hugs! Maybe if you could just send me one or two pics I could visualize it better? My colors are pretty much a dark orange-red, green, and gold or beige.

Redbazel and Oceanna, thank you for the lovely comments you gave me.

I do follow some "rules", but mostly I do what pleases my "eye". I tend to go more elaborate than some people, but I love simplicity too. Accessorizing is such a personal thing, everyone needs to pinpoint their style and go with that, what may be "too much" for one, is just right for another. LOL As others have mentioned using odd numbers is pleasing, using a trianglar shape/outline of your chosen items works (so your eye "travels"), using a plant, having objects that go from tall to short, keeping in a color scheme, keeping in a theme in general, using plates, dishes, bowls, platters works (for me). Adding in a small portrait of one's loved one is always a nice personal touch too. The choices are only limited by what you own in your home, sometimes you might have to go and buy something to finish off your look, but I have found that what I buy will look lovely elsewhere and is not limited to where you put it (unless it is a seasonal item (Christmas accessory etc.)But, you would be surprised at just how much you already do own and will be able to set up a look that will suit you and your home. I will often see something done somewhere else and I just use reasonable subsitutions, as long as the shapes, style, colors are there, you can probably carry off the "inspiration" look fairly easily.

My home, well currently, but always in flux :)

On coffee table: right now, my collection of crystal decanters, some that I purchased when I lived in Germany about 30 yrs ago, some that I have purchased in more recent years. Candlesticks, and 80% of the time I will be displaying books (I have many, many books, so while I look at them, they are also displayed). Little bird nest under a glass dome with natural color bird. I like putting the elegant with the more simple or natural look sometimes. My coffee table changes looks constantly, I recycle my accessories all through my home as my whim dictates.

End tables: both tables have a lamp, the lamps do not match, on one end table is a modern simple-lined crystal lamp, and with it is a set of blue and white Staffordshire "style" dogs. Plant (real this time, but I will also use nice "fakes") green round plate on stand, very small photo of my DD in a silver frame. Both tables have glass coasters for holding my beverage of choice (I don't ever forget that my end tables/coffee table still has to be practical LOL) The other end table has a lamp in a burnished gold candlestick style lamp, a bust of a woman, 2 bookends with 3 of my current favorite books in-between and in this case a nice fake plant/flower arrangement in an urn, this look is about to changed this weekend. My end tables change a lot too, again according to my whim, I do have a few near and dear things from my travels and gifts so I like to be able to display them, just not all at once and not always in the same spot, that way my "eye" appreciates them all over again..I find if an accessory stays in the same place for a while, my "eyes" cease to "see" them anymore, so when I put them in a new location I enjoy them all over again.

On walls of DR, botanicals, bird drawings, sometimes I highlight my collection of dishes and platters on the wall, (this way I get to use my large collection of dishes for not just dining off of, but out in the open to look at too as a decorative accessory. I am getting ready to rotate a mirror that is in another room to the DR.
LR: Large mirror over couch (right now), I am going to add either more botanicals or bird drawings and 2 corbels with a dish perched on each one, or maybe even a blue and white vase from my collection, it all depends on what I do in my DR since they are connected and visible to each other.

Accessories in kitchen: I have a few ceramic roosters (near and dear to my heart, not just because they are a certain "style", but because my father was brought up on a poultry farm, so it is a loving "nod" to him). Again, I don't put them ALL out at once (I have the worlds smallest kitchen), I will rotate the ones I have in and out depending on the look that I want at that time.

Bedroom: Right now the linens are green and white, I have stacked mirrored boxes on the end table for a bit of glam and usefullness, and I have stacked boxes of green and white boxes on top of my large wall unit (for looks and usefulness, storage is important to me since my home is tiny). Small collection of elegant mini clocks, large apothecary glass jar (I love these jars, I have MANY) with white rose heads, on other tiny end table my very large and tall creamy white rabbit, more books (books are everywhere, well almost) LOL. Art on walls.

Bathroom: Apothecary glass jars, filled with cotton balls, and other necessities. One tall jar with nest and greenery. Well, no books in here LOL , my bathroom is in the "wrecked" stage right now, needs new walls, floor etc. so I am not particularly decorative in there.

Sorry this is so long....

We are about to undertake a redecoration of our entry, living room and dining room. But, photos are linked from "My Page" showing our home as it was last winter. Accessories change with the seasons - just removing holiday decorations - house looks so empty.

Thank you very much to everyone who contributed to this thread. I do appreciate it and I learned.