Welcome to our new Styling Secrets column, where we pull back the curtain on how professional stylists play with elements in a vignette or a room until the look is just right. What’s enough? What’s too much? What works and why? We’ll deconstruct the scene so that you can take your rooms to the next level.

 

Photography, Bruno Petrozza

 

Colour Cues

Nature is always the best teacher when it comes to colour theory. Here, walls in a straight-from-the-garden green suggest using pink as an accent, which the stylist introduced in different tones (in the art, vase and various flowers). That’s the big takeaway here: avoid the temptation to match colours; instead, go for harmony in different shades and tones, which adds interest through variety.

Art, $20 (flower), $15 (woman); Candleholder, $40; HomeSense, homesense.ca. Decorative eyegLASSES, $15, Winners, winners.com. Gradvis VASE, $16; Jubla Candles, $10, set of 20; IKEA, ikea.ca. Flower stems, $7 each; NOTEBOOK, $8; Michaels, michaels.com. wall paint, Dark Forest Green 6128-84, Sico, sico.ca.

 

Photography, Bruno Petrozza

 

Balance the Scales

The tall pampas grass that sweeps toward the centre of this mantelscape is a focal point. Mid-height items (the candlesticks and tray) visually connect the tallest fronds to the shortest item (the candleholder). The mid-height lantern is placed at the other end to balance the pleasingly asymmetrical arrangement.

pampa stems, $17 each; white TRAY, $23; wood CANDLEHOLDER, $43; decorative SEAWEED, $20; Bouclair, bouclair.com. vase, $35; meditation balL, $13; Boutique Kozy, boutiquekozy.com. LANTERN, $98, Pottery Barn, potterybarn.ca. candlesticks, $12 (small), $13 (large), Michaels, michaels.com. wall paint, Corrida 6062-73, Sico, sico.ca.

 

Photography, Bruno Petrozza

 

What a  Feeling

Texture is a stylist’s secret weapon, yet it’s something we often neglect when accessorizing our homes. The faux branch and seagrass tray awaken our sense of touch through visual means – just by looking at this display, we can imagine touching these items. But the texture story doesn’t end there: the smoothness of the vases contrasts the rough textures and, by doing so, accentuates them. Lovely!

Seagrass tray, $183; bronze BRANCH, $212; Pottery Barn, potterybarn.ca. Konstfull vases, $15 (green), $5 (black); CANDLESTICKS, $15, set of 3; IKEA, ikea.ca. Decorative bird, $30, Bouclair, bouclair.com. wall paint, Grand Piano 6210-83, Sico, sico.ca.