Home accessories (also termed home decor) are decorative and functional items used to enhance the aesthetic appeal and comfort of living spaces. These items are typically easy to replace, move, and rearrange, allowing for flexibility in interior design.
Home accessories encompass a wide range of products that complement the primary furniture and architectural elements of a home.
They can be categorized into several broad groups:[ according to whom? ]
Home accessories play a role in interior design by:
Home accessories have played significant roles in various cultures throughout history, often reflecting societal values, status, beliefs, and artistic traditions.
Different cultures have developed unique home accessories:
The global trade of these and other decorative items has led to significant cross-cultural influences in home decor. Today, many traditional accessories have transcended their original cultural contexts to become internationally recognized design elements. [5]
A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester have often been used, as these fibers are less expensive than wool. The pile usually consists of twisted tufts that are typically heat-treated to maintain their structure. The term carpet is often used in a similar context to the term rug, but rugs are typically considered to be smaller than a room and not attached to the floor.
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a creative flair, an interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordinates, and manages such enhancement projects. Interior design is a multifaceted profession that includes conceptual development, space planning, site inspections, programming, research, communicating with the stakeholders of a project, construction management, and execution of the design.
In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room, lounge, sitting room, or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment. Such a room is sometimes called a front room when it is near the main entrance at the front of the house. In large, formal homes, a sitting room is often a small private living area adjacent to a bedroom, such as the Queens' Sitting Room and the Lincoln Sitting Room of the White House.
A Persian carpet, Persian rug, or Iranian carpet is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in Iran, for home use, local sale, and export. Carpet weaving is an essential part of Persian culture and Iranian art. Within the group of Oriental rugs produced by the countries of the "rug belt", the Persian carpet stands out by the variety and elaborateness of its manifold designs.
A classroom, schoolroom or lecture room is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where education or training is provided, such as corporations and religious and humanitarian organizations. The classroom provides a space where learning can take place uninterrupted by outside distractions.
Industrial style or industrial chic refers to an aesthetic trend in interior design that takes cues from old factories and industrial spaces that in recent years have been converted to lofts and other living spaces. Components of industrial style include weathered wood, building systems, exposed brick, industrial lighting fixtures and concrete.
Kelly Wearstler is an American designer. She founded her own design firm Kelly Wearstler Interior Design in the mid-1990s, serving mainly the hotel industry, and now designs across high-end residential, commercial, retail and hospitality spaces. Her designs for the Viceroy hotel chain in the early 2000s have been noted for their influence on the design industry. She has designed properties for clients such as Gwen Stefani, Cameron Diaz and Stacey Snider, and served as a judge on all episodes of Bravo's Top Design reality contest in 2007 and 2008.
Scandinavian design is a design movement characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality that emerged in the early 20th century, and subsequently flourished in the 1950s throughout the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland.
A cat tree is an artificial structure for a cat to play, exercise, relax and sleep on.
Victorian decorative arts refers to the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in a grand excess of ornament. The Victorian era is known for its interpretation and eclectic revival of historic styles mixed with the introduction of Asian and Middle Eastern influences in furniture, fittings, and interior decoration. The Arts and Crafts movement, the aesthetic movement, Anglo-Japanese style, and Art Nouveau style have their beginnings in the late Victorian era and gothic period.
Home Accents Today is a trade publication and web site owned by BridgeTower Media serving the information needs of designers, manufacturers and buyers of home accents - decorative accessories, accent furniture, wall decor, mirrors, rugs, lamps, lighting, permanent botanicals, soft goods and tabletop.
Moroccan rugs are the weaves, carpets, and textiles that have been traditionally hand-woven in Morocco. Rugs have been woven by the indigenous people of Morocco since the Paleolithic Era. Twentieth-century Moroccan rugs are widely collected in the West, and are almost always woven by tribes people who do not seek nor possess formal artistic training.
Angela Adams is an American rug designer. Adams partnered with her husband and furniture designer, Sherwood Hamill, to launch a website, dedicated to the creation of custom rugs and custom furniture in Portland, Maine.
Traditional metal working in Mexico dates from the Mesoamerican period with metals such as gold, silver and copper. Other metals were mined and worked starting in the colonial period. The working of gold and silver, especially for jewelry, initially declined after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. However, during the colonial period, the working of metals rose again and took on much of the character traditional goods still have. Today, important metal products include those from silver, gold, copper, iron, tin and more made into jewelry, household objects, furniture, pots, decorative objects, toys and more. Important metal working centers include Taxco for silver, Santa Clara del Cobre for copper, Celaya for tin and Zacatecas for wrought iron.
Thomas O'Brien is an American interior and home furnishings designer. His design firm, Aero Studios, and home store, Aero Ltd., are both based in New York City's SoHo neighborhood.
Jonathan Browning is an interior designer and business executive who is a current principal and creative director of Jonathan Browning Studios, Inc. From 2001 to 2003, Browning served as the Executive Vice President of Design at Starwood. He is primarily known as a lighting designer and his work has appeared in buildings in the retail, residential, and hospitality industries.
Vintage design refers to an item of another era that holds important and recognizable value. This style can be applied to interior design, decor, clothing and other areas. Vintage design is popular and vintage items have risen in price. Outlets of vintage design have shifted from thrift store to shabby chic stores.
African design encompasses many forms of expression and refers to the forms of design from the continent of Africa and the African diaspora including urban design, architectural design, interior design, product design, art, and fashion design. Africa's many diverse countries are sources of vibrant design with African design influences visible in historical and contemporary art and culture around the world. The study of African design is still limited, particularly from the viewpoint of Africans, and the opportunity to expand its current definition by exploring African visual representations and introducing contemporary design applications remains immense.
The Paris Apartment is a style of interior design where the focus is on the French boudoir and all things related to and inspired by French design and decor. The style incorporates all aspects of design, from the ceiling to the floor, walls and trims to the furniture, light fixtures, curtains, soft furnishings, books, and color palette. The boudoir furnishings used include chaise lounges, vanities, slipper chairs, beds, daybeds, nightstands, chandeliers, sconces, lamps, paintings, armoires, dressers, mirrors, and rugs. Each is hand crafted and all have worn, original painted patinas, traditional French details, and generally range in time period from 18th Century France through the Art Deco period. Treating these historic items as important heirlooms and caring for them as stewards is as important as the aesthetics themselves. The style includes other international items with character to complete the look so that it can be seen both as a collection and as a style of decoration reflecting one's individuality.
Glass printing involves applying images, patterns, or text to glass surfaces. Various techniques can be used, each offering distinct aesthetic and functional results. This specialised field encompasses methods such as screen printing, digital printing, and pad printing, among others. Each technique offers distinct advantages in terms of durability, resolution, and application. Glass printing is used in numerous industries, including architecture, automotive, interior design, and consumer electronics, where it is valued for its aesthetic appeal, functionality, and ability to enhance the visual and physical properties of glass products. Technological advances have expanded the possibilities of glass printing, allowing for intricate designs, vibrant colours, and improved adhesion, making it an integral part of modern manufacturing and design.