Hi Kevin

You can use different ways and different material to decorate boxes, if
you can get a hold of R Raffan's turning boxes book you'll get a lot of
ideas, Chris Stott is an other prolific box turner, there are more.
Most often my personal taste goes for a clean form and no added finials,
but for some box shapes a small finial or inlay looks real good, and
they can be the same or a total different color and/or material, and
smaller is better is my opinion on size, and just adding something if it
would look better without, does not make sense.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Kevin wrote:

I was turning a top for a box/bowl the other day and thought a bit of
decoration would be nice. I had a piece of hard maple which was turned to
somewhat decorative shape. It could be used as a top of the lid of the
box/bowl. I got to wondering if it just might be easier to make the lid
with the decorative little geegaw on top all of a single piece. I've seen
some where the turner made the box, made the lid, and then glued a little
finial on top. Come to think of it, I guess that way to do it is the way
that seems right at the time.