Decorating Your Home for the Holidays

‘Tis the season to make your home shine. Holiday decor adds joy to your surroundings, creating a festive atmosphere of peace, comfort and warmth. 

You want to take a thoughtful approach to your seasonal decorating. It may look like an explosion of glitz, glitter and clashing colors if you don’t have a plan for your holiday and seasonal decor. For tasteful and elegant holiday decor, treat decorating like you would any interior design project. 

Here are some other holiday decorating tips to make this busy season less stressful:

Pick a Palette

A combination of two to three colors gives you a cohesive colorway for your holiday home decor. Red and green are classic, traditional choices; white, gold and silver are ideal for a more minimalist holiday decor approach. Don’t be afraid to use less obvious color choices such as turquoise, chartreuse or amethyst. Need some inspiration? Build your palette around a cherished holiday item, such as a glass-blown ornament or your family heirloom menorah. 

Add Accessories

Now that you have your colors, it’s time to think about accent pieces. Will you use evergreen wreaths or gold ribbons to hang on your doors? Plaid garlands or bottlebrush tree on the fireplace mantel? Pick pieces that coordinate with your colors, as well as your interior design style. Modern holiday decor may look out of place in a French country-style home and vice versa. 

Give Your Furnishings a Holiday Twist

We usually think of wreaths, ornaments, and string lights when we think of holiday house decor. But there are ways to add seasonal flair to the items already in your home. Think of your couch, for example. Take your usual throw pillows and swap them out for decorative pillows with a holiday theme. Toss on a couple of luxe faux fur blankets, and you’re ready to snuggle up with some eggnog in front of the fire. 

Create Focal Points

Too much tinsel in every room is overwhelming. Choose particular places in each room where you’ll focus your decorating efforts. If you put an 8-foot-tall Christmas tree with all the trimmings in your living room, make that your showpiece and use minimal decor elsewhere in that room. Or you can use a focal point already built into your interior design, such as a picture window, fireplace or built-in bookcase and focus your seasonal home decor efforts there. Are you more minimalist when it comes to design? A garland of real pine, fir, and other greenery makes a tasteful holiday statement and adds a lovely element of nature to your home. 

Make a Show-Stopping Centerpiece

You need a beautiful tablescape if you’re hosting the family Thanksgiving meal or a New Year’s dinner party. Start with gorgeous seasonal flowers such as poinsettias, amaryllis, ranunculus or hydrangeas. Then include cranberries, pomegranates, pinecones, evergreen or holly boughs, or other accents that tie in with your other Christmas and holiday decor.

Light Up the Nights

Giving your rooms an inviting glow is one of the best holiday decorating ideas. Hang white Christmas string lights around mirrors, in garlands and around windows. Set taper candles in holders crafted in metals such as brass and place them on your tables. Or make the Christmas lanterns called luminarias (put some sand and a battery-powered votive candle inside a white paper bag) and use them to line the steps of your staircase. It may be cold outside, but inside your home will feel warm and cheery.

Scents and Sensibility

We associate certain aromas with the holidays: clove, cinnamon, apple, orange, pine, balsam, peppermint. Complete your holiday home decor with one or two of these enticing scents. Use candles, diffusers or wax burners to generate these wonderfully homey fragrances.

Give Yourself Plenty of Time to Decorate

When to decorate for each holiday is a matter of personal preference. Some people get their decorations out of storage November 1 and do it all in a weekend, while other people may decorate over a period of a few weeks. The important thing is to give yourself enough time to do it without rushing. Allow yourself time to carefully place your decor, but also to enjoy the process. For many people, decorating their home is the unofficial start to the holiday season. So put on some seasonal music, bake your favorite holiday treat and have fun transforming your home into your something special.

Give Yourself the Gift of a Beautiful Home and Shop Elegant Strand

You’ll find the perfect addition to your home at Elegant Strand, whether your holiday decor consists of natural evergreens, glamorous metallics or a combination of both. You’ll find stunning winter-white bedding that’s perfectly soft for warm winter nights. Stock up on Egyptian cotton towels for the relatives who will be staying with you for the holidays. Or treat yourself to a stunning, unique sculptural decorative accessory you’ll enjoy year-round. Shop Elegant Strand this holiday season.