The last post was about how the voice of the author gives details significance to the reader. (The post is still there if you don't believe me. Go ahead and look. I'll wait.) So this time I would like to add that the details of the world can, and often should, be significant to the characters. Consider the difference between being in a park and being in the park where the protagonist had her first kiss.
As people, we often respond to what others think and feel. If a detail in the environment makes the character think and feel, we are more likely to respond to the character.
This technique allows the author to imbue meaning into objects that will be used later in the story. Instead of just showing Chekov's gun on the mantelpiece, make it memorable. Daddy used to take me hunting with that gun. I've always hated having that thing in the house.
There is more power, more resonance if you will, to hitting someone over the head with a frying pan if the character being hit has been established as an obnoxious chef who cares more about his equipment than the people around him. Sure, you could hit the guy with a baseball bat, but it wouldn't be as good.
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