The Last Words 

"Books transcend the traditional-contemporary divide. All houses should have them -- books in piles, center tables of books, walls of books. I don't mean books by the yard -- those unopened leatherbound volumes of Shakespeare bought solely for decoration. But if you have tons of picture books, reference books, novels, and so on, it adds color, rhythm, and sculptural beauty as well as evidence of the spiritual and the cultural. They breathe atmosphere and life into a room." --PETER DUNHAM

"A mudroom is a must. That transitional area between exterior and interior is the perfect place for cubbies, coats, gloves, galoshes, and all things slightly awkward. For one client, I did individual lockers for all the family members -- charming wooden ones with a neo-country feeling. Everybody loved them. --KERRY JOYCE

"Every house needs a fireplace, whether it's one with an 18th-century carved Italian mantel or a sleek stainless-steel surround -- or a marvelous, funky little river rock fireplace in the country! Fireplaces are so grounding and evocative that even when there's not a roaring fire in them, something primal makes you want to sit down and stare at them." --STEPHEN SHUBEL

"Candlelight. Whatever the style of a home, that natural, flickering amber flame softens all the hard edges. I use candles sparingly, but there's nothing wrong with having in one room a candelabra with tapers, some votives, and some hurricanes with pillars, all in some shade of white or ivory. I love scented candles. My major extravagance is that I always have a Diptyque candle burning in my office." --JONATHAN ROSEN

"One special Louis XVI desk or chair looks elegant, no matter what the style of the interior. I recently did a design job in a very contemporary house. In the entry, I put a beautiful Louis XVI table gilded in 22-karat gold, with a marble top. It was the only traditional thing in the whole house and it stood out like a piece of jewelry. It was just so noticeable, floating on this marble space with lots of light." --NANCY CORZINE

"Well-proportioned moldings -- baseboard, crown, and door casings. They should never be skimpy, overscale, or left out entirely. Having them be perfect is like looking at a woman in a well-tailored dress. It's deeply pleasing, even if you're not sure why. And how do you determine correct proportions? It's visual. You go back to Vitruvius." --DAVID KLEINBERG

"Beautifully made hand-pleated lampshades of voile, silk, gauze, or linen. The quality of light is so much lovelier and has this wonderful translucency, due to the pleated fabric on the face and the lining fabric underneath. Handmade traditional shades are becoming to any kind of lamp, whether it is a startlingly contemporary one or an 18th-century Chinese vase." --RICHARD KEITH LANGHAM