A quiet, clean spot, with as little distraction as possible. Best not too light or too dark, and the same location every time. As meditation has everything to do with creating a mental habit, everything that helps you in creating a habit and avoids too much distraction might help.You can make a little altar and do the statue and incense thing etc. if you like, but it is not essential at all.Also, it is better to sit every day for 5 minutes then twice a week two hours; daily meditation is considered pretty essential if you really wish to make some progress. Best again is to try and fix a specific time every day, for example straight after you get up, or just before going to bed, but a lot will depend on your personal situation of course.When you start a session, it is also good if you set yourself a (not too long) time for the session; don't sit 'till you drop', as it may cause you to give up meditation altogether. Regarding the Buddha statue, as long as you consider the statue just a reminder of who your example is on the spiritual path, it cannot harm at all. Of course you don't want to be so superstitious that you feel like praying to the actual stone, wood or metal is needed. Rejecting Buddha images is probably just as narrow-minded as believing that a statue is going to save you. The middle way is to consider them as a symbol of respect to the historical Buddha and for your own future enlightenment.Oh, I almost forgot; meditation is not something that can only happen on a meditation cushion; actually we strive to live our whole lives in a meditatve state. So all advice on how to do your session is quite relative; you can also meditate waiting for the bus, sitting in the train, or even walking in the city - though that may not be very easy in the beginning!