Thinking back to a most wonderful dining experience, I ponder, "…how did they do that?" The greatest chefs start with the same basic ingredients available to all of us: meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and grain. So, what did our host know that we don't?

They understand a secret — the difference in everything is in the details, the small, subtle variations that make fine food and life so diverse and delicious.

Cooking and gardening combine life's basic ingredients in just the right measure and balance to form infinite personalities of flavor, style, texture and visual expression.

Start Here

To create a wonderful living space, we all start with the same ingredients: architecture, furniture, fabrics, flooring, accessories and lighting.

A careful combination of the basics forms the foundation of function. But we can then incorporate subtle or conspicuous variations to ascribe unique personality through color, texture, style and details, details, details.

The secret is in finding the right recipe that reflects how you define beauty and comfort.

We all begin with four walls, a floor and a ceiling. But look what happens when we add crown molding, wainscoting, some raised paneling, perhaps a built-in bookcase, or a stately mantle.

Suddenly, we have a room with character!

We begin with an ordinary window. Add whimsical window treatments to color and filter and soften the incoming light.

Take a simple lamp. Top it with an unusual shade and even a distinctive bulb.

Perhaps add original artwork that makes you think, or makes you smile.

Now we have flavor and style, and the room becomes interesting and personal.

Happily, there are endless selections on the menu of decorating details. Fabrics can be woven, linen, silk, cotton, velvet, mohair or synthetic, depending on desired texture, weight, durability and formality. Patterns can be plain, stripes, checks, prints or chintz.

The most interesting details are often in the smallest aspects, such as welt and trim. Trim can be a simple cord or more intricate bullion, brush, scalloped or ball and tassel.

Pillows might have sophisticated tufts and adorning buttons of similar or contrasting material.

A lovely lampshade will complement its base and diffuse light either up or down. Shades may be plain or pleated and of almost any material, such as parchment, colored fabric or silk depending on your desire for either an elegant or casual feeling.

Floor lamps of bold brass or a soft finish can either make a statement or can quietly illuminate a nook.

Always in vogue in Europe, wallpaper is making a comeback in America and comes in limitless patterns – however, often a subtle paint finish will warm or cool a room and is the perfect backdrop for great artwork.

Enjoy!

Wanda Crossley is the owner of 'The English Manor' in Leesburg, Virginia