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10 Nit Picky Details
That Can Wreck a Room!

By Kit Davey

Sometimes it's not the basics that make or break a room. Even with the ideal furniture arrangement, a cohesive style and harmonious finishes a room can fall flat if the details are overlooked. You can create harmony, simplicity and order in your home if you handle a few of these nit-picky details:

 

• Be sensitive to household odors. Many of your guests may have noses sensitive to cigarette smoke, pet odors and cooking smells. The next time you return from an errand, give your home the "sniff test” and check for telltale scents. Have your carpeting and curtains cleaned regularly, air out your home occasionally and use air fresheners or potpourris in moderation.
• Pitch tired houseplants. There must be a plant sympathy gene that makes us hang onto to scraggly, misshapen plants in hopes we can revive them. If you feel guilty about throwing out your tired houseplants, set up a plant hospital in a protected area in your yard. Display only healthy, bushy plants--they're inexpensive and can add life to any room in your home.
• Fill your fireplace. A dark, empty, ash strewn fireplace is not an attractive sight. Fill your fireplace with a few real logs and layer in pine or eucalyptus fronds. Or, fill it with three or four blooming hydrangeas in terra cotta pots, a bundle of twigs tied with raffia or a large dried flower arrangement. Store paper-wrapped logs, gloves and lighting paraphernalia out of sight.
• Hide the TV paraphernalia. Although the program guide, remotes, snack bowls, coasters and reading glasses are essential tools, they do not make the best coffee table decor. Store your TV stuff in an antique wooden box, a basket or in the drawer of your end table.
• Keep on top of home repairs. Cracking plaster, burnt out light bulbs and sticking doors show lack of care and can affect how you feel in your home. Set a goal of completing one repair per month, starting with the one that you notice every day.
• Place tissue boxes and trash cans in inconspicuous locations. Don't use color-coordinated tissue boxes. to accessorize a room. Display accessories which enhance the look and feel of the room. Don't make the waste can a focal point by sitting it in plain sight as you walk into a room. Avoid lining the cans in the guest bath and guest bedroom with plastic bags.
• Contain audio and videotapes. Stacks of brightly colored tapes can detract from the charm of a pleasingly appointed living or family room. Store tapes in lidded baskets, an armoire, a dresser or in a closet. Donate videos you know you'll never watch to charity.
• Let your bookcases breathe. Vary your stacking technique----sit a few books on their sides here and there. Create a few openings to display cherished treasures. Line up the spines of the books so that the row looks less jumbled. Store spiral bound books and binders in a closet or your office.
• Deal with soiled or tired possessions. Make your couch more inviting by replacing lumpy or worn pillows. Slipcover a well-used easy chair or couch. Take down torn curtains and replace with a simple valance made from an old tablecloth. Put an area rug on top of wall-to-wall carpeting you can't afford to replace.
• Clear off your vanity tops. Reducing visual clutter creates mental peace. Store all cleaning and personal hygiene items under the counter or in decorative containers. A plastic caddie works well for housing hair styling equipment. Display only a few items on the countertop, which are purely decorative, and make you feel good to look at (A bushy, healthy plant, perhaps?).