This is a busy time of year. Ending the year, preparing to celebrate with family and friends, traveling, gift buying, cooking, and then finding time to decorate. Here are ten ideas that you can use to add holiday splendor to your home or apartment in a pinch.
1) Decorate the doorway: A festive entry provides a big impact. A pre-made wreath, a string of lights around the doorjamb, add ribbons, ornaments, and place a basket or glass hurricane filled with pine cones or seasonal fruits (cranberries) outside and you are done!
2) Set the table. Whether you use china, stoneware, in sets or in mixed patterns, a decorated table can be your focal point. Layer dishes, place mats and napkins, and glassware, add candles, ornaments, seasonal greens and fruits, and your end result will be unique and festive.
3) Dress up your existing accessories. Keep the same accessories rather than switch them out but dress them up with greenery, ribbon, seasonal items (pine cones, magnolia seed pods, etc,..) and lights.Tie fabric or ribbons onto pillows and change them instantly.
4) Add lights or candles everywhere. The drama a sparkle of a strand of miniature string lights looks festive just about anywhere. For about $5 and in 5 minutes, you can turn a window, your tall plants, a stair rail, and even a doorway into a work of art. Use 3M removable adhesive products so you don't mar your walls. With candles or string lights, create a display on a mantle or the center of a table, credenza or dresser. Use varying heights of candles on their own, in hurricanes, or in candlesticks. Drop tea lights into canisters, glasses, votive holders. Tuck in seasonal greens around your lights and add some sparkly ornaments and you are finished!
5) Ornaments add glamour. They make great bowl fillers, doorway decor, and add sparkle to focal points. Have a tall doorway? Suspend glass or plastic ornaments from inexpensive ribbon and tacks for a decorative element. Quick and gorgeous. Add them to greenery on mantles, stairways, and entry tables.
6) Dress up your mirrors. Hang a wreath over the mirror. Flank the mirror with lights. Have a smaller mirror? Try hanging holiday ornaments from ribbon over the top.
7) Make lamps and chandeliers festive. Tie on garlands with sparkle, fruits, sequins and even greens. Use ribbon to dress up lampshades, sconces and table lamps. Choose colors to match your Christmas palette.
8) Fill clear vases or hurricanes with holiday decor. Bring your outdoor hurricanes inside for the season. Fill them with a string of lights and greens, cranberries, pinecones and other elements that work with your holiday theme. Use them on table tops, stair landings (carefully and with space!), on a hearth or mantle, and wherever you can enjoy them safely.9) Use scent. Holiday decor should capture all of the senses not just sight. Use a scented candle, room spray or other fragranced product to add seasonal scents to your spaces.
10) Hang wreaths. Don't just think of a wreath as a door ornament. Hang them from a wall, bookcases, inside windows, over a wall sconce, and dress up your shutters.Please remember that your decor must be done safely.