Home-Made Simple

Living Room
Living Room

* Rule of three: In a straight line—vertically or horizontally—hang a series of three pieces of artwork that share similar color palettes. Or, add soft side lighting in your room by positioning three small lamps on a table. Ensure that the lamps or lampshades pull from the same colors or are similar in shape and silhouette.

* Yin and yang: Examine the color of your sofa, then choose two or three complementary colors for your accent pieces. As you search for accessories, focus on finding different patterns that share a common color. For example, if your sofa is tan, consider adding pops of bright blue with pillows and blankets in various patterns that contain this blue hue.

* Cross-pollinate: Echo colors across your room by alternating the dominant shade in different combinations. As an example, place a black armchair in one corner of your space, and a brown and white-striped chair in the other. Play up the black tones on your brown and white piece through a simple solid accent pillow. On your black chair, incorporate a patterned throw in various shades of brown and white.

Kitchen

* Rule of three: Place three canisters on your countertop to hold your kitchen utensils or staple cooking ingredients, like flour and sugar. Create instant interest by choosing containers that share the same color, but feature different shapes and heights. You can achieve a similar effect with a trio of oven mitts or dishtowels.

* Yin and yang: Kick dinnertime up a notch by crafting new decorative table settings. Work from the color of your serving plates and select new linens, napkin rings and glasses that complement the dishware.

* Other magical touches: Impress your guests by spreading a decorative textile over your buffet furniture. Identify an underused color in the room—perhaps the deep reds in the floral arrangement or the floral designs on your china pieces—and bring it to the forefront.

Bathroom

* Yin and yang: Strike a color balance in your bathroom by selecting colors and patterns for your towels, window treatments and shower curtain that pull from—or complement—the color of your walls. You can even mix and match patterns, like placing a pinstriped shower curtain alongside graphic floral towels with similar shades.

* Cross-pollinate: In the bathroom, permanent aesthetic features can often give way to decorative inspiration. If, for example, your bath tile is white with a thick navy blue stripe, play off this color palette for a cohesive look. Select bath accessories that showcase your tile colors in interesting, textural patterns. And because white and navy blue is a relatively neutral palette, you can experiment with more colors like muted pink and lime green.

* Other magical touches: Adding a pop of color can be fun and functional. Collect towels in various shades of the same color, then fold them in a stack on a stepstool, or tightly roll them and place in decorative woven baskets.