Small and often-overlooked details can turn an uneven and disjointed home decorating job into a unified design that portrays the homeowner as someone who cares about the little things in life.

Switch plates are one detail that is too often overlooked. For example, a porcelain switch plate can provide the finishing touch to complete any room in the house, but choosing this important design element in any home is often left to a builder or remodeling contractor.

There is no reason to settle for a boring beige plastic covering when finishing touches made of porcelain and other materials are easy to find and install.

While homeowners may not initially see these small details as important, a room will never really look complete unless every detail in it -- from the paint color and baseboard shape to the way lamp cords are concealed -- is carefully considered.

Covers are more than a simple necessity for hiding wiring boxes from view. When carefully chosen, they can enhance the look of a room and offer plain walls some upgraded elegance.

Plastic accessories installed by contractors do a good job of covering up ugly wiring and may seem to give the room a finished feel. Once the room is decorated with high-quality furniture and accessories, however, those inelegant plastic coverings begin to look out of place.

A porcelain switch plate does much more than simply cover the hole in the wall where the electric box is positioned. Along with carefully chosen door hardware and tasteful window treatments, these necessary trimmings can help bring together a room.

Even if the wiring installed in a home does not include traditional up-down toggle switches, upgraded plates are probably still available. These coverings are available in rocker switch plate models as well, so homeowners are not left to settle for the plate that came with the rocker switch.

Accessories are also available in clear plastic and wood as well as metallic materials like brushed nickel, copper, pewter, iron and bronze. All materials are carefully tested and proven safe for this application, so these items can be installed by any homeowner or contractor with confidence.

Covers are available that accommodate up to five switches in a single location. Specialty pieces can accommodate phone and data jacks, cable television jacks and electric outlets, allowing for a room to be decorated with entirely matching or coordinated trimmings.

A few moments of careful consideration to the smaller details of a home decorating project can give a room a finished look that will serve a homeowner well for decades.