Design Your Style: So Nice to Make a Home for the Holidays

By Diane Maier

Set the mood in your home this holiday season with a decorating plan that celebrates the real you.

Embrace your year-round personal decorating style. Keep in mind that you are dressing your home for the holidays and not redecorating it. Integrating a theme can create interior harmony that flows from room to room. Your choice may feature a personal collection that is packed away during other seasons or a holiday tree with a special theme. Place smaller themed trees in bedrooms, the guest room, and even the kitchen to add a holiday spark to every area of your home.

Your fireplace should be a focus of your holiday decorating style, second only to your tree. Hang a large wreath on or over the fireplace, position candleholders of different heights on the mantle, and add containers of foliage to the mix. Add personal items such as a cherished vase, a child’s sled, or some other unique accessory. Branches and garland tie the theme together nicely.

Not sure what colors to use? Take your inspiration from your dining room chairs for ribbons, garland, flowers, candles, and place settings. Choose complementary colors that create a seasonal feeling. Perhaps you’ve seen a piece of fabric that would make an elegant runner or spied a festive ribbon with a charming color scheme. Color is a very personal decision and a true reflection of you. Select hues that complement your existing choices. Match warm with warm and icy cools with whites and silvers. Jewel tones lend themselves to fancy beaded fruits, rich fabrics, and embellished candles. Earth tones and deep reds bring out the rustic feel of a truly Tuscan holiday. For the greatest impact, use only one color of candle—and then use them everywhere!

Placing greenery or a garland adorned with ribbons and ornaments on your chandeliers adds character, impact, and charm. Staircases can also be very dramatic when decorated for the holidays. Use this architectural detail of your home to tie your plan together.

Holiday wreaths also create unity of design wherever they appear. A wreath on the powder room mirror is a festive, unexpected touch. Even the wreath on the inside of your front door can become extraordinary by attaching two long lengths of ribbon to its bottom. As your holiday cards arrive, use straight pins to affix the back of the card to the ribbon. Be careful not to pin the cards closed so that friends and family can enjoy the good tidings and the photos inside.

Add store-bought or homemade gingerbread figures to wreaths and garlands, and hang them from lengths of ribbon in the windows of your kitchen for a truly “hearth-warming” touch. Display others among plates in your china cabinet or plate rack.

Candy canes added to simple arrangements of red roses create a simple and incredibly elegant holiday bouquet. Small wrapped gifts piled in an urn or basket by the front door make it easy to say “Thank You!” when neighbors and friends drop by with an unexpected treat for you.

Your best holiday ever begins with a decorating plan that reflects the real you!