The Finishing Touches
By Eugenia Triandos
As designers we believe that accessories can make or break any room. The right accessories can add visual interest and style to any space, help tell your story, and contribute to the overall ambiance of your home. Trendy accessories can bring a dated dwelling into the modern era. The right home accents instantly can bring any room to life.
While accessories are a necessary finishing touch in every successful interior, it’s a fine line between “done” and “overdone.” Here are some of our tips for maximizing the power of your accessories, without going too far.
If you’re decorating a room from scratch, we advise to consider going neutral with your larger selections such as flooring, cabinetry and large-scale soft seating furnishings. These expensive items will have a longer shelf life in neutral form, and leaves lots of room to play with 
and materials in your accessories, which are far less expensive and easy to change seasonally or on a whim.
If you’re looking now to refresh and re-style a room or your entire house the first step we suggest is to remove all the “extras.” The tabletop decor, the collectables and the books, photos. Now, stand back and look at the room as a blank canvas. Many people actually feel liberated after the de-cluttering process, and come to appreciate the “less is more” philosophy. Simplicity makes room for the important things in life; keep it simple, but significant is what we believe when looking to go minimalist.
I like to begin to dress your space with the right textiles. Have fun with rugs and window coverings, pillows and upholstery. Experiment with colour, pattern and different materials and mix them up to bring dimension to your interiors. These are the elements that you may decide to change in a few years that can give you an entirely different look while not having to reinvest in the larger pieces of furniture.
Look over the items you collected in your home and ask do you love them? Does it bring me joy? Does it have a place in my new space? If you answered “yes” to all three then keep and work into the space.
Your collection of accessories will likely be a combination of cherished old favourites and some fabulous new finds. This approach to accessorizing a home creates an interior aesthetic that’s as unique as its owner. Layer these in one at a time. Be selective and be considerate of your greater overall aesthetic goals.
Start with the items that are not only decorative but useful. Kitchens are a great place to display cutting boards, pitchers, decanters, even wooden spoons can add to the overall decor, yet they are all items that could and should be used. Same goes for your decorative shelving.
Designer Tip: Set a visual theme by pairing accessories with decorative items. For example, rattan chairs, light wood, white tropical prints and organic textiles create a relaxed, approachable, beachy vibe.
The aesthetics we create are an accumulation of seemingly small decor influences. Our goal is to amplify these quieter, creative moments for you. These finishing touches truly reflect our individuality and shape the personality of our homes. Accessorizing is the part that most of our clients are happy to hand off. They usually don’t know where to start, what to buy we realize that this can be a daunting task for many which is why we opened Hibou Home. Our online shop offers a wide range of our favourite accessories and home goods that we use on our projects. Curated so you can quickly shop the look or browse a specific category to complete the decor of your own home and create a finished space you can call home.
Designer Eugenia Triandos, is the Principal Designer for Montreal based Hibou Design & Co. This multi-disciplinary design firm has become known for creating interiors that are both uniquely reflective and functional.
The firm provides bespoke residential design services throughout Ontario, Montreal, & North America.
