The Marie Kinnaman experience begins right at the entryway of her Fallbrook shop with her whimsical window displays. They change according to the season or the occasion, and on a recent visit, they featured reindeer -- some flying, and one posed as a waiter carrying a cocktail tray.

The shop at 136 N. Main, which opened 14 months ago, is called At Home on Main Street. And inside, everywhere it looks the eye settles on some unique or rare accessory or artwork. Kinnaman has collected crafts from more than 10 different countries and the United States -- exotic touches of Colombia, Africa, Brazil, France and Italy. Things that you look at and think, you don't have a purpose for it, you just know you can't live without it, she said.

Kinnaman, 49, lives in Fallbrook with her husband, Michael, an airline pilot who also helps with the paperwork; her son, Brian, 24, who assists her in the shop; and her daughter, Tracy, 21, who works and is studying business at Palomar College.

A friendly woman with a calm demeanor, Kinnaman's specialty is redesign, meaning she uses the furnishings that people already have and redesigns a space in one day. She has worked her miracles on the television show, "Decorating Cents," on the Home & Garden Television network.

Kinnaman has done background work for about 35 shows and is involved with a series of four shows from Fallbrook scheduled to begin Jan. 1, she said. She will be on air for Episode 2303, to air Jan. 18 and repeat on Jan. 19 and 22, where she will work on a redesign for a San Diego bed and breakfast.

"I always thought people could do a better job with the things that they have," she said. "But many people also wanted something new." Which is why she opened the shop: to offer them "bigger things that make a better statement than lots of little tiny things," she said.

"You don't have to have a lot of money to have good style," Kinnaman said. "You just have to have a good eye."

Count on a designer to know there are so many exotic and beautiful things in the world. The shop is an eclectic mix of home-accessory store and art gallery, with nearly every inch of surface artfully arranged to delight the eye. And it works, she said, because "it's all about scale and balance and color."

A quick perusal of the interior revealed everything from a giant silk banana-tree leaf to Zulu wire baskets made in Africa from scrap telephone wire and a collection of National Geographic sheets and dishware. Kinnaman pointed out an ottoman from Peru that the buyer has to stuff. And from Vietnam, a spath -- the part of the coconut tree that falls to the ground, she said. The craftsmen lacquer it and then put little feet on it. She filled the spath with decorative items to brighten the table.

Splashes of pink and chocolate-brown unite one collection, while another is shaped by black, brown and cream. One wall area is always red, regardless of the season, she said.

Adding to the art-gallery feel of the place is the wall art created by area artists, including the current exhibit of Africa-themed works from Joann Sandlin, a retired business professor from San Diego State University whose works include paintings and handmade jewelry sets.

Brian Kinnaman, who is also a writer, chooses the art for the shop.

"He's got the eye for it," Marie Kinnaman said. "I think if you have a talent, you can hone it by going to school and learning about it," but practice develops it, she said. Brian has attended art and design schools in France and Ireland, and also the Rhode Island School of Design.

"My goal when I got the shop was just to make it sound nice, feel good," she said as she passed a bubbling two-tiered copper fountain. "I just love the sound. It's relaxing."

On the wall over the fountain is a quote from William Morris, considered to be the father of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England, Kinnaman said. It reads, "Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

Kinnaman said, "If you kind of take that for the motto of your home, it's a good one to live by." That goes for anyone's situation, she said. Too many people have things in their homes, sometimes gifts or inheritances, that they don't really think are beautiful.

She makes an effort to choose items made in America or in countries where the work is not mass-produced, where the people who make it rely on the sales for their living, she said. In polling her customers, she has found that to be a popular choice, she said.

"I'm trying to have more things made by artisans who are trying to make a living doing what they love," she said.

Kinnaman treats her collection of decorative items like precious children, displaying them to reveal their best features.

Having a shop is just a place for her to play every day, she said with a smile.

Call At Home on Main Street at (760)728-9892. To learn more about the HGTV shows featuring Marie Kinnaman, visit the Web site at www.hgtv.com. Contact artist Joann Sandlin at (619) 465-7960 or visit the Web site at www.sdmartistsguild.org.

Contact staff writer Agnes Diggs at (760) 740-3511 or adiggs@nctimes.com.