While there's no denying that you can have too much of a good thing, it's far more likely to look like too much when you've spread your accessories around a room with no rhyme or reason other than to try and fill every available space. This is especially true when you are displaying your prized collections.

      To properly display your accessories in any room, think of them as mini focal points in the room. The goal is not to have the eye flit from one to another around the room without time to really see any of them, but rather to draw attention to interesting little vignettes, places where the eye will naturally pause to appreciate your treasures.

      Our readers ask:

      Q.  I have a wonderful assortment of old blue and white china items that my husband and I collected during our many trips to England. I really enjoy looking at them and have managed to find room to display about a dozen pieces spread about my living room on various tables and in front of my books in my bookcases. But, my husband complains that the room looks like a china shop. (Stacey N., MA)

      A.  It sounds like you have a wonderful collection, a fact that might be lost on your guests, as well as your husband, when you have the items spread around the room. If you want a valued collection to be noticed and appreciated, give it importance by displaying it as a collection and making it a mini focal point in the room. If you can clear a shelf or two in your bookcase, this might be the ideal place to display the collection. It will really stand out if you light the collection - strip lights and battery-powered self-stick mini tap lights are inexpensive and easy to install feature lighting solutions.

      An alternative is to display the collection on a tabletop, but unless they are small items, a dozen is probably too many to display on one table. So sort your items into "mini-collections" by placing like objects together. For example, you could showcase a collection of candlesticks on one table and teapots on another. Rather than displaying them all at once, consider rotating your mini-collections two or three times a year to freshen up your room.

      When displaying collections, remember the basics. Collections are always at least three items and they generally look best when you display an odd number. And don't forget the design basics, as well: scale, proportion and balance.

      Q.   I have lots of little accessories in my room, which work with the style of my formal room, but instead of looking "dressed", it just looks like tabletop clutter. I need help! (Andrea T., CO)

      A. Since you say that your accessories are in harmony with the style of your room, then the problem is most likely the way you have distributed and displayed them. You mentioned "lots of little accessories" and this gives me a pretty good clue that you haven't created mini-focal points of interest in the room.

     Try to group the little accessories into collections. Although you might not think you have a collection, my experience is that when purchasing accessories, people tend to gravitate toward one or two elements that really appeal to them in their choices. You can create a collection by identifying this common thread. For example, is it color? Is it the type of object or a common theme? Is it a distinct period or style? Five totally different green objects will look like a collection when grouped together, as will a variety of otherwise unrelated paperweights, or a few mid-century vintage items.

      Keep it interesting - identify areas of the room where you can use one large object, and other areas where a collection of smaller objects would be appropriate. And never overload the room - if you have too many places in the room competing for your attention when you walk in, it's a pretty good sign that you should pare down.

About the Author:  Peggy Berk is an award-winning interior decorator and certified interior refiner serving both residential and commercial clients. Her company, Area Aesthetics, provides full service interior design and decorating for complete interiors, one day interior redesign, home staging services, art and accessory styling services, color consultations and shopping services.

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