When planning a dinner party, think beyond plates and silverware. Your décor and tablescape choices set the mood for the evening.

Start with lighting. If you have a chandelier over your dining table, make sure you also have a dimmer so that you can set the light level lower and more intimate. Think about creating a circle of light around the dining area, covering the table but leaving the rest of the room in semi-darkness.

With no chandelier, this room uses candles for light. The higher tapers on the table expand the light’s reach and a table this long benefits from all six candles. Don’t worry if your candlesticks don’t match. If you choose one type of metal such as brass or silver, or all crystal, using a variety of candlesticks adds charm.

Notice that there are some greens and flowers in the center. With a circular table, it’s important to keep any flower arrangements or other types of centerpieces low so people can talk across. However, with a rectangular table such as this, you can use higher arrangements as long as you set them in the areas between each set of place settings. For example, on this table, there are two arrangements, set between the first and second seats on the left and right, and then the second and third seats.

With an interesting table like this one, a tablecloth would be a crime. Instead, some simple placemats suit the settings. Cloth napkins are an appealing touch. They don’t have to match the placemats, but still should coordinate with the linens and dishware. Remember that good quality table linens do fine in the washer but will shrink and be damaged in the dryer. You should always line-dry linens.

Add your glassware and scatter some candles or other low lights around your home so that the ambience of the dining table is continued throughout your house. Then everything is ready but your menu and your guests.

Tangerine Tango is the Pantone color of 2012.

The Pantone Color Institute is a leader in color trends for fashion and home products. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director, says that tangerine will provide a jolt of adrenaline to the marketplace.

When Pantone presents its color for the year, you can anticipate seeing it in furniture, accessories and clothes.

Some may choose to display this color in the form of a piece of furniture. But most people are not going to take this big a leap. Since color trends shift over time, it’s best to choose smaller and less expensive elements to bring a new color into your home.

Look for placemats and table runners in tangerine, or with a pattern containing the color. Because it is a strong color, vases and pillows will also shine as an accent without taking over a room.

Turquoise is showing up quite a bit as a contrast to tangerine. Because the two colors live at opposite ends of the color wheel, together they set up an attention-getting look.

If you’re not ready to invest in tangerine at this point, how about just testing the waters? Gerbera daisies are available in a luscious tone of light orange that can temporarily create a spot of tangerine, or you can try some pillows like the ones in the photo. If you like its impact in your home, you can then explore a larger commitment.

As you make design and décor decisions for your home, you can choose how complex you want to be. You may be satisfied with a simple look that has an understated appeal with a minimum of elements in a room. The next step is adding art and accessories to complement your furniture choices and make your home feel more finished. The final step involves adding a part of who you are to your home. This can happen with photos of family, inherited materials from various ancestors, or a vignette that tells a story without words.

This photo shows one example. The book becomes the primary focus, with its graceful and appealing hand-drawn images of flowers and leaves. By itself, it creates a mood. But add in the other elements: the old bottles, a mortar and pestle, some colored powders that match the colors of the ink on the page, and various natural specimens waiting to be drawn in their turn, and particularly the old wire spectacles, and you have the story of a turn-of-the century naturalist.

Was this a family member or family friend – just pausing in his or her work and never getting back to it? Do you find yourself wanting to turn the pages and see the rest of this appealing book? This vignette is visually powerful, and it also invites you to draw closer and touch, smell and gather in the impressions of this world.

Maybe this type of drawing is the dream of the homeowner, and this is one way she can be reminded of her long-term goals. Or maybe she just found the book in an antique store and collected the other materials to complement it.

No matter how it happened, the result is a little corner of magic and charm in a home. As you make your home your own, take the next step in decorating and tell a tale or two for your family and friends. You will all enjoy and appreciate it.

Our bedrooms should be our sanctuaries from the hustle and stress of our lives. Creating the feeling of an oasis or sanctuary in the bedroom depends a lot on lighting. Along with flooring and wall color, lighting can completely change the look and feel of a room, especially a bedroom.

Many homes have builders’ standard ceiling fixtures in the bedroom. These ceiling fixtures are most commonly semi-flush or flush mounted lights. While these are great for finding the lost sock under the bed or picking out an outfit, the overhead light can be harsh and flat.  Switching out a standard ceiling light for a chandelier instantly adds romance to the room. You may also want to connect a dimmer to your lighting to allow you to adjust the ambiance.

In addition to overhead lighting, having light next to the bed is a must. Whether you read in bed or not, a bedside lamp can provide easy lighting in the middle of the night. Choose a lamp that suits your style and also works on your nightstand. You’ll want a lamp that is in scale with your nightstand and the height of your bed.  If you have very small nightstands, you can also choose a wall mounted swing arm lamp for reading or a pair of pendant lights hung to flank either side of the bed.  Just make sure you have a switch that is easy to reach from the bed.

Have you noticed these round floor cushions on design blogs and in magazines? They’re popping up everywhere. Seen in living rooms, bedrooms, family rooms and even in outdoor living spaces, these cushions are called poufs.  The pouf style that is most popular right now comes from Morocco.  Ideal for lounging, the Moroccan pouf softens the hard tile floors typical of that country. They can do the same in your home for hardwood floors, too.

The pouf is a versatile piece in that it can be used as an ottoman to put your feet up, extra seating, or a place to lounge.  Traditionally made of leather, the pouf comes in a rainbow of colors including metallics. The bright colors and simple patterns on the pouf mean they can work in a number of rooms and décor styles.  Poufs can be right at home in more traditional rooms and contemporary rooms. Their soft shape makes them great for children’s play areas and bedrooms.

Because of the popularity of the Moroccan pouf, you’ll now find poufs made from different materials. You can find non-traditional poufs that are multicolored and made of patterned fabrics. Knitted and crocheted poufs add great texture to a room.  The knitted poufs have the look and softness of a beloved sweater—great for snuggly winter decorating.

Poufs can be easily moved and stored under tables or consoles, making them even more versatile.  Their portability means you can move them from room to room and even outdoors as you need them.

As we move into 2012, it’s smart to look back at some of the trends that started or expanded in 2011. Here are some smart decorating ideas that will still work in the New Year.

Smart Outdoor Spaces: How long has it been since you’ve really looked at your home from the street? It may be time for a curb-appeal makeover. Paint, plants and walkways make a real difference in how your home is perceived by others. Small changes make big differences.

Smart Space Use: Whether you’re downsizing, adding people to your home, or just want extra space for projects or a home office, many homeowners are finding that they need to do more with less when it comes to their home’s space. Be sure to build design into your changes, to add the functionality you need without losing your home’s charm and beauty.

Smart Home Office Space: More and more people are working from home, and a thrown-together home office affects productivity and mood. Maybe it’s time to splurge on some built-in cabinetry and bookshelves and a desk large enough to really spread out and work. Coordinate the look of your office so that it stays professional but still represents your style.

Smart Use of Color: If you’ve been happy with a sea of neutrals, it’s time to get on the color bandwagon. You don’t have to turn your home into a color wheel, but using a handful of bright colors here or there add personality and interest to any room. Colors to notice this year? Teal and tangerine.

Are you ready to make some smart changes in 2012? Well, let’s borrow from the best of last year’s ideas to make our homes smart and stylish this year.

If you’re frustrated that your home never looks like the photos in décor magazines, don’t be. Before each shot, designers step up and bring in, remove, arrange and rearrange accessories and furniture so the look is perfect for the angle of each photo. Everything is polished and fluffed, and extra lights from the sides or hidden behind furniture make sure you can see every element perfectly. Those photos can give you ideas, but don’t expect any home, no matter how coifed, to compare to those images.

Given that, there are things you can do to help your home more closely resemble those beautiful magazine illustrations. How about trying one or more of these tips?

• Clear clutter. Yes, you’ve heard it before, but one reason everything stands out so beautifully in those photos is that the eye is not distracted by pockets of clutter. Sometimes you may have odds-and-ends living in the corners for so long that you don’t even see it anymore, but visitors do.
• Keep everything at its best. This means no smudges on that glass-topped table, throw pillows straightened and fluffed, rugs straight and accessories in just the perfect position. Polish wood furniture and floors till they shine. Notice how in this photo the floor and coffee table seem to glow, and the pillows are set just right. Little things like that make a difference.
• Check your lighting. You may not have spotlights hitting your table at just the right angle, but consider whether an additional light or two might make your rooms more inviting. Lighting is one of the most powerful decorating tools.
• Update. Are some of your accessories looking tired or dated? Is it time for a new light fixture in the dining room? How about taking the time to update your home? You don’t have to jump in and do everything at once. Instead, plan updates into your budget and fix up one element at a time. So many times people wait until they’re ready to sell a home before doing any updating, so the new owner gets to enjoy it rather than you. Don’t let that happen.

While our homes may never be quite as magazine-ready as those images, but by following a few tips, they can be more appealing and inviting places to live and invite guests. Why don’t you see what you can do to add to your home’s visual charm?

When it comes to decorating, women make most of the decisions and purchases for their family’s home. This doesn’t mean that men don’t have opinions on what they like and dislike. Most men would probably prefer not to sleep in a pink bedroom with flowers on every surface.  Then again, many women wouldn’t either.  Finding a design that is neither too masculine nor too feminine can be tricky.  Decorating the master bedroom is often the biggest compromise, with neither party getting exactly what they love.

Rather than go completely masculine or completely feminine, a successful master bedroom design has elements of both.  Falling squarely in the middle of feminine and masculine is an area that can be too bland.  Neutrals as a base are a good start but just neutrals and solids in a space lack interest.

Rich neutrals like greige (a warm gray) and grays can work in a bedroom as both the wall and fabric colors.  Upholstering a headboard in a neutral creates a nice backdrop for the bed linens.  Bed linens can be colorful and patterned and still be pleasing to both genders. Even modern florals can be incorporated without the room feeling too feminine.

Accessories are a way to personalize each side of the bed. There is no rule that lamps have to match, or even tables.  If you have wood floors in the bedroom, small area rugs on either side of the bed are a good idea. Or you could place a large area rug in the space, leaving just a border of wood floor exposed.

For all the trends in casual, open concept living there are many people who still love a formal living room. If you have an older home, especially an antique home, you probably have a formal living room as well as a formal dining room.  Do you use these rooms? Are they reserved for company and holiday gatherings? Decorating a formal living room for today’s lifestyles is one way to ensure your formal rooms are used and loved.

Formal living can mean different things depending on what part of the country you are from.  Sitting rooms and parlors can be found in older homes east of the Mississippi, but are not as common in the West.  Perhaps this is why traditional and formal styles are so popular on the East Coast and in the South.

Formal seating arrangements, like the one in this living room, are designed for conversation rather than lounging and television watching. The focal point is often a fireplace or grand window rather than a television and entertainment wall.  Oriental carpets over beautiful wood floors or luxurious wall to wall carpeting is typical of formal living rooms that don’t get as much traffic as family rooms or hallways.

Create a formal living room that suits your style and you might find yourself using it more often. Rather than buy “formal” furniture, buy pieces that are adult friendly rather than kid friendly. Make it a space for entertaining your friends and guests that is stylish and reflects who you are.

Big, bold patterns can bring life to a room when used as accents.  Like a boldly patterned top and the perfect jeans, bold patterns are best when paired with neutrals to help balance the color and pattern.  This is why designers often recommend getting the big investment pieces like sofas in neutral upholstery.  You can always add color and pattern in accessories.

Bold patterned accents can be used around the room, including the floor.  Pattern on the floor can be created with a checkerboard of white and colored tiles, multi-colored linoleum squares, patterned cement tiles, carpet tiles and area rugs.  There is also a trend to paint wood floors in colorful patterns.  Area rugs are the classic way to bring pattern to the floor, with infinite options from Persian to contemporary styles in every color imaginable. The bigger the pattern—the bigger the statement.  Lattice and geometric patterns like stripes are current designer favorites.

Adding bold pattern in textiles is another option that is also low cost.  A few accent pillows in a big pattern can change the feeling of a room and a piece of furniture. These neutral gray chairs stand out with the addition of patterned pillows.

Pattern can be added to walls with stencils and wallpaper.  Again, keep furnishings neutral against a big, bold pattern.  It gives the eye a place to rest.

With pattern you can add a little or a lot, depending on how bold you want to be. From small accessories to area rugs, bold patterns add a big pop of design to a room.