The Best Home Decor Accents

You don't need expensive furniture or a professional decorator to make your home into a distinctive dwelling. All you truly need are a little ingenuity and some well-placed accents and accessories, and you can transform each room of your house into a space that's eye-catching and original. Does this Spark an idea?

Shabby Chic

Shabby chic accents and accessories are some of the most ideal because they're so cheap--some costing next to nothing--and you can easily transform them. For example, an old wooden porch railing makes a suitable structure for sorting mail. Don't feel compelled to scrape off any flaking paint or apply a new coat of paint. Displaying the railing in its distressed shape gives your room a rustic, distinctive appearance. Likewise you can take old shutters and display them against a fireplace mantle or on a shelf. You can leave them in their typical, rustic appearance or spray paint them an eye-catching color such as gold, silver or metallic copper.

Oversized Ottomans

Standard wooden, glass or metal coffee tables are a run-of-the-mill look for a room. A simple way to give a living room a quick facelift is by replacing the generic coffee table with an oversized ottoman. Oversized ottomans serve a dual purpose: They are part coffee table, part place to put your feet up. Oversized ottomans are generally twice as large as an average square ottoman and come upholstered in basic solid-colored fabrics or leather, or have dynamic patterns. Left bare, these ottomans let you stretch and elevate your feet or act as impromptu seating. With decorative trays on top, you can easily rest drinks, vases or other items, converting the ottoman into a coffee table.

Hanging Lamp

A hanging lamp does so much more than provide a focal source of a light for a room. Nowadays, decorative hanging lamps, like chandeliers or pendant lamps, come in such dazzling, innovative designs, that it's like hanging a work of art that sheds its own light from your ceiling. There are a variety of hanging lamps to choose from, some look like twisted vines of ivy with iridescent light bulbs coming out of them or upside-down bronze trees. Others are geometric designs with electric candles or pendant lights with shades that look like brightly painted ceramic bowls. So many creative designs are out there that are so striking, they can easily transform a room.