Luxurious decor, strategically placed lighting, and simple, yet colorful touches are sometimes all you need to transform a real home into a place of enchantment.
Let's explore five different interior design motifs and discover what you can do to transform your house in preparation of the holiday season.
Architecture and Furniture
Before you can start adding decorative design elements into your home, you must consider what you've already got! Using your architecture and existing furniture is a simple way to start decorating for the holidays. But what does it mean to use the architecture and furniture?
Your home, whether it be an apartment, condo, townhouse, a single family home, or dorm room, has architecture and furniture to use for decorating. Use a chair for more than just sitting -- hang decorative ribbons or a boxwood wreath on the back of it. Use a window for more than sunlight -- decorate it with lambrequins or passementerie trim. Use a niche for more than just storage -- utilize the space for holiday decor such as vases filled with ornaments or silver bells, perhaps along with candles or candy dishes?
Every space can contribute to your holiday decorating scheme:
- windows
- entryways
- banisters
- doors
- ceilings
- walls
- chairs
- stairs
- sofas
- case furniture
- alcoves
- guilloche
- mantels
The trick is to be creative and use your imagination to decorate your space.
Accessories and Accents
The list of accessories and accents is endless and has something for everyone. Your holiday fantasy may include:
- Candles
- Throw pillows
- Art
- Wall decor
- Tapestries
- Wreaths/garlands
- Rustic details
- Vintage details
- Sconces
- Mason jar ornaments
- Card displays
- Bedding
- Bells hanging on the front door
- Colored towels
- Slipcovers
- Vases
- Valances
- Tablecloth/runner
- Festoon
So, no matter what accessories or accents you wish to incorporate, you can be sure that the endless options at your disposal will turn your fantasy into reality, creating holiday memories to last a lifetime.
Lighting
The holidays are a wonderful time to use multiple light sources, creating an ambiance that only fantasies can have. The best holiday light sources include the unused candles at the bottom of the dresser drawer, the sconces in the storage boxes, or even the multiple strings of lights mixed in with other holiday decorations.
But no matter how eclectic your decorating style is, any and all lighting options will go with what you choose to do in your space. Lighting your space is a magical way of turning your home into a fantasy for visitors and family alike.
The best holiday lighting options include:
- Strings of lights/Cord pendant lighting
- Cloth covered wiring
- Changing lampshades
- Twinkling topiaries
- Tealights in frosted glass vases
- Lanterns
- Bottomless hurricane lamps
- Sconces
- Torchiere
- Accent lighting
- Candles (perhaps with candle followers or bobeches)
Foliage and Greenery
Bring the outside winter wonderland into your home, and watch it transform your space into an instant holiday fantasy. Nothing says "the holidays" like crabapple branches, pumpkin centerpieces, poinsettias, berries, or mistletoe. A bowl filled with fruit, displaying pomegranates, or even having a holiday tree sitting next to the front window (or even in your bedroom), holiday foliage and greenery bring a refreshing fragrance into your home and suggest a cozy atmosphere to celebrate what the holidays are all about to you and yours.
Holiday flowers to choose from include:
- Maidenhair Fern
- Orange Lillie
- Green Hydrangea
- Orchid
- Oakleaf Hydrangea
- Boughs of Holly
- Evergreen
But what other foliage and greenery options are out there if flowers don't go with your decorative vibe, or complement your overall look?
Other options include:
- Curly branches
- Birch logs
- Fallen leaves
- Oakleaf stems
- Crabapple branches
Colors and Hues
The holidays are the ideal time to explore colors, colors, and more colors. Different color palettes you never thought you'd use, to a mixture of those you use all the time, the holidays can become a fantasy world with just a change of color alone. Any accent or accessory can come in the color scheme you're aiming to achieve. Changing the color of slipcovers, throw pillows, hanging towels, rugs, tablecloths, napkins, or placemats is a simple trick that can change everything.
What different colors and patterns can you use in your design to make your space more vibrant? Textures and patterns add contrast, so think about combining opposites. Incorporate colors that match the style of the room.
Start in your kitchen, and work on transforming it into, perhaps, a caramel hue -- this vintage color suggests warmth and holiday cookies. Mixing colors and neutrals is another idea as well.
But what color palettes are there?
- Monochromatic
- Simplified
- White and silver
- Multi-color
- Black and white
- Black, white and red
- Pink, red, silver, and gold
- Earth Tones
- Rich browns, crisp whites, and warm metallics
Whatever your holiday fantasy is, the ideas above will surely assist you in transforming your home into the holiday dreamworld you always wanted to have!