What you display and how you decorate your home, with home decor, is a reflection of your taste and style.

For many people home decorating and home decor accents are meaningless and they may not have any desire to have anything other than the basics in their home.

Many people desire to have a beautifully decorated home with nicely displayed home decor accents but don’t feel they have the talent to put it all together or just don’t know where to begin.

If this is where you are, this article is for you.

If this applies to you and you find that you want a decorative home and a home that is eye pleasing to you, there are a few ways to achieve a welcoming, decorative, and desirable place that will be your retreat and refuge.

Each of us is giving talents and gifts in our life and some of us don’t excel in the decorating department.

And, if home decorating and putting home accents together properly is not your talent or gift don’t be discouraged you just need to tap into what you have or tap into someone who has that gift.

Below are a few tips of ways you can find your creative side or find someone who can help you accomplish your desire in having a home that is tastefully decorated in home decor and home accents.

If money is available to hire a decorator this is certainly an easy and good way to acquire a great result.
Take caution that you find someone with a good reputation that is a listener to your wants and needs and who will give you a complete list of what they can and will do for you.
Get the cost in writing
Listen to your instinct when interviewing decorators.
Find a decorator with whom you can work with and trust.
If you feel confident enough to do your research and want to pull out your creative side, roll up your sleeves and do it yourself by:
· Taking a decorator class. It may sound odd, but you will actually learn and develop good principles in design. There are many basics that need to be understood in design.

· Shop in furniture stores for ideals and styles you like.

· Realize what your taste is. It could be modern/contemporary or rustic/Tuscan or country or another style.

· There are great products on the market in the field of furniture and decorative home accent pieces, such as, metal wall art. Take the time to explore products that are of good quality, that reflect quality and craftsmanship, and will add value as it is displayed in your home or outdoor living space.

· Take time to discover what it is you really like and want.

Tap into a friend who is really good with color, display and decorating. You probably know just the person who has the talent and you like his or her taste. This is a great opportunity for you to enjoy learning from and trusting that friend’s creativity. Your friend will probably love to get involved in your project.
· Understand and don’t expect your friend to take as much time as a paid decorator will.

· Don’t ask above what your friend has time for or is able to accomplish.

· It is important to not take advantage of a friend.

· This may be an opportunity where you can exchange talents. Maybe your friend could use some of your talent for where he or she lacks in tasks. This is chance to give of yourself to your friend. Always, give more or yourself than what you expect in return in your friendship.

If any of these tips will work for you and you are willing to pursue your desires you will certainly be pleased and satisfied to have your home decorated in a way that will bring you pleasure and enjoyment for a long time to come.

I am often asked for home decorating advice from people hoping for a quick answer of color, style and painting techniques. Although I’d love to help, there is never a simple answer when it comes to home decor. Your room’s ‘flavor’ is as complex as you are, as varied as each member of your family, as interesting as your pets. Akin to the clothes you wear, room decor is personal. Therefore the first rule in decorating is that there are no set rules – only guidelines.Here are just a few of those guidelines:
Trust Your Own Style and Taste

You know more about your favorite colors, furniture styles and art than you think. Your home should reflect your personality.

Focal Points

Choose one favorite or grand element in a room, say a fireplace or a large picture window, and make this the focal point of the room. Decorate around the item or area – placing furniture and objects around it to attract a visitor’s attention and to give the room cohesiveness. Windows are great for this, especially if your favorite flower garden or fountain is just outside.

Choosing A Theme

Every room begins with a theme – even if eclectic. This could be a color, or a style – my favorites are French Country and Farmhouse. Having a theme gives you a starting point to carry you through each phase of room decor. (More about the phases later.)

Deciding on Paint

If your room doesn’t have any distinguishing elements (see #2) consider painting a wall a unique or even your favorite color. This creates a focal point where there once was none. A co-ordinating piece of framed art or decorative wall decor will set it off nicely and with a comfortable chair, an interesting table or a gorgeous bed frame you’ve just created the majority of the room in a few steps.

Don’t Forget the Floors

Area rugs are an inexpensive way to define a room. You can lay them straight or on an angle, purchase them to match wall colors exactly and they come in all types of designs and styles.

Art and Mirrors

The glass from framed art or simple mirrors reflect light from natural and and added light sources and give dimension to a room. Mirrors perform double duty as well as they create an illusion of space.

Lighting

My favorite decorating aspect – lighting. There are so many wonderful chandeliers, table lamps, ceiling fan lighting, track lighting, monorail systems – there is just no end to the variety. Go on a quest to find just the perfect lighting for each room and you won’t be disappointed. Your local home hardware or renovation store represents about 1% of the possibilities – shop online for lots of ideas, custom made, vintage and more lighting sources. You will never regret the time and even a little added expense to have fixtures that no one else has – they make the room!

Furniture Placement

Just when you think you have everything in place and your room is ‘finished’, try this. Move the furniture around. Try it on an angle, try groupings of chairs, add a nook for reading only, re-arrange around a different focal point – then sit in the room and imagine having one friend or five in that space with you. In your mind, live in the room. You’d be surprised how many times just changing the placement of your furniture can make a room feel new.

Potted Plants

Plants clean the air, make a room feel alive and impact the décor of a room. If placed strategically large plants can hide flaws in a room.I hope these tips and ideas start you on your creative path to decorating your home or room. I strongly suggest getting a few books on your favorite style to get the ideas flowing and help you define your taste before you begin.

In years past, the flamingo seemed to be the bird of choice for those who wanted to enhance their garden or yard with a replica of a shore bird; however that trend seems to have changed to engulf another shore bird of the present.The Pelican seems to be the new Flamingo, particularly when it comes to home decor.
Pelican home decor is the wave of the present and pelicans are popping up everywhere, from your neighbors fencing to your own bathroom.Some of the pelicans are quite natural in appearance while others are done in post modern style and still others are contrived of brass, hand blown glass or some other metallic material.Pelican home decor is not just for the outside either. Cottages boasting entire rooms done in the style of the shore, featuring sand and seashells and a flock of pelicans stenciled on the wall are featured in several of the magazines we’ve seen featuring rustic or outdoor like decorating themes.The pelican is showing up virtually everywhere. There are lovingly crafted hand made pelican door knockers that will announce your visitors in a whimsical way, while the pelican bird feeder sitting on the porch, or under a tree and holding the bird seed carefully in his mouth will give a touch of the comedic to your small garden nook. Pelican home decor has arrived.Pelican planters have found their way into the garden or the inside of the house to hold a few herb plants on the window sill, while the pelican shaped carved stepping stool can help your child reach the bathroom sink for his or her nightly tooth brushing task. Pelican home decor has… well; it’s come home to roost if you don’t mind the bad pun.Another trend in home decorating that seems to have hit a high note with those who are decorating this season is brass. The brass pelican home decor, merely an outline of the shore bird, done in a brass type wire, seen recently on the eBay outlet received a very good outpouring of bids and had the auction stayed open longer, there is little doubt that it would have fetched a far greater price than it did in the end run of this auction.Bottom line, if you’re looking for something new and different in home decor, something that hasn’t completely arrived yet, and you don’t want to look like the “guy next door” and want to get a jump on the latest trends in decorating, take a look at pelican home decor. You’re probably going to find something that you like enough to take down that year’s old pink flamingo and replace him.