Decorating Your Home and Table for the Holidays

Holiday Decorating

Great design touches every one of our senses at the holidays. When you walk into a room, it shouldn’t just look beautiful - it should feel good, smell good, and be well lit. With the holidays just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to try out a few decorating ideas. For example, one of the biggest rules with lighting is to avoid relying on overhead lights. The holidays are a time when we often take pictures, and overhead lighting tends to wash people out. Everyone wants the holidays to feel special, and creating layers of light helps create a beautiful glow. Try mixing floor uplights and lamps, candles, and a ceiling fixture to take memorable photos.

Tablescapes

Try to think outside the basics. For example, if it’s Thanksgiving, everyone has a turkey-shaped plate and yellow leaves or pumpkins decorating the table. To elevate your holiday decor, find objects that work with the rest of your interior design and act as an extension of your spaces. If your home is primarily black and white, then try to continue your decor with a black and white table theme. In addition, try to incorporate something a little fancier that gives it that extra “pop” like crystal glasses. Play with materials and textures in such a way as to have a beautiful table without a traditional decor or turkey plopped right in the middle. Make the tablescape fun and inviting.

In addition, choose pieces that you can mix into your home to keep all year round or pull out to use for multiple events or holidays. For example, a beautiful crystal serving platter is perfect for Thanksgiving, but you can also use it for Christmas because it blends seamlessly with both holidays. If you want your tablescape to feel more like Thanksgiving, play with color by setting out fresh flowers in seasonal or less obvious but complementary hues.

Holiday Elements

Try to balance the old and the new. If you have vintage plates that are more ornate, consider placing them next to complementary wine glasses or clean-lined and simple silverware. That contrast creates a timeless design that you will love and want, perhaps, to duplicate for years to come.

Further, many people tend to overstuff centerpieces, which gets really difficult to manage because most of the time, the decorations are way too big and block the person across the table. Instead, opt for about three smaller centerpieces with lower profiles or a single long one so that people feel comfortable talking around the holiday table.

The Future of Holiday Decorating

Too much decor doesn’t allow you to appreciate your pieces individually because they create overstimulation and nothing seems special anymore. People are beginning to curate quality goods by going to vintage stores or flea markets and, overall, being more mindful of what they bring into their homes. As with all decorations, less is often more. Make holiday decor storage easier by purchasing only what you know you will use and love.