I can't seem to decorate very well in Skyrim. In Oblivion it was difficult (physics would cause an explosion of items often) but at least i could easily drag the item into another position. However in Skyrim, i can't seem to ever flip the item. If i knock over a pot, it takes a good 20 minutes to trick the pot into a proper upright position.

Anyone know any tricks to decorating?

As far as i am aware, if you manualy place objects yourself, when you leave & return to your home, the objects will be laying on the floor everytime, making self decorating a pointless exercise.

Some objects like pots & bottles if you hold them up they can self right themselves as you hold them.

You can try dragging them & brushing them against other objects like chairs or tables, to change the position they are in.

They don't always fall on the floor, but yeah, that happens sometimes. It is a pain to decorate in Skyrim but I'd recommend putting the item on the floor, kick it around until it's facing the right direction, and then lift it up and place it.