Alright, you've finally finished moving the furniture around and doing all the window treatments. You've even finished painting your walls. Now you're just sweeping, polishing, and cleaning up the mess. You're all done! But wait a minute. You take a look around, you get this sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, and you realize that after all your hard work, the room doesn't even look half finished yet! Now what?



Once you have the shell of your room just the way you want it, you're still not done with the job. There are lots of finishing touches that you can add to make the room look finished and welcoming. Some decorators feel that embellishing a room or home should always be a work in progress; that there is always something new to add or to remove. It may take a day, a week, a month, or it may take forever, but finding just the right finishing touches for a room is really the fun part of decorating.

Expand on Your Theme ? Every person has his or her own special interest, whether it's sports, nature, technology, fantasy, or movies. These special interests can provide a background and several fresh ideas for designing a room and embellishing it to reflect your own unique personality. When you pick out a suitable theme, you'll know what to zero in on and be able to select accessories, art, and colors to expand and enrich the theme.

Plants and Flowers ? It's amazing what a quick transformation can be made with fresh plants and flowers. And you don't even have to get expensive floral arrangements, etc. A simple plant potted in a decorative pot set on a coffee table, bookshelf, on top of a cabinet, almost anywhere, adds life and color instantly. But make sure that your plants are always healthy, shiny, and free from dust. If a plant gets scraggly or droopy, waste no time getting it out. You may want to nurse it back to its former healthy form, but in the meantime, remove it from your room!

Wall It Up ? Blank, boring walls get a real lift with a colorful poster, a painting, prints, and family photos. When working with art, try to follow a theme or color scheme, and don't just go smacking them up all against the walls. One large piece can create a central point, while a small collection of pieces draw the eye for a closer look.

Favorite Stuff ? If you collect anything such as puppets, books, ceramics, cameras, or sporting collectibles, use the collection as a point of interest, or at least to serve as a great conversational piece. Things like coins, crockery, small statuettes, figurines, etc. can be gathered into one special place, or if you want, they can be arranged in several areas around the room. Celadon plates, blue and white chinaware, carved wooden pieces all offer themselves as works of art for a room.

Ground It Up ? A hardwood floor looks sleek and smooth, while wall to wall carpet adds softness and unifies large spaces. But placing an area rug can add even more definition to your room. It can create boundaries for furniture and even divide an area into several other spaces, all without using any walls. Classic oriental rugs can be found to fit almost any decorating scheme, and contemporary patterned or color-blocked rugs add color and character to the floor and the room.