10 Clever Holiday Decorating Ideas

A Staircase Adorned With Gold Ornaments - Houzz

 

I am starting to feel guilty.  It’s November and I haven’t written a Christmas decorating article, yet!  As I have been galivanting about  these past few months, I started noticing some Santas springing up in stores as early as September!  It was just amazing.  I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is this week.  In this post, I’m going to fast forward you to the week after Thanksgiving.  You’re now five pounds heavier and  have the arduous task of putting away all of the little pumpkins, fall leaves, and turkeys and hauling out those Rubbermaid containers of Christmas decorations.  By then, you’ll have read this post and have some  creative ideas to embellish your home for the holidays. 

This year why not try a decorated letter on your front door instead of a wreath. Just purchase the first initial of your last name at Michael’s Craft Store and some berry sprigs.  Cut the berries off the sprigs and glue them to the letter, tie some burlap ribbon through it, tie  into a bow, and attach to your wreath hanger.  You might be a trendsetter on your street.

A "Berried Letter"  for Your Door- Pinterest

If you insist on a wreath, why not wire three together and hang them from your wreath holder; use twigs for the arms; and dress in mittens, a scarf, and hat.

Wreaths Dressed for Winter - Pinterest

 

Are you fortunate enough to have architectural niches in your home?  Don’t ignore them; highlight them with holiday accessories.  The picture below shows some holiday greenery in a silver container and an attractive wreath in a foyer niche.  What a nice way to welcome your holiday guests!

Including a Niche in the Holiday Decorating - Better Homes and Garden

How about a monochromatic tablescape?  Instead of red or green, use a white runner, Paperwhite  flowers in silver containers, some candles on silver candleholders and spray some pine cones white or silver. Complete the look with your white china, white or silver placemats and white napkins.

A Wintery White Festive Tablescape - Houzz

 

Here are some clever ideas for your fireplace area.  This homeowner created a faux fireplace area with a mantel.  She  made a candleholder out of a log which  she displayed in the middle of the mantel.  To balance the arrangement, she placed a white potted poinsettia on each side and interspersed some Christmas accessories throughout the vignette.     On the floor, she filled a container with greens, pine cones, some logs and twigs which are wrapped in battery-operated lights.  I just love this look.  What about you?

Using Natural ElementsTo Create a Holiday Feeling - bringrestoration.blogspot.com

Since the December holiday season is a time of giving, use a gift box theme in your fireplace area.  Cover gift boxes in colorful wrapping paper and bows and use a strong tape  to adhere them to the wall . Place more packages and ornaments on the mantel itself.  Finish off with some colorful garland and stockings.

Decorative Gift Boxes Are the Theme of This Mantel Vignette - Better Homes and Garden

For a more shabby chic or rustic look, decorate an old ladder by covering the rungs in ribbon and hanging ornaments from them.  Prop it in a corner or beside your mantel  to add a festive touch. Remove the holiday ornaments in January and leave the snowflakes so you can have a holiday mood for one more month.

A Ladder Adds A Shabby Chic Touch to This Holiday Decorating Scheme - Better Homes and Garden

What are you going to do with all of those holiday cards you receive?  Why not purchase some small shutters from Lowe’s or Home Depot or a consignment shop and spray  paint them red?  Attach a hanger to the back of each shutter and hang on your wall above a table with a holiday vignette.  As a result, you’ll have an organized display.  You can save some of your cards and use them in a decorating project (decoupage?) for next year.

Shutters Serve As an Organized Display of Holiday Cards -Source

For a vintage look, place some colored  Christmas light bulbs in an apothecary jar and spray fake snow on the outside of the jar.  Place on a tray which has also been sprayed with the snow.

Colorful Christmas Light Bulbs in This Snow-Covered  Apothecary Jar Proclaim a Holiday Spirit - Better Homes and Garden

My favorite idea is to decorate the dining room chandelier.  To do this, you attach a plain artificial green wreath to the bottom of your chandelier using  holiday ribbon. Next you wrap the green garland around the chain of the lighting fixture.  Then use some attractive wired ribbon and wind it around the garland. Hang a tassel from the bottom of the chandelier.   Add some berries and ornaments and you  have made a festive holiday dining statement.

A Chandelier Decked Out for the Holiday Season - Source

If you try any of these ideas or have another favorite holiday decorating suggestion, leave a comment and let me know about it.  Better still , email me a picture, too. Happy decorating!

Decorating With Dress Forms

Using a Dress Form as a Vision Board -myartsdesire.typepad.com

I can’t decide whether I want to incorporate a dress form into my decorating scheme.  Last year I purchased one at Tuesday Morning for a realtor presentation that I was scheduled to do.  Thought it would be a cute idea to show realtors how good presentation  is so important in selling a home. Instead of doing the typical Power Point presentation, I dressed Rosie, my dress form, in this crazy mismatched outfit and then by changing out some of her clothes so they matched and looked attractive, I made my most important points on the significance of home staging.  Now Rosie is back out in my garage and every time I get into my car, I can’t help but think that she would look much better in my house.  I researched some ways that people have used dress forms  in their décor and thought I would share them with you.

Those who love the  Shabby Chic look, are often  fans of  dress forms and mannequins. Check out the many Etsy Shabby Chic-themed shops on-line and you are bound to find one.  They are part of the whole vintage look  happening now in design.   I find them attractive and am going to find a place for poor Rosie, yet.  Maybe I could place her in my foyer so as I opened the front door she would be in full view! I could dress her seasonally.

In the picture below, the homeowner has decorated her dress form in a dress she once wore as a five-year old and placed it in her child’s nursery room.  She also framed a few family clothing heirlooms and hung them on the wall in that room to complete the theme.

A Child's Dress Adorns this Dress Form in a Nursery

   

Another idea is to find the partial dress forms that you can hang on the wall. Hanging jewelry on these dress forms serves to further embellish the room.  

Jewelry on These Wall Dress Forms Adds Color to This Bedroom -annasage.com

 A stair landing is an unexpected place to situate a dress form and bring some additional color to that area.  Your landing would have to be a bit larger than the one pictured so it wouldn't interrupt the traffic flow. Of course, a smaller dress form would be another option.

A Dressed Dress Form Graces the Landing of this Staircase - thescarlettrosegarden.com

 

This dress form provides storage for jewelry and a purse while serving as a decorative accessory  in this bedroom.

A Decorative Dress Form Also Provides Storage - Canadianoriginals.net

Dressing a wire dress form with Christmas greenery and ornaments is a clever way to bring the spirit into your home.

An Unexpected Way to Decorate for the Holidays -nskwood.net

 A tabletop decorated dress form makes a festive statement in this Valentine’s Day vignette.

A Partial Dress Form Helps Create a Valentine's Day Mood in This Vignette - the scarlettrosegarden.com

 

If you don’t have room for a full-sized dress form, try some glove forms on top of your dresser or night stand and decorate them with jewelry to emphasize the color scheme in your bedroom.  They could also be used in vignettes in other rooms.

Glove Forms Are a Unique Way to Add Decorative Glamour to Your Tables - Between Naps on the Porch

So what’s your take on using dress forms in your décor to add a little vintage look and do something a little unexpected?  Leave me a comment?  I’ll let you know where Rosie ends up in a future post.