10 Tips for Holiday Decorating

Holidays are around the corner and there’s nothing like getting the house ready to put you in the holiday spirit. Every year I aim to get my house decorated by Thanksgiving. And while I try, it seems like it always takes me longer – I guess it doesn’t help that we have four Christmas trees. So this year, I’m planning on beginning my decorating a little earlier. That way I can enjoy the fruits of my labor a bit longer – and my daughters won’t mind it a bit I’m sure.  Here are some of my tips for Holiday decorating:

1. Start with a theme or style. My home is contemporary, so typically my holiday style leans to the contemporary too. I’ve done non-traditional jewel toned accessories, glass snowflakes, feathers and lights. Keeping this in mind I typically wrap all of my gifts in a variation on that theme. If your home is more traditional, you can have more traditional décor with candles and lots of fresh garland. If it’s farmhouse/cottage, get creative with found and crafty items. It makes shopping for décor easier and makes your space feel more professionally finished.

2. Let the olfactory sense know it’s the holidays too. Scented candles and potpourri near your entry and throughout the house will certainly aid in spreading that holiday cheer. Or better yet, bake cookies and pies. Then your taste buds can enjoy the holidays too!

3. Choose two or three colors for your holiday palette. Multiple color palettes can be too distracting. Try silver and purple, red, brown and gold, or blue and white. I will typically decide on the palette based on the paper and theme that I choose for the season.

4. Create an inexpensive family tradition that involves the kids. Purchase a ready-made wreath of greens then gather items to decorate it. Use pine cones, ribbons, paper snowflakes – any handmade or found object will do. In our family, we have different trees that fulfill different themes for each person. So every year each one of us gets to pick a new ornament to add to the tree that speaks to that theme – toys, angels, etc.

5. Colored lights can be costly if you change your color palette from year to year. Stick with white lights – they can be used with any color scheme in any style. And always add a touch of elegance.

6. Give your spaces a different look and feel for this time of year. Rearranging your furniture so the focal point is the tree. Create intimate conversation areas so guests can sit and chat without shouting across the room.

7. Start investing in a collection – something that can continue to grow through the years and can be passed on to the next generation. My husband’s mother passed down to us a beautiful nativity that her father had made. It’s always a treat to bring the nativity out every year because of the sentimentality of it.

8. Use lots of candles. Candlelight makes every space feel warmer and more inviting.

9. Don’t leave any public rooms out of the holiday celebration. Make sure that all your spaces – including kitchens and baths are seasonally decorated. Knick knacks, candles and towels can easily add a holiday touch to these rooms.

10. Less is not more during the holidays. If it’s bare – come up with a way to decorate it. I have tall, white columns in my house and every year I wrap them in gift wrap that compliments my décor. My houseplants get lights and ribbons and even some of my artwork receives special attention. Be creative and have fun. That’s what the holidays are all about!

No Time To Decorate

The summer flew by. Schools are back in session and the leaves have started to fall off the trees. 


Every year I think that as soon as my girls are back in school that I can get back to what I need to do around the house and with my business. I seem to always make that mistake. I forget how many additional activities and items get put into the schedule... Brownies, art, swimming, homework, play dates, school meetings, business meetings - the list goes on. My girls are busy and my husband is as well - and they keep me busy. 


That is often what I hear from my clients - they simply don't have the time to focus on decorating. Of course I can totally appreciate that sentiment. And it makes me think about how I decorate my own home. I wish that I could spend the same amount of time contemplating my house as I do others. But unless I start making appointments with myself (hmm, there might be something to that) I simply can't. So how do I manage to decorate my own home? In small blocks of time - fits and starts. 


Sometimes I ponder something that I don't like for a while until something inspires me to change it. I see something on a shopping trip or even in my own home - something that will update and liven the space. Maybe some new pillows, new artwork or simply moving things around - rearranging things will bring new life to a room. While not drastic changes, they change the mood of the space or make it feel more cohesive and finished. 


Example #1 - My husband, in his attempts at style, built our home and made some long-lasting decisions. One such decision was building in a huge, over-sized mirror in the living room. For months and months I looked at the mirror and could think of nothing more than just taking it down - it was too over-scale, and oddly shaped and positioned in the wall. Fixing the wall and repainting it would cost more than my husband would want to spend (budget is always a major concern for my fiscally-minded husband, but that's for another blog), plus he put the mirror there and liked it. So what could I do? Finally, I realized that if I embraced the mirror and strategically hung some artwork over it I would be able to scale it down in a way that would make it seem purposeful. Maybe not the perfect solution, but still interesting. And instead of looking odd, it looked like a way to accent a piece of art. At some point I'll take it down, but the mirror has a stay of execution - for now.


Sometimes, if I'm very lucky, something happens that forces the change.


Example #2 - Again, my husband installed white carpet in our Living and Dining Rooms. Which I'm sure looked beautiful when first installed. But we are in the days of hardwood flooring. It's easier to maintain and clean, and frankly more attractive. So one night we hosted a large event at our home. The caterer spilled the juice from a Roast Beef pan all over my white carpet in the Dining Room. Looks like a murder scene. Instead of getting upset, I am ecstatic - I finally get to replace that dated white carpet in the Living and Dining rooms with beautiful wide-plank hardwoods (it's so much more economical to do more than one space!) Boy did it make a difference in those spaces. It really gave them an updated, more sophisticated look. They look amazing.


So what have you learned from my experience? That decorating a home is a process. With patience, creativity and maybe a little help from your local, friendly decorator, you too will have spaces you will love!