Treasure hunt with an interior designer

Interior designer Barry Dixon lives and works at Elway Hall, his 1907 Edwardian estate in Warrenton, Va. The house has beautifully appointed sitting rooms and bedrooms and 17 fireplaces with lots of mantel space. Dixon is famous for moving around his treasure trove of accessories: overscaled apothecary jars, Venetian brocade pillows, flea market candlesticks, lusterware porcelain and French garden orbs.

Dixon, known for his warm high-end interiors that mix color and texture, was the perfect person to join us for our Shopping With Tastemakers excursion. This time we went on the lookout for great affordable accessories to add to your home.

Designers, as we know from Instagram, like to use their own homes as design labs. Dixon, who opened his own decorating firm 20 years ago, layers objects that reflect both his Southern heritage and his global travels. These all influence his own line of paints for C2, fabrics and trims for Vervain, lamps and other pieces with Arteriors, and a furniture collection at Tomlinson/ Erwin- Lambeth. He is working on residences in Florida, Wyoming and Nantucket, so he's always shopping for things in interesting places.

A fan of mixing high and low, Dixon likes the constantly changing array at West Elm. "The selection is fresh and always different," he said. "You never know what you'll find."

Teak orb

When I walked into the store, Dixon had just discovered a wood and resin sphere ($69) that had been rolled under a coffee table. These intriguing nine-inch balls are made from solid teak, then a crackly clear resin is used to fill out the natural burls in the wood, creating a perfect sphere. "I like them because each one will be unique," Dixon said, adding that they work well in almost any room. "They have a wonderful look to them, like they were brought home from a jungle island or something," Dixon said. "You put this in a corner of a contemporary urban apartment, and it looks like Krypton."

Geometric wood panel

A large panel of whitewashed wood ($369) with precision-cut designs hanging on the store's wall caught Dixon's eye right away. The piece is inspired by geometric stone carvings and is an impressive size: 471/ inches by 471/ inches. "This is instant architecture in a bland space, and it's not a huge investment," Dixon said. "You can put it over a console or over a mantel or in the dining room." His other ideas for it: attaching four legs and topping it with a sheet of glass to make a cocktail table or using it as a twin headboard. "Buy things you can use for a lifetime that can have multiple incarnations," Dixon said. "You will never tire of something like this."

Two-tone side table

The modern, compact Martini table ($159) is an iconic West Elm piece that Dixon immediately recognized. It is available in a number of colors and finishes.

He was excited about its new incarnation, a white base with an antique-brass-finish top. The piece is made of aluminum and is indoor/outdoor. "I like the combination of the high-gloss lacquer and brushed-metal top. It's very modern," Dixon said. You could put it by a wing chair or use two in front of a sofa instead of a coffee table.