Accessorizing any room or space in your home can be overwhelming to most people. It is the the final layer of the room that can sometimes make or break a space.

image via House Beautiful

Most people fall into one of these two schools thoughts on this subject. They tend to have nothing in the room but the essentials or they put everything they own and more into a space. Less is more, in my opinion. Editing a room is an essential ingredient to a creating a successful space. And using pieces and items that are personal to the owners makes a house become a home.

Coco Chanel, the famous French fashion designer, is known to say ” before you leave the house, take off one thing”, meaning a piece of jewelry or accessory. That is how I feel about most items in a room. Edit, edit, and edit again. Negative space, the area or wall that you leave empty, is just a important as the positive space, the area or wall that you accessorize.

There are many approaches to styling a cocktail table, therefore there is not a perfect equation for this task. Many will say that styling in groups of three is what works the best. I agree with that but I also know that in design, rules can be broken. Sometime I use five pieces on a table; sometimes only two, and other times a collection of items. I like tables that have a balance of high and low objects and but prefer less objects to an overabundance of items.

Every space is different and it is hard to stick to a steadfast rule. I would rather you have less items than the wrong items. Scale or proportion are critical in making the table feel balanced.

If you have a grouping of items or a collection of pieces, a tray can be used to group these items together and then that tray becomes one item on that table.

Books on a cocktail table can add the height that you need depending on how many books are stacked. Flowers or greenery, and I prefer real plants and flowers, add the height and the natural warmth needed to make the table and space inviting.

images via pinterest