When you have a dresser in your own bedroom, you may use the space on top for personal items. But when it is in an extra bedroom or guest room, your accessory choices are probably going to be purely decorative. Here are a few suggestions for making that dresser top look attractive.

Bring in light: A table lamp like the one in the photo serves several purposes. It can be used to provide ambient light to a room when you don’t want to turn on the bright overhead light. It shines on the surface of the dresser, showing off the gloss of the polished wood surface, and it adds height to the surface display. It can also set the tone for style and color through the lamp’s base and shade.

Vary height: When all of the accessories are the same height, it stops looking like a planned display and starts looking like clutter. On this dresser, the lamp on the left and the flowers on the right add enough height variation to keep the dresser accessories looking interesting across the top.

Bring in color: Red fruit in the bowl connects with the red flowers to add charm. Notice that there is another splash of red across the room by the window that you can see   reflected in the dresser’s mirror. Color helps link the different spaces in a room.

A bit of bling: The basic wood hardware on this dresser demands something shiny on top. The books have metallic covers, creating a spot that sparkles. This sparks up the look of the entire display.

Chances are you have enough odds and ends of accessories to dress up your dressers and coffee tables. Just keep experimenting until you get the look you want in each room.