DEAR BECKY: Just so you know, you are not alone. Besides selecting paint colors, accessorizing seems to be the most frustrating area for most homeowners. Accessories are the finishing touches that make your home personal and bring each room together, just as jewelry shows your personality and dresses up your wardrobe. They both complete and complement your foundation.

Accessorizing is about fussing with things until they feel right, which I know is where you’re frustrated. To help you, I’m going to give you some sets to follow. Once you have them down, you’ll be able to change your items out when you want a new look.

To start, clear off your coffee table, it’s important to start with a blank canvas.

Next, gather up the accessories that you’d like to use, knowing you’re not going to use all of them. Group them by type, just like you see in the store: candles, vases, figurines, greenery, frames and so on.

What you’re going to do is form a triangular pattern that has three layers or heights, as well as a variety of textures and color. Although you can create a stunning grouping with all the same textures and colors, you still need to vary the heights.

Start with your tallest accessory and place it off center and to the back of the table, instead of right in the middle. You want to create a grouping versus lining them up.

Now select the next one you’d like to use. This piece should be smaller. Place it at the second point of the triangle.

Then select the third piece, which will be your smallest. Many times my third accessory is greenery to soften the grouping. If you have a large table or would like to use more than three things, place two more items into your triangular pattern. I do like using odd numbers, but nothing says you have to. It’s all about balance.

Once you’re comfortable creating groupings, do what looks and feels right.

If you need a starting point, take pictures at model homes or cut pictures out from magazines. Then re-create the look by selecting similar accessories from what you have.

I know this sounds simple, but it always isn’t when you start. So here are a couple things to watch for:

• Make sure nothing is too high and blocking your view to the television or chairs where guest may be sitting. You don’t want to have to look around candlesticks to watch television or chat.
• How does your grouping look from all angles? I don’t like using frames on a coffee table because you see the backs when sitting on the sofa. They are best placed on side tables or a console.
• Don’t overcrowd the table. This is sometimes where people go astray and it ends up looking like a sale table. Add one piece at a time and when it looks too crowded take the last one off.
• Are the accessories visually too heavy, too light, too large or too small for the table? You especially need to watch this when you have a small, delicate glass table. But on the same token a large wood table should have substantial pieces.
• Keep the theme the same. I wouldn’t place a rustic candlestick and a country goose together with an Oriental vase. Instead use a brass candlestick and a swan figurine with the vase. Each item does not have to be Oriental but they should have the same feel.
• Have you added color? It can be as simple as color from candles, decorative balls, potpourri, flowers or even books.

Accessorizing really is the fun part and makes all the difference in a well-made room. So jump in and try a couple of different arrangements until you find the one you like.

BEFORE – The homeowner was stumped about what to do with her glass top table because of the rattan shelf, so didn’t use anything.

AFTER – Simple accessories — books and greenery — were placed on the lower rattan shelf. The addition of the flower on the glass top helped balance out the color from her sofa.

Holiday-inspired table toppers, a wooden stand with ornaments and Holly Hobbies help create a festive atmosphere.

Here we are again, the holiday season. I say it every year, so why not again, “Where did this year go?” I am so over the summer heat, as I know all of you are too, but I’m sure as heck not ready for the holidays. I don’t know why I’m feeling that it snuck up on me since I’ve been seeing holiday decorations in the stores since May. And here we are with Halloween on Sunday.

I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m not a big holiday decorator, but I did bring out my Halloween things this year. Just a few simple things for my fireplace and tables. I’m going to try and get into the season this year. I have a good start, but will have to see how it goes. For those who are like me and just don’t have the time or any kids at home but want to do a little this year, I’m going to share a couple of things that I do.

First, do you have any collections that have holiday themes? I have a collection of Holly Hobbies. Yes, you read that right. My brother bought me my first one more than 35 years ago and I still find them sweet. I’m very much a reminiscent person; special gifts mean more to me than anything new.
One room in my house is just for me. Although my husband would love to take it over to expand his office it’s not happening. It’s filled with special gifts and memories. I have my father’s high chair, a rocking chair that my godmother had at her house for me and my Holly Hobbie collection.

A simple thing that I do with my Holly Hobbies is move the ones for each holiday out into other parts of the house. After a while you no longer see things that are out every day, but when you move them around, you appreciate them again.

Next, I have a simple wooden tree stand that my mother bought me. It has six wooden cutouts for each month, so I switch them out each month. It takes about five minutes. It’s a simple thing you can do with a small wire tree and seasonal ornaments. All of the dollar and craft stores have them. As you can tell, I’m more into charming and simple than fancy and elaborate.

I love candy corn; it so reminds me of trick or treating as a kid in New York City back when you could run around on the streets. So I fill a bowl with them and then try to stay away and keep from dipping my hand in.

For Thanksgiving I like pinecones, gourds, Indian corn and fall leaves. We used to go to Vermont every year for the changing of the leaves and always brought back some for show-and-tell. As soon as we got home, we would iron them between pieces of wax paper. I know we really don’t have too many fall leaves here, so I have some very realistic silk ones.

My favorites for December are colorful glass ornaments, candy canes and crocheted snowflakes.
Lastly, you can create a quick floral arrangement. Start with two tall glass vases, one of which is smaller and fits inside the other, leaving you a couple of inches between each vase. The inside vase is where you’ll place your flowers. Fill the inside vase with silica sand and just start placing stems inside. I’m not taking about doing a fancy professional arrangement, just simple stems. I like silica sand versus floral foam because it is easier to work with and holds the stems in place. Use sticks for Halloween, leaves for Thanksgiving and berries for December.

With your inside vase completed, place it in the larger vase and fill the area between the inside and outside vases with something interesting. Some of the things you can use for Halloween are spiders, candy corn or bats. For Thanksgiving try leaves, very small pumpkins or Indian corn. Then for December use ornaments, snowflakes, wrapped candy, candy canes or fake snow. Or, you can use anything else that brings the look and feel of the season to you.

This is something fun that you can leave up all year for a quick holiday touch. For New Year’s use noise makers. On Valentine’s Day use candy hearts. At Easter try jelly beans. For the start of school use pencils. I think you get the idea. It’s really something that’s very easy and fun to do for a quick seasonal change.

Oh, I almost forgot. My mom also made me table toppers with holiday fabric.

Enjoy the changing of the season, renew your spirit, revive your home and create new memories for next season.

Phot from Decorpad

Now that you have all of your furniture in place, let’s finish up your rooms with more creative ideas. 

The five-minute floral arrangement

Here are four down and dirty steps to create a floral arrangement on the fly.

Step 1: Take out a clear vase, you know the one under your kitchen sink that you kept from when you got flowers last. If, by any chance, you haven’t received flowers in a while, first go out and buy yourself some because you’re worth it, or grab a water pitcher or wine decanter.

Step 2: Go outside and fill your container with sand and rocks or buy a $5 bag of silica sand from a home-improvement store.

Step 3: While you’re out there, grab the clippers and trim up those overgrown bushes, scrubs or trees, just a little bit.

Step 4: With your natural and earthly supplies in hand, start by placing one in the center; this should be the tallest piece. Now work around that piece placing similar branches or twigs in a triangular pattern. Continue doing this, each time stepping down in size and turning the triangle 45 degrees. When your container is almost full, place any trailing pieces so that they come down on one side of the vase, but not all around.

You don’t need to be a floral designer to create an arrangement on the fly. Plus, along with being creative you’re also getting some of your yard work done.

A fly on the wall

Are blank walls staring you in the face? Are you not ready to buy any artwork or just don’t know what to buy? Well, first know that artwork doesn’t have to be a framed image. There are all kinds of things that you can use in place of something that you might buy at an art gallery or have framed, and here are just a few to get your creativity going.

- Create a wall gallery with floating shelves and smaller pieces of art or picture frames. Accessorize the shelves just like you would a coffee or side table with colorful accessories and greenery.

- Go into the china cabinet and bring out your mothers and grandmother plates. Buy nice plate hangers and make a collection of memories.

- Are your family pictures taking over every horizontal surface? Well, get them up on the wall for everyone to see. So that they don’t continue to grow up, down and along the wall, place a simple wood chair rail molding on the wall in the shape of a large frame and hang your pictures inside. Or look for a couple of large frames at a thrift or yard sale. Hang them side by side to frame your frames. A collection of empty frames also creates a very fun and interesting wall gallery.

- Do you have lots of vacation mementos stuffed in a draw or hall closet? Get them out and put together shadow boxes from each year. You can buy nice inexpensive ready-made shadow boxes from any of the larger art chains or craft stores.

A bowl full of fun

Do you have a bowl but don’t know what to fill it with? Here are seven ideas of what you can use.

Buttons: Old, new and interesting and we all have drawers and sewing boxes full of them. Like we really ever thought, when the button fell off, we were actually going to find it and sew it back on.

Candy: You might not want to fill the bowl with your favorite if you’re trying to diet, but your guests will enjoy it.

Stones/rocks: Start by just getting some from the yard, then, as you travel, pick one up from each place you go. My mother-in-law has filled her front planter with rocks from her travels as well as ones we’ve brought back from ours. I was in Russia a couple of years ago in December and trying to even find the ground under the snow, let alone dig up a rock, must mean I love her.

Spools of thread: I don’t sew but I love the look of a bowl full of colorful thread and old bobbins.

Vacation and special photographs: OK, now this means that you’re going to have to actually print some out from your computer. But wouldn’t it be nice to grab in and pull out a picture to reminisce every now and then.

Game pieces: How many of us have stacks and stacks of games in our closets that we haven’t played in years? Or go to the dollar store fill the bowl with marbles, domino pieces and pick-up-sticks.

Fortune cookies: I know we don’t have these just sitting in our pantry, but wouldn’t it be fun to have a bowl of fortune cookies. Most Chinese restaurants that make them themselves will put your own saying in them for a small charge.

And just in case you need a couple other ways to help your creativity fly

Have a decorate-in-a-night party with your girlfriends. Have stacks of decorating magazines there that everyone goes through and pulls out different ideas for the area you’re trying to decorate. As always, two heads are better then one, especially with a glass of wine.

Offer a room to a design school or local interior redesign instructor to complete for a class project. New students and redesigners are eager, excited and come up with creative ideas.

Next time you’re at a hotel or restaurant, spend some time looking around. Any idea no matter how large in scale can be downsized to work in any room. Recently I was at a restaurant that used a garage door as a room divider; it was very cool. This would be a creative closet door in a boy’s room with a car theme.

Visit model homes. Interior designers, when we decorate a model home, are really doing interior merchandising and many times are on a very tight budget, therefore we have to be very creative.

Well, I hope my creativity on the fly articles have inspired you to think a bit more out-of-the-box and fly free. Remember, “time does fly when you’re having fun.”

In case you missed Part 1 – here’s the link.  http://www.gmjinteriors.com/2010/03/16/creative-decorators-think-outside-the-box/

DEAR GAIL: My husband and I have started collecting old luggage. It all started when we were given a piece of my grandmother’s that she used when she moved here from Germany. It is now almost an obsession and our home is becoming overrun by them. We have so much fun looking for them when we travel, but if we don’t stop soon we’re going to need a bigger house. Besides telling us to stop buying, what are some creative ways we can display them throughout our home. — Tammy and Tom 

DEAR TAMMY and TOM: Collections are fun but they can overtake your home. I have closets full of Barbie dolls. 

The first thing that came to mind is that you could use them as storage and place them in an attractive way. This would make them dual purpose since most of us do not have enough storage anyway. 

So, here are my top 10 ideas that I came up with for you. 

1. Stack them and use the stack as a coffee, side or console table. To protect the top, use a piece of glass. If it is a table that you will be using, like in your family room, make sure to steady it. You can weigh them down by placing bricks inside. Of course, only use your hard-side luggage. 

Another option for a table is to put legs on the suitcases instead of stacking them. 

2. For your smaller ones, think about where you have countertop or tabletop space and what you can store in them. They can be used for toiletries in your bathrooms, spices in your kitchen, jewelry on your dresser and remotes in the family room. 

3. Group them together on the floor with floor plants, accessories and other travel items you’ve collected along the way. 

4. Line the inside with plastic and place by your front door for your shoes. 

5. Don’t be afraid to think out-of-the-box and place them up on a large potshelf. 

6. Stack them at the end of your bed to store your decorative pillows and as a place for your comforter when you turn it down at night. 

7. In your office, you can use them to store office supplies. 

The Salvage Studio:Sustainable Home Comforts to Organize, Entertain & Inspire. Photo Courtesy of Skiptone

8. Create a sculpture with them. It can be simple as a tower piece from the gals of Salvage Studio in Washington, or as crazy as the one that is inside the Sacramento International Airport. Wow!  Now we know what happens with all the unclaimed luggage. 

9. Another use for your smaller pieces is to incorporate them into a wall gallery on shelves. Prop some open and place silk greens in them to soften the lines. 

10. If you have a walk-in closet, stack them or place them above your hanging area to store your off-season clothes. It’s better than looking at plastic bins. 

Try not to overdo anything and consider switching your suitcases out; after 27 days we really no longer see what’s around us. And, as the saying goes, “Too much of anything is not always good.”

DEAR KATIE: I, like you, have lots of wine corks as we enjoy a bottle or two with dinner. I have no idea why we don’t throw them away either, but we don’t. You can quickly get overtaken by them. Plus now we’re saving the foil tops, good grief.

One thing we started to do to make them more interesting is to write on each cork the date and reason or event why we opened the bottle of wine. When vacationing, we write on the cork the name of the wine, varietal, date and one or two words to describe it. When having a party, have your guests sign, date and add a special message on a cork. Then replace the old ones in your bowls with these. They’re a lot more fun to have out and share your good times with others. Then when you have enough, which I’m sure won’t be long, place your favorites in a see-through-glass picture frame; the type that doesn’t have a cardboard back. Attach them with glue dots; this way you can see both the front and back.

Make a cork board with corks from your favorite wineries. Place it in your wine room, kitchen, dining room or wherever you enjoy your wine. Look for interesting push pins of grapes, wine glasses, wine bottles or cork screws. Put another in your bedroom to use as your jewelry holder. Use long upholstery tacks to hang your bracelets and necklaces from and just push your earrings and pins into the corks.

Cover the top of a side, coffee or console table with them and place a piece of glass over the corks to get an even flat surface. This is an excellent way to transform a yard sale or thrift store find. If you have a display table — a table with a glass top and drawer — display wine labels, cork stoppers, postcards and photographs from your wine tastings and vacations.

To use some of them in a more functional way, cut your duplicates in fourths or halves and place them on the bottom of any pots, jars or accessories that have rough bottoms. It will keep them from scratching your counters and furniture.

If you’re adventurous, you can cover one accent wall or install the corks as the backsplash in your kitchen or bar, but do not put them behind your stove because they are flammable and get very messy. Place a straight row around the outside and then place two horizontal and two vertical to creative a basket weave pattern. Not up to covering a wall? Cover a canvas that will cover the wall. Paint the canvas black and hot glue to your heart’s content. This makes for a great conversation piece.

Depending how far you want to go with your corks and wine theme, here are a couple of more out-of-the-box ideas.
Cover a headboard, the back of your kitchen pot shelves, a folding screen, the ceiling in your wine area, frame your bathroom mirror or cover the front of your breakfast bar, island or bar.

Replace your existing wood baseboard with corks. Place square-top molding at the floor — for the corks to sit on — then place vertical rows of corks that you have cut in half (this way they will lay flat against the wall) and top off it with a piece of rounded molding. You might not want to do your whole house, but it would be fun in your bar, kitchen, family room, dining room or guest bath.

Another unique way I saw corks used was to create an actual artwork image. You can try this by using a poster as a guide and glue the corks directly onto the poster, changing the direction with each color change in the poster. What would really be interesting is to have posters of the different wine varietals and use the corks that match that varietal. Frame the poster and you have a custom piece of cork art. I think that’s one idea I’m going try.

Then there are always trivets, wreaths, frames, picture matting, covering a wooden box, flower pot, coasters and Christmas ornaments.

Or, better yet, send them to artist Steven Leslie (www.oneofacork.com) and have him make you an amazing cork vase. They are true pieces of art.

Now if you have about 160,000 corks stored away, there’s a man who built a boat from the corks he had been saving for 30 years. He sailed around Portugal in his cork boat.

DEAR CAROLYNN: Just because it’s called a bookcase doesn’t mean that it needs to be filled with books, just as a china cabinet doesn’t need to only hold china. Neither one is really meant to be used just for storage, but as areas where you display your books and china. You are not alone in this as most people are stumped on what to do with these pieces, which is why they become storage spaces.

First, completely empty them. Start unloading from the bottom up, especially with a china cabinet. You do this so that in case you drop anything, there will be nothing below it on a shelf that can get broken. Sort your hardback books from your paperbacks because it’s time for your paperbacks to be stored somewhere else.

Now I want you to take out all the shelves. Just because the piece came with four shelves that can be placed evenly apart, doesn’t mean that’s where they need to go or that you have to use all of them. This is secret number one to accessorizing bookcases.

Next, look around your house and gather up anything that you like that has been hidden away or unappreciated where it currently is. Do you have any tall accessories, artwork or mirrors to add color and light? If you have an electrical outlet in your unit, do you have any small accent lights that can be placed on a shelf? How about extra greens to soften the edges of your books and shelves?

If your bookcases go from floor to ceiling, the bottom shelf is a good place for a row of larger books or a series of books. For anyone who is not using a lot of books, you’ll start with your visually heaviest accessory. This will balance the weight in your bookcase from top to bottom. You don’t want to have your most delicate piece of china on the bottom with a heavy clay vase or bowl above.

Now secret number two. Pull out the tall accessory, artwork or accent lamp you’ve found. Place it at eye level and put in your next shelves above and below. You can off-center the item and place an accessory or a group of books on the other end of the shelf. If the piece is very large, it’s OK to center it so that it’s the focal point on the shelf.

Next, secret number three. Zigzag the weight from shelf to shelf. Don’t completely line up items across each shelf, but zigzag them from corner to corner. Think of a Z. Start at the bottom and place a stack of books on the right side of the shelf. Step up to the next shelf and place a stack of books on the left side of the shelf; on the next shelf place the stack on the right side, and continue zigzagging from side-to-side. You are not filling the shelf, just placing a group of books on each side. When working with books, all of them do not need to be standing up. Alternate them from standing to laying down to a combination.

If you’re not working with a lot of books, you would be placing accessories in these spots.

What zigzagging accomplishes is keeping your eyes moving up and down the bookcase instead of just stopping on the shelves where items have been lined up. It also eliminates eye clutter.

The next step is to continue to add to each shelf. Start again at the bottom and place an accessory on the other end of the shelf. You can have a group of frames, a large decorative accessory, a small piece of artwork or decorative plate on a plate stand. If your bookcase is deeper than 12 inches, place the taller pieces in the back or raise up small items with books, glass blocks or accessory risers. Incorporate greenery with your books and accessories to soften the look. Place a small accessory or green on top of the books you’ve placed on their sides.

The final step is to step back and look to see if you’ve zigzagged from corner to corner on each shelf. Also check to see if you have balanced the weight of your accessories from top to bottom. Look for some empty space between the groupings on each shelf. It’s OK to leave empty space on a shelf so that the eye has some place to rest.

When you’re done, you’ll have an attractive, interesting and decorated bookcase, and not just book storage.

DEAR DOTTIE M: Like any collection, you need to get them out of the drawers and closets and display them for you and your guest to enjoy. First, if you are not already doing this, a fun thing is to write on each cork the date and reason or event that you opened the bottle of wine. When vacationing, write the winery you visited and the vintage of wine and one or two words to describe it. For your wine tasting parties, have your guests sign and date the corks with a special added message. Then place a bunch of them in a bowl. It is a nice way to display and share some of your good times and memories.

Along with a bowl, you can also gather up different sizes and shapes of clear glass jars, vases, canisters, or oversized wine glasses or brandy snifters. Group them together with a couple of your favorite bottles of wine and a framed picture on a table easel.

You can also make a cork board. It’s as simple as taking a piece of black foamcore and placing it inside a ready-made frame. Then just hot glue the corks onto the foamcore. You want black or colored foamcore since you will see some of it showing through. Look for interesting push pins of grapes, wine glasses, wine bottles or cork screws.

If you are adventurous, you can cover one accent wall or install them as the backsplash in your kitchen or bar. Place a straight row around the wall and then place two horizontal and then two vertical to creative a basket weave pattern. It will be a wonderful conversation piece.

Not up to covering a wall? How about covering a canvas that will cover the wall? Again paint the canvas black or the cork color and hot glue to your hearts content. Then simply hang and let the comments begin. You can even hang a picture in the center of it and let it act as a backdrop.

Replace your existing wood baseboard with corks. Place a square top molding at the floor, for the corks to sit on, then place one vertical row of corks that you have cut in half, this way they will lay better against the wall, and top off with another piece of rounded molding. You might not want to do your whole house, but it would be fun in your bar, kitchen, family room, dining or guest bath.

Make a side or coffee table with them. This is an excellent way to transform a yard sale or thrift store find. Cover the top with your corks and then place a piece of glass over to get an even flat surface. If you have a display table, add some extra touches of wine labels, cork stoppers, postcards and photographs of you enjoying your favorite bottle of wine.

Corks also work as a floor mat. Make a wood frame and place the corks on painted particle board. Use it as your front door mat. Just don’t use any of your special corks as you’ll probably need to replace it occasional with the dust we have here in the valley.

Of course some ideas that you may have already tried are trivets, wreaths, frames, picture matting, covering a wooden box and Christmas ornaments.

Now if you have about 160,000 corks stored away, I read about a man that built a boat from the corks he had been saving for 30 years and sailed around Portugal in his cork boat. So Dottie, have fun and empty those cork drawers.

DEAR SUZANNE: I love decorating with plants. They bring the outdoors in, breathe life into any room and soften your décor. Green represents life, nature and growth. It is the most prominent color on the Earth’s surface than any other. It is so prevalent in nature that we never question its place in any room, no matter what the color scheme is.

So with that said, how green are your thumbs? If you have the time, and can grow and maintain healthy good-looking plants, by all means decorate with real plants. Live plants breathe oxygen into the air and make us feel good about having living and growing items in our homes.

But if your thumbs are brown like mine, then silk plants are the best way to go. There is nothing worst than seeing brown, limp and dying plants in a home. It immediately gives the feeling and impression of being un-maintained.

With live plants, first consider where you are going to place them. How much light will them get? What size of container can you use? Have this information in mind when you start shopping for your plants. You’ll want to select plants whose lighting requirements and container needs are suitable for the area you are placing them.

If you’re new to growing houseplants, go to a nursery to purchase them. Talk to an expert and they can properly direct you to a plant that will do well in your homes’ environment. Some that even I’ve had success with are: philodendrons, Mothers-in-Law Tongue, Boston fern and jade plants.

If silk plants are the way you prefer to go, or for those areas of your home where live plants don’t have a chance to survive, there are some silk plants guidelines you’ll want to follow.

First, even though they are silk, you want them to look as real as possible. To do this, select greenery and flowers that are also found in nature. Purchase the best quality you can afford because better quality silk do look closer to real. Even though they are silk, they do require maintenance. Clean them on a regular basis so that the dust doesn’t build up. Shine the leaves to give them a healthy appearance.

If you are going to place silks outside on your front porch or back patio, along with only using plants normally seen in nature and especially in our environment, place them in outdoor containers and then add dirt to the top instead of the fake green moss. The dirt gives the illusion that the plants could be real and if you do spend a little more on them, you’ll have your guests guessing.

Whether live or silk, you’ll want to select plants that coordinate with your rooms’ theme, mood, style and color scheme. Classic traditional arrangements could include roses, iris, snapdragons and carnations. If your dècor is more casual, consider mixing greens and flowering plants of pothos, ivy, sunflowers and daisies. Have more clean lines and smooth surfaces? Use bold exotic flowers. Orchids are a favorite as they have strong lines that look wonderful standing all on their own.

Some other tips are to: cluster plants as it gives them identity and weight, especially if they are too small to be placed alone, group plants in odd numbers and with different heights and create interest by elevating plants. Ferns are especially attractive on a pedestal or in tall iron planters.

Also, place plants so that they relate to the furnishings in the room. Use trees and floor plants to anchor artwork on the wall to the floor or to soften and break the vertical line of a bookcase, armoire or entertainment unit. Avoid placing trees in corners just to fill the space. If you have an empty corner, bring the plant out into the room a little.

Greenery are excellent fillers and bring the outdoors in, so I would definitely add them into your dècor. Just one word of advice, too much of anything is not always a good thing. Don’t overdue and have so much greenery that you can’t see, "the forest from the trees."

DEAR DAVID: A collection of musical instruments sounds fun, fascinating and very different, especially since you are not in the music business.

For the smaller instruments, like your flute, piccolo, harmonica, triangle, castanet, trumpet and cornet; you can place them in a curio cabinet. The curio should have glass shelves, a mirrored back and lighting so that you can see them from all sides and really enjoy them when the curio is lit. Do not just lay them on the shelves, but purchase appropriate stands to place them on.

It would also be nice to gather up items that accompany the instrument and place them on the shelves together. For instance, with the trumpet you can add a Herb Albert & The Tijuana Brass Album, Marching Band Hat, picture of a marching band and a mute. With the castanets add a sombrero, picture of a Mexican dancer and sheet music from Man of La Mancha. Or how about some jazz pictures and souvenirs from New Orleans to go with your clarinet. What you’re trying to create is a vignette of like items that relate to the instrument. It will bring added interest to your collection.

You could also purchase individual shelves for the instruments and do a wall gallery. All the shelves should be the same style and color and deep enough for the instrument to sit on. Place this on a wall that you are able to walk up to, but not one that is in a main traffic area, like a hallway. Instead of shelves, you could also have clear Plexiglas boxes made for each instrument. Then they would also be protected from dust.

Be very different and place this in your Dining Room over a buffet piece. Behind it you can mirror, wallpaper in sheet music or even paint clef notes, music notes or titles of songs.

If you only have a limited wall area, also incorporate pictures from Jazz concerts, The Symphony or a Recital on the wall. If you have a large enough area, I would let the instruments be the focus of attention.

Along with displaying them on the wall and in a curio cabinet, if you have a china hutch, don’t be afraid to use it for something other than china.

Have the top shelf with a group of your percussion instruments: tambourine, triangle, cymbal and drum sticks. Second shelf with the smaller wind instruments: piccolo, flute, clarinet and oboe. Then the bottom row with the heavier wind instruments: trumpet, cornet, and bugle. Add those extra items of pictures, sheet music, and music albums so that you don’t just have rows of instruments.

For the larger instruments that you have: saxophone, trombone, tubas, banjos, and violas; create a vignette in a corner of your room with the instrument, music stand, stool, pictures, sheet music, music case and something extra; like a band uniform or orchestral dress and place on a dress form. This would be very attractive in your foyer as it will be just a taste of what is to come with the rest of your collection displayed.

You can also group your instruments together by type; wind, percussion and string and have them in just three different areas of the home. Another idea is to completely theme a room in music. It could be your guest room, powder room, game room or loft.

I agree that you don’t want to overwhelm your home with your collection, so only select a couple areas in your home to display them. If your collection is large enough, switch the instruments out every 6 months. After a couple months we no longer even see some of the things around us, so by switching them out, you might appreciate seeing them again when you bring them out.

DEAR JUDIE: After selecting paint colors, accessorizing is the most frustrating area for most homeowners. Accessories are the finishing touches that make your home personal and bring each room together. They can be thought of as being "jewelry" that completes and compliments the room.

There are no secrets. It is mainly about balance, proportion, texture, color and theme. One guideline to help you is to have the following three elements on your tabletops, height, texture and color. Height can come from a candlestick, sculpture, vase or floral. Texture is the material your accessories are made from: a wooden box, decorative basket, or stone candlestick. You’ll then add color with candles, flowers or the accessory.

An example would be a large iron candlestick with an orange candle, a decorative wooden box, a stone acorn finial and a basket of greenery with trails and curly willow sticks. It is not that each item has to have each element, just that each element is present. So you have your height and color from the candlestick and then textures from the box, acorn and basket container.

What then brings the grouping together is balance and proportion. This is where most arrangements go wrong. You need to remember the "visual weights" of your accessories within the grouping and the grouping in relation to the table. You don’t want all the same size in your accessories or go from tall to very small. Until you get comfortable, have three sizes, small, medium and large. Remember to bring in your height, but it doesn’t have to be from the largest pieces.

Maybe you have a very large stone bowl that you can arrange with a wooden sculpture and an iron picture frame. Add colorful decorative balls in the bowl and tuck some greens under the balls trailing over the rim of the bowl onto the table.

The accessories on your table should be in proportion to the size and weight of the table. First, don’t over clutter the table so that it looks like you are simply piling the items there for later arrangement. Or place a bunch of tiny items on a large table or too many large on a small one. Just because you have a lot of accessories does not mean you should or are able to have them all out at once.

You also need to proportion the weight of the accessories to the weight of the table. What this means is that, I wouldn’t place a large bulky stone bowl on a delicate glass and brass table or a fragile petite figurine on a heavy wooden table. The weight of the items and grouping should be in proportion and feel balanced.

For a more visual appealing arrangement, group your accessories together off center on the table. Space them far enough apart so that you can appreciate each item but close enough together to appear as one display. Also keep in mind the rule of odd numbers. Three accessories and a green or a floral and a couple accessories are more than sufficient on a table.

The grouping should also have a common theme just as you have in decorating the room with fabrics, wallpaper, artwork and furniture. So if you have an Oriental vase, I wouldn’t place a rustic candlestick and a country goose together. But you could place the Oriental vase with a brass candlestick and a swan figurine. Each item does not have to be oriental but have the same feel.

Accessorizing is the fun part and does make all the difference in a well-made room, as the right jewelry can change the look and feel of your basic black dress.