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Dear Jessica,

I recently got married and acquired a lot of furniture from family. I like a few pieces very much, but there is some furniture that I don’t know how to fit in with my décor. The extra items aren’t my style, yet I feel obligated to use them. Do you have any suggestions? — Taylor, Greensboro

Dear Taylor,

I feel your pain. At one time or another, most of us have been given an albatross by family members with good intentions. Obviously, you want to show respect and appreciation to your relatives, but when the furnishings are not your style, making other people happy can be too high a price.

Depending on the piece, there are a number of possibilities you might consider before relegating the item to your attic or basement. By using your imagination, you might even be able to turn what was once a burden into a favorite keepsake.

If you have an upholstered piece and the bones of the piece are in good shape, the restyling options are endless. You can achieve a new look by simply changing the fabric and adding decorative touches, like nail head trim or decorative gimp on the skirt.

Items that need more work than a fabric change can be restyled. A sofa or chair can easily be restyled and updated by a good upholstery shop. I stress “good” because not all upholstery shops are equipped to conduct major overhauls. In fact, the entire look of a piece can be changed by reworking an arm style, swapping out oversized, puffy back cushions and opting for a more tailored, fitted back. You can add a skirt to an exposed-leg sofa or update old-fashioned exposed legs with more timely, sleeker styles.

If your family treasures include case goods like tables, desks, chests or consoles, don’t give up hope that any of these pieces can serve your needs. Consider the following:

• Refinish or paint: Once you have determined where a piece should land in your decorating landscape, refinish it to fit in with your color scheme. A tired old shaker chest repainted lime green may be just the answer to add a punch of color to your décor.

• Reinvent: There is no rule that you have to use a piece of furniture for a specific purpose. You might like to turn a Parsons-style sofa table into a base for an entertainment wall. You can modify the table by adding several storage shelves to create a bookcase effect, and then mount floating shelves above it. Hang your TV in between or under the hanging shelves to create a sleek new style.

• Recover: We have been using tablecloths for eons, so take it a step further and create a custom slipcover for that trunk or table. I recently recovered my grandmother’s old Lane Furniture cedar trunk, placed it in my bedroom and found that I love the design statement it makes. Every time I look at that trunk, I think of my grandmother and smile. She would have enjoyed knowing that her trunk became a big design element in my décor.

Most gifts are given with good intentions, but sometimes they miss the mark. The biggest compliment you can give to someone is to care enough to invest in using their goods. If you refinish, reinvent or recover a piece, you are still using it, but maintaining enough control so that your space is yours. Instead of suffering silently, you are enjoying your family treasure, which is the point of a gift anyway.

Jessica Dauray is owner of Elements of Style Interiors, a full-service interior design firm with offices in Greensboro and Wilmington. Visit her Web site at www.elementsof styleinteriors.com. Have questions for Jessica? E-mail her at jessicaofeos@bellsouth.net.