5 Ideas to Ring in the Holiday Decorating Season!

 The Power of  Gold  on a Mantel

Are you ready for the holidays?  OR - are you like me - still unwinding from Thanksgiving?  To get us focused on the season, I thought I'd share some interesting decorating ideas that I really like. 

The picture above depicts a monochromatic color scheme in this mantel vignette.  Love the powerful statement that the gold makes here. Notice the different shapes and textures that also add interest.  The two conical figures on the left are connected to the picture frame on the right by the word "Noel" which has the greenery and gold ribbon draped around it.  Remember what I mentioned in a past post about your eye moving from left to right.  The decorator of this mantel definitely played into this.

Want to create an unexpected but clever  look - use boots and fill them with colorfully wrapped packages for a great entry way look. This is a spin-off of the Dutch shoe tradition - children receiving sweet treats and trinkets in their shoes.  If you live in Florida like me, you may have to search high and low for the perfect pair of "Wellingtons" for this look.  Maybe I could tie little packages onto a few pairs of sandals for a beachy Christmas look!!!!  

Boots Filled with Holiday Booty - Modern Christmas.com

How can you make your dining room or kitchen chairs evoke a holiday  mood - tie swags on the backs of the chairs.  The swags also serve to add a pop of color to your dining area.  Tie some greenery together and glue pine cones and ornaments to form a swag. Then glue or wire  this arrangement to the ribbon to complete the look.



Creating A Holiday Dining Experience - Southern Living



Another easy decorating idea - place ornaments on your candlesticks and table to add color to your tablescape.  In this photo, the red runner rhythms the color from the ornaments.  You could also add some greenery underneath the ornaments  on the candlesticks to really "pop" them. 





Using Ornaments As Part of a Tablescape

What about your chandelier?  Shouldn't it also make a holiday statement ? Absolutely!

Hang ornaments from your chandelier and wrap colorful ribbon and greenery around it.  Include a chain of musical scales and notes to "harmonize" the look.  Check out old music books at Goodwill for some perfect material for your musical links. Simply cut out the "tunes" you need and glue them  to form links - a Real Pottery Barn Look.  By the way, have you seen Pottery Barn's candles that are covered in musical notes and scales?  You can get the same look by rubbing Modge Podge  glue on the candles and then wrapping the candles in the music sheets.  A lot less expensive.  You know I'm going to do this to "Make My Home Sing"!  



A Festive Holiday Chandelier

Don't forget to check out my $35 giveaway for CSN stores.  Deadline for all entries is Thursday, Dec. 2nd at midnight. See my November 28th post for details on how to enter.  Believe me, the CSN stores have everything you could possibly want from decorative accents to lighting to cookware to furniture to shoes, and the list goes on -  250 stores and quality merchandise.  This is the perfect time to get  a gift certificate for that holiday gift.