Having a well-heeled closet may be the first step to strutting your style at home.

Whether you wear designer shoes, sneakers or slippers, it's important to keep footwear organized and off the floor when you're not wearing a pair, says Carolyn Musher, sales vice president for California Closets in New York City.

"The shoes you wear say a lot about your personal sense of style," she says. "And how you store your shoes says a lot about your personal sense of organization."

Organized shoe selections don't hide on the floor or in hanging plastic shoe bags behind closet doors. One of Musher's most renowned shoe shuffles involved Beth Brenner, a New York City-based home design publication's chief revenue officer. Brenner's shoe collection stood out and began taking over her pre-war Manhattan apartment.

Musher's solution for Brenner's footwear affair was to build a floor-to-nearly-ceiling cabinet with built-in shoe cubbies and an adjoining nightstand for the corner of her bedroom. This custom-built cabinetry was placed between her bed and the wall, which meant getting rid of the stacks of shoes in her bedroom corner.

The first step to having a shoe closet is to clear out the clogs -- or other shoes -- that are no longer worn, Musher says. "Unless you have unlimited space -- and no one has that -- you have to purge shoes you no longer wear," she says. "By keeping only the shoes you love and wear, it makes it easier to move into the organizational phase."

Personalize

It's easy to become head over heels for a shoe closet when it is built to your shoe specifications. Shoes can be the eye candy in a closet en suite that resembles a personal boutique on display.

"For some, shoes are like pieces of wearable art," Musher says. "After spending a lot of money on, say, the red-soled shoes, why wouldn't you want them displayed in your closet when you're not wearing them?"

Shoes are accessories that can be style showstoppers and a closet's centerpiece. But even if you don't have a large walk-in closet space for shoe storage, the most important thing is to keep footwear off the floor.

"You don't want to start your day by digging around for a pair of shoes that match," Musher says. "The best organizational plan involves making a place for everything and keeping everything in its place."

Visualize

Most-used shoes should be placed at eye level, with lesser-used or out of season shoes placed in a closet's upper shelf storage space. "Your shoe closet should evolve with the seasons," Musher says. "Sandals shouldn't occupy prime closet real estate when it's winter and you're wearing boots."

While shoe closets might be more closely associated with female footwear, men and children are having shelves built for shoes in their closets. "Being able to choose a pair of matching shoes quickly is desirable -- no matter who or how old you are," Musher says. "The key with children's closets is to take stock of shoes regularly, because they grow out of them quickly."

Musher says to move too-small shoes down the road by putting them into storage for younger siblings or by donating them.

Customize

When it comes to organizing shoes in your closet, group similar styles together, whether it's by color, season or heel height. Shoes can be placed on shelves, in cubbies or stacked in see-through containers with lids.

An organizational system that utilizes the boxes in which the shoes were purchased can also be implemented, just make sure you don't become lazy with your loafers by not putting them in the box and back on the shelf. Taking a picture of the shoes and affixing it to the outside of the box makes seeing your shoes a snap.

Musher says while it's easiest to build a shoe closet from the ground up, homeowners can also organize footwear on a shoestring budget. With nearly 80 California Closet locations throughout the United States, Musher says shoe closet costs can start around $500 and go up from there, depending on size specifications and finishes.

Footwear closets should be as accessible and comfortable as an old shoe, but shouldn't look like one. Higher-end closets can have shelving units or shoe displays with glamorous lighting.

But the closet isn't the only place that should be a clutter-free zone for shoes. People entering the home -- either through the front-door foyer or side mudroom -- should have shoe storage that is as well-ordered as private shoe closets, Musher says.

"Have a place to stow shoes by the door, whether it's under a bench, inside a cubby or into a basket," she says. "People entering a home shouldn't be tripping over a field of footwear deposited by the door."

Professional Put-together

Go to CaliforniaClosets.com or call 888.336.9707 to request a free closet consultation.

The time is right for clocks to be an integral part of a home's design. The household clock has become less of a necessity and more of a personal choice, says Markus Harris, communications director for the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

"Though long-ubiquitous in our society, these days, the household clock is much less necessary than it was," he says. "Many modern appliances have digital time displays, as do our ever-present cellphones ... so the household clock is an expression of style and decorative taste."

With contemporary lines and retro Sputnik-like shapes inspired by mid-20th century design or modern-farmhouse styles with distressed wood and metals, today's clocks have looks that stand the test of time. Form follows function as modern-style clocks are hitting the mainstream, says Karen Sullivan, Wall Decor Buyer for Omaha, Nebraska-based Hayneedle Inc., an online home store since 2002.

"The clock is a natural focal point on a wall," she says. "And, while it should stand out, a wall clock shouldn't conflict with the other wall decor and furniture in the room."

Sullivan says that an oversized clock with a floating dial is a timely timepiece, especially when hung on an expansive wall in a modern home with an open-floor design. "The clock should be the first piece up on a wall," she says. "Then, frames and artwork surrounding the clock should follow. There also needs to be a unifying element to the clock and surrounding pieces, whether it's a color, a metal or wood stain."

Today's timepieces are entering a time warp with the resurgence of interest in mid-century modern clocks, Sullivan says. "You don't have to be a clock collector to appreciate the styles from the 1950s and '60s," she says. "George Nelson clocks have been reissued with the Sunburst, Star and Atomic Age designs for a new generation."

George Nelson (1908-1986) has been called one of the founding fathers of American modernism and was known for applying his design to practical household items, such as clocks. Original collectible George Nelson Clocks can start around $500, whereas the reissued designs are less than $150. Reproductions of his original electrified clocks are easily detected because they require batteries to operate.

While modernistic timepieces have a cool vibe, clocks with rustic or distressed finishes add character and warmth to a room. Sullivan says today's timepieces are generally less ornate and made to match a casual lifestyle. "The clock in your home has to make YOU tick, and we're finding that floor clocks -- or Grandfather clocks -- and fireplace mantel clocks are capturing smaller and smaller segments of the population," she says. "The wall clock with the floating dial is popular, because the backdrop is the wall itself, so there's nothing to match."

The numerals on a clock face run the gamut from stylized Roman numerals to nonexistent numbers, but Sullivan says more people are searching for clocks that also have a digital calendar and day-of-the-week features while also telling the time.

More than just a way to tell time, a household clock can evoke memories and recall a simpler time, while also making a style statement. Harris recently purchased an emerald green Kit-Cat Clock for his wife, Charlene, to hang in their kitchen. Made on the West Coast since the 1930s, the Kit-Cat Clock was a fixture in Charlene's grandmother's home, with the movement of the large eyes and tail also keeping time. "Now our own Kit-Cat Clock ticks away on the wall of our kitchen, adding the perfect nostalgic touch to our decor," Harris says. " A really great design always holds up."

Harris also says modern hipsters are rediscovering a well-made clock's mechanical complexity. "Millennial steampunks are inspired by the beguiling fusion of past and present that is so perfectly signified by the intricate complexities of mechanical clocks wrought of wood and brass," he says. "Entire decorating schemes have been inspired by such horological works of art."

Second Time Around

For more time-styling ideas, go to: Hayneedle.com.

The old tradition of terrazzo is reaching a new generation. Iconically underscored and underfoot in mid-20th century American homes, terrazzo is enjoying a resurgence in today's contemporary homes.

Terrazzo is a durable composite, comprised most commonly of marble chips or other aggregates, which are suspended in a concrete or resin binder and polished until the aggregate is visible and the surface is smooth. Most commonly used as flooring, terrazzo makes a strong style statement, says Mark Fowler, executive director of the National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association (NTMA) in Fredericksburg, Texas.

"We are seeing an uptick in terrazzo residential sales," he says. "People are reimagining the midcentury modern look and bringing it into the 21st century, and terrazzo is hot with its cool look and applications."

Meaning "terrace" in Italian, terrazzo was created six centuries ago when Venetian mosaic workers made a durable flooring that was polished smooth after marble scraps were pressed into clay. This flooring was installed on the terraces surrounding the workers' living quarters and the name "terrazzo" stuck.

In the United States, the use of terrazzo flooring peaked in the mid-20th century. New homes built slab-on-grade using poured concrete made the installation of terrazzo flooring easier than ever, Fowler says.

"Cementitious-based terrazzo is typically a 3 1/2-inch thick system in which stone or metal aggregate are dispersed throughout wet concrete," he says. "After it dries, heavy grinders with increasingly higher-grit discs polish the floor to create a smooth, sleek surface."

Called poured-in-place terrazzo by tradespeople, metal strips are most often embedded into the wet mixture wherever there is a need for a joint or change of color in the floor.

"Terrazzo is often the flooring of choice in airports, schools, hospitals and other commercial buildings because of its beauty and durability," Fowler says. "But now, intricate designs in terrazzo flooring are easier than ever to achieve in homes through the use of sophisticated wet saws and precast terrazzo, made from durable resins."

While cementitious-based terrazzo is still the only reliable choice for outdoor applications, most indoor installations use resin-based terrazzo. There is more versatility in using today's resins, which act as a binder for decorative aggregate, says Eric Wilhite, the second-generation owner of Terrazzio, based outside Nashville, Tennessee.

"While a consumer could do a poured-in-place resin-based terrazzo on-site, our company specializes in precast terrazzo tiles that we manufacture under controlled conditions in our workroom," he says. "There are many advantages of resin over cementitious terrazzo."

A wider selection of colors, greater tensile strength, 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch installation thickness and less susceptibility to cracking are all benefits to a resin-based terrazzo. While terrazzo may be considered an impermeable surface, both the cementitious and resin-based varieties require regular coverage with a high-quality sealant, Fowler says.

"It's not the resin that needs to be sealed, it's the porous aggregate marble, stone chips and concrete that require sealing," he says. "Although terrazzo is a lifetime floor, follow manufacturer's guidelines and be prepared to seal it at least every decade in a home."

Fowler says it's imperative to prepare the floor substrate properly before installation of terrazzo can begin. To avoid cracking, there should be no bounce in the floor and cement backer-board can be used an underlayment. Bespoke or custom-made terrazzo is easy to achieve with the precast variety, Wilhite says.

"Custom-added aggregates, resin colors, sizes and shapes of resin terrazzo are all achievable in a controlled environment," he says. "We can manufacture 4-by-8-foot panels, and have them cut into a variety of shapes to create a mosaic on the floor."

Terrazzo is also migrating off floors and landing on walls, countertops and seating as architectural accents. In a thoroughly modern monochromatic home, terrazzo can add interest through subtly colored or sparkly aggregates.

Fowler says it's imperative to hire an expert terrazzo installer for any job, and homeowners should expect to pay between $10 to $35 per square foot of terrazzo installed for basic jobs. Fabrication and installation of more intricate terrazzo patterns will boost costs.

"Some terrazzo installers are so good that they can create the illusion of a seamless floor and staircase," Fowler says. "But the real testament to the enduring quality of terrazzo is witnessing homeowners restoring an original 1950s floor to its former glory."

Step Up

-- National Tile & Mosaic Association, NTMA.com, 800-323-9736

-- Terrazzio, Terrazzio.com, 931-845-3434