My mother-in-law had an innate sense of interior design. Though she had never had any art training, she could take mis-matched pieces and blend them together. When I was decorating our new house she gave me some valuable advice. "You've got to add something that doesn't belong," she said.

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As I looked around the home she had decorated so lovingly, I realized she had followed this advice. For example, a leather camel saddle, brought back from one of her trips, was being used as a stool. Though the saddle "didn't belong" it blended with the rest of the furniture. "What is this?" people would ask. "Where did you get it?" Other accent pieces -- silver trays and horse stirrups -- were gathered during the five years the family lived in Peru.

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No other home looked like this one.

Many interior designers tell their clients to add accent pieces, as they are now called. According to the Timeless Home Decor Website, these items should express your personality. "The key to adding home accessories is finding items that interest you and add to them as you find new pieces you love," notes the site. Shopping for home accents is fun and you may find them at discount stores, flea markets, garage sales, and estate sales. Newspaper ads and the Internet are also good sources.

Home accents don't have to match your decorating style. A modern lamp may blend beautifully with traditional furnishings. Similarly, an antique chest may be the perfect accent for a modern room. When you are choosing the items, be wary of clutter - the one thing to avoid. In fact, Timeless Home Decor says you should get rid of the small items that are cluttering a room and and replace them with "one bold accent piece that really gets noticed."

Designers choose their own accessories with care. The July 2009 issue of "House Beautiful" contains a photo essay about designers' coffee tables. Nina Griscom, who owns a store in New York City, displays a large fossilized jaw on her copper and iron coffee table. Murray Moss has wooden architectural models on his enameled steel and glass table. And Rose Tarlow has Henry Moore sculpture on her English gate-leg table. The sculpture, models, and fossil add interest to these designers' homes.

The Perfect Decor Website, in an article titled "Accent Pieces," contains more ideas about home accents. "An often overlooked accent piece in the home, a coat rack, can be a simple and easy way to add flair to your home," notes the Website. Consoles and mirrors may also add punch to a room. "You may mix and match between various styles of mirrors and consoles to create your very own signature set."

Look around your home now. Do your accent pieces express our personality? Do they enhance your decorating scheme? One or two pieces can change a room drastically. Home accents may also divert attention from architectural flaws. Adding one thing that "doesn't belong" can make family members and guests say, "Wow!"

Home Accessories - Choose Accent Pieces That Say "Wow!"

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