ACCESSORIES CO-ORDINATION & GROUPING
One of the easiest ways to give cohesion to a group of accessories and ornaments is to pick a theme. It may be a color, a subject, or a similar shape, although the things you collect need not necessarily be in the same style or period. Start with a core of items with some connection and keep your choice flexible. A thoughtful, eclectic mixture can reflect truly individual taste; in a collection of jugs, for instance, a few genuine, antique examples will blend in beautifully with new, reproduction jugs of any period.
Color grouping
Grouping ornaments and accessories by their color is a powerful way to highlight a color scheme. You could choose cushions, lampshades and picture frames in antique, muted soft colors that pick up one of the tones in a rug, carpet or wallpaper. Select your colors carefully: coral ceramic vases and lamp bases contrast well in a smoke-blue living room scheme. In a predominately apricot bedroom, accents of soft aquamarine could be introduced – in delicately embroidered cushions and decorative glass.
Collecting ornaments in the same colors, such as blue and white jars, bowls and plates and displaying them against a matching backdrop brings a welcome freshness. Conversely, a collection of brilliant saffron yellow plates on a dresser can make a predominately cool blue and white kitchen scheme feel sunny and Mediterranean. Large blue and white ginger jars were a favorite early-Georgian accessory offering a welcome focal point and light relief to many heavily carved mantelpieces.
A pair, or group, of blue and white ginger jars can still do the same for traditional mantelpieces, or use them to bring a classical touch to a modern setting. Covering old blanket chests and screens, small card and wooden boxes and metal wastepaper bins in fabrics that either co-ordinate or blend in with the rest of the furnishings helps to link some of the more disparate elements.
Extra touches Collections and accessories can be witty and tongue-in-cheek. An assortment of necklaces can enhance the necks of plain glass and pottery vases. A trompe l’oeil painted cat on a fire screen with a collection of needlepoint cat cushions makes an amusing point. If you haven’t much wall space on which to hang all your objects, consider displaying them on a freestanding fabric-covered screen – the panels are perfect for pinning up collections of old Valentine cards and dolls’ hats. Antique toy and games collections can be carefully displayed in special Perspex cases to great effect. Medals, coins, stamps, old pieces of lace and fans can be framed in deep box frames