Even if your apartment has restrictions regarding what you can do there are still plenty of things you can do to liven it up and give it a personality of its own, or make it an extension of your personality.

Catherine Clements, a home decorator and formerly a designer and sales consultant with Bassett Furniture Direct in Tupelo, says one of the simplest things someone can add to his or her home is greenery. She suggests using silk plants, and not just because it is much easier to take care of them.

"Use silk plants in order to preserve the floors," Clements says. "And don't use only one kind of plant over and over; mix them up. God doesn't make twin plants."

But plants alone will not a pretty apartment make.

"Get something -- ANYTHING -- on the walls. And lighten up the rooms. Lamps are important; you need lots of indirect light," Clements says.

When deciding how much lighting to have, it’s best to determine what kind of lighting is needed.

"A lot depends on the room," Clements says. "Of course you don’t want all of your lamps on one table. Spread them out."

Clements says lighting falls into three basic categories: general, task and accent/mood. General lighting is lighting from overhead. Task lighting generally refers to the light needed to see easily when doing something such as reading or watching TV. Mood lighting can be a range of dim light all the way to bright.

To match or not to match

When it comes to matching colors, Clements recommends keeping in mind the fact that if you live in an apartment, what you have now might not match a color scheme you may have later.

"People shouldn't try to match the color scheme of their furniture to the color scheme of the apartment," Clements says. "The main reason for this is because they may not be living there in a couple of years.

"Make sure your color scheme is consistent and not extreme," Clements adds.

To connect all the major elements in the room or home, the colors, the lighting, the plants, remember one word: accessories.

Almost anything can qualify as an accessory: candles, knick-knacks, books, figurines.

"Accessories help pull it all together," Clements says. "Accessories can be anything from what you would buy at a store to stuff out of your mother’'s attic.

"One of my favorite finds was a brass casing from what I think was small field artillery," Clements says. "It looked great holding fireplace matches in a gentleman's den.

"Books make some of the best accessories. They can be books from the Salvation Army or new books, it doesn't matter. They can add height for candles and such and they can give you a studious look, too," Clements says.

"And don't be hesitant to place a rug on the carpet; that's not out of the ordinary. Anything goes."

Working with wood
    Keeping with the notion that "anything goes," it's not uncommon to find designers mixing different types of woods in room furnishings.

"With major furnishing sets like bedrooms suites people do not have to have all the same kind of wood in the group," says Gina McInnis, a designer/sales consultant at Room to Room furniture in Tupelo. "People can use a combination of woods like pecan and maple or mahogany and cherry and make it look great.

"A lot of people ask what everyone else is using or what we like best. You don't need to be so concerned whether it's the trend. What's important is if it's what you like; if it's your own personal style."

Budgeting

Perhaps one of the most important things to remember when decorating is to stay within a budget. And it's not only a good idea to do so for personal finance reasons. Of course if your budget allows for it, go all out. But Clements has some advice there, too.

"Go with quality over quantity every time," Clements says. "Maybe buy one thing this year, one thing next. It's better to buy something that will last and look good for a long time than to buy a lot of things that might be shabby six months down the road. But whatever the case, always work within your budget."