Followers of fashion know tiny touches make an outfit - whether it's buttons, bows or an unusual lining - but nowadays detail and decoration are also a winning combination on walls floors and furniture.
Gone are the days when neutrals and minimalism ruled - now it's maximalism with colour, texture and personal interpretation giving the 'va va voom' factor to homes.
No one understands that better than Annabel Lewis, owner and founder of VV Rouleaux haberdashery shops, who conjures magical effects with ordinary materials from ribbons, feathers, and beads through to humble
string.
As she shows me round her largest shop, in Glasgow, she says:
"Furniture and household objects can't afford to become complacent -
they need to reinvent themselves (with your help) to keep the love
affair fresh.
"I love to give old things a fresh new use, so I'm constantly bringing objects into the house and looking for ways to make them pretty as well as useful."
She uses ribbons and trims - 250 international suppliers make her
collection a dazzling display of pattern and colour - to adorn chairs and door panels and make carpet edgings and wall decorations.
"I want people to think of ribbons in a chic way, as something with
style, and not just to use them for children's hair. They can look
Use Annabel's ideas to give your rooms all the trimmings.
STRING AND CORD
Trims can be anything from string, cord or fringe to pretty floral tape
or decorative braid with tassels, beads or glass drops.
"Builders merchants have all kinds of string, ropes and cords in bold,
bright colours. Ordinary string can be drafted into use and knotted,
tufted, tasselled or plaited and used to edge seats and decorate
cushions.
"I find all types of cord are a practical means of covering unsightly items and turning them into stylish interior pieces."
BE INSPIRED: Give garden furniture a new look with huge knots of cord, or nail colourful
rope around an old wooden outdoor table. Decorate a plain curtain finial by wrapping it in coloured cord.
Bobble fringes, usually used to trim lampshades or to edge curtains or cushions, could be used to cover a cushion, a lampshade or even to trim
a bedhead.
Wrap old chimney pots in cord to make holders for walking sticks and umbrellas.
BEADS AND SHELLS
Glass beads, crystal glass pieces from chandeliers or acrylic 'faux'
glass can make a room sparkle, and pair well with shells, which have been used since Victorian times for decoration.
Annabel says: "I get endless ideas playing with crystal drops, beads and wire. I love old chandeliers, not only as exquisite hangings when intact, but - better still - in pieces.
"Then I use the components - rounds, squares, oblongs, almonds or teardrops - for other decorative ideas, such as embellishing lights or creating glass curtains or wreaths.
"Transform the surfaces of boxes, mirrors, picture frames and tabletops with shells."
BE INSPIRED: Thread glass beads onto lengths of wire and wrap them around a lamp base. Substitute glass studs for covered buttons on furniture with buttoned upholstery, and team it with satin fabric for ultimate glamour.
Glue shells to the ends of flexible wire and then twist around table
napkins, or add shell fringes and drape around headboards and over mantelpieces. Glue shells to the top of battered tables or mirror
frames.
FEATHERS
Feathers come in fringes or boas, and many feathers are turkey plumes dyed a rainbow of colours and cut to size.
"Feathers are an embellishment of fantastic versatility and are
surprisingly robust. You can sit on various sorts of ostrich plumes, for
instance, without damaging them.
"I love pale green ostrich as an edging on tablecloths, wall hangings or throws, or look for other feather fringes."
BE INSPIRED: Make a fringe of black turkey feathers to trim the base of a sofa. Use them on lampshades, or sew them around a throw or along the leading edge of a curtain, or on the bottom of a blind.
Make feather tassels or tie single feathers to a napkin - pheasant
feathers will give a table setting an instant country look.
