I like to think of every bare surface in my home as an opportunity to display old and new treasures. What others call clutter, I think of as the detail that makes a room interesting. Pictured here is a Donna Karan singing bowl and wood vase from Brown Thomas, a giant shell (a gift from Peter Johnson) and a picture frame holding a favourite postcard picked up Paris many years ago. The term for this type of decoration is “tablescapes”, as coined by the influential interior designer David Hicks. He was the master of arranging everyday objects, art, flowers and such into a pleasing and cohesive statement. When creating a table-scape, combine small and large items for variation of scale. Colour is another important factor – keep it fairly consistent, using just one or two colours or variations of one color. Grouping accessories of one colour makes small items read as a larger whole. Use an odd number of items (3 , 5 or 7) to keep the balance right. Obviously low level items should be at the from, moving to medium and tall ones at the back. I use books or magazines to raise up some of the objects if necessary. If your table is close to the wall then incorporate items onto the floor and wall as part of the overall look. Use trays or baskets as part of your tables-cape, they’re always useful for gathering small items together. Use things you already have but stock up on some new ones every so often to keep things interesting. Keep an eye out for sales – for example, at the moment Merrion Square Interiors are selling all sorts of beautiful mirrors, candlesticks, vases, trays and so on at next to nothing prices. Photograph: Renato Ghiazza for The Gloss.