Affordable Ways to Spruce up your Home for the Holidays
Tis the season for holiday parties and family gatherings and here are some tips to help you prepare for the most wonderful time of the year. These tips will brighten up your home and help you get into the holiday spirit.
Lay Down a Holiday Themed Welcome Mat
There is no better way to kick off the Christmas season then to decorate your home for the holidays. Two of the most popular home decorating trends are simple minimalism and modern funky. In addition to decorating the outside of your home with lights and inflatables, you need to bring the spirit of holidays indoors. You may want to start with a holiday welcome mat, it sets the mood as your family and friends enter your home.
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Decorate with Festive Accent Colors
To create a festive ambiance inside of your home, choose two or three holiday themed colors. Silver and white are a good example of simple minimalist colors. Alternatively, you may want to incorporate two or more bright colors and give your space a unique modern and funky holiday feel.
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Your tree will be the focal point, so you want to use accent pieces (e.g. ornaments and candles) that highlight your tree and your color scheme. Some basic color tips to remember: Wood tones and beige, go with a brown and gold décor and this can be accentuated with pops of red. Cooler color schemes like grays and silvers go well with green accents.
Create a Mood with Lights
In addition to the Christmas tree and wreath, lighting is the most popular holiday decoration. Lighting is one of the most visually engaging things you can do to dress up your holiday décor. The end-of-year holidays are not called the season of light for nothing. This is the time of year when we set up lights as a beacon of hope for the coming year. Our spirits are buoyed by light whether the soft glow and ambiance of candlelight or the twinkling lights and the sparkling reflections of Christmas decor.
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Smart lighting is a great way to create a dramatic ambiance and the color can be easily adjusted to fit your palette, even if it changes from year to year. Lighting can be placed in almost any room in your home, and they are easily removed when the holidays are over.
Leverage your Furniture
Your furniture is a crucial part of your holiday decorating. You can move your furniture around to make room for your Christmas tree and your guests. You may want to consider adding furniture for the holidays to accommodate your visitors and beautify your home. Here is a room-by-room breakdown of some additional ways that you can spruce up your home in preparation for the most wonderful time of the year.
Holiday Decorating Tips for the Living Room
Your living room is the center of your home, and it is where you, your family and guests are most likely to congregate. During the holidays, it’s a gathering spot that takes on special significance.
Your couch is the largest piece of furniture in your living room, so this is a great place to create a yuletide vibe. Add holiday-themed pillows and a throw that features pops of Christmas colors.
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You can also convert your coffee table into a showstopping centerpiece for your holiday celebrations. For example, you can easily create an evergreen vignette in a tray or a shallow basket. Festive greenery, berries, and Christmas candles can also be used to adorn side and end tables.
You may want to consider temporarily replacing your wall-mounted frames with pictures of your family from past holidays.
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Your TV is the focal point of most living rooms so why not use it to play holiday music and display festive art works or a slide show of wonderful memories from past Christmases? This is the kind of backdrop that will help to set a festive mood for your holiday gatherings.
Decorating your mantlepiece is a quintessentially Christmas activity and if you don’t have a fireplace consider this one Ameriwood Home. This electric mantel fireplace gives you all the yuletide warmth of a traditional fireplace and the adjacent shelving is the perfect place to display your Christmas decorations.
AMERIWOOD HOME Lamont Mantel Fireplace with Side Shelves and 26 Inch Fireplace Insert
Holiday Decorating Tips for the Dining Room
You need seating so you don’t end up being squished together or forcing your guests to stand for hours on end. Adding chairs will enable you to seat all your guests and create conversation spaces that encourage people to mix and mingle.
You want chairs that are comfortable, but because they are only going to be used on special occasions, you also want them to be economical and easily stowed away like this premium padded metal folding chair set. You may also want to consider accent chairs like these great looking Mission solid wood chair with fabric patted seats. These are one of the most attracting folding seats you will find anywhere.
COSCO Mission Back Solid Wood Folding Chair with Fabric Padded Seat, Set of 2
If you’re shopping on a tight budget and looking for great value, consider these Ultra-Comfort premium padded folding chair set or this set of 8 compact folding stacking chairs. Any of these chairs can also be used as seating around the dinner table.
A drink or cocktail station will take your holiday shindig to the next level and a bar cabinet can be just the thing to help make your holiday hosting an epic affair. Bar cabinets are all the rage, Apartment Therapy called them “the next big home decorating trend”. The great thing about a bar cabinet is that it looks just like a small sideboard when it is not being used to serve drinks.
Don’t be afraid to decorate your bar cabinet tying it into your holiday color palette. Accessorize your bar area with some festive lighting. Make sure to have holiday themed napkins, glassware, coasters, etc.
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Use decorative trays to keep items on top organized, to carry drinks to guests or to make pulling your ingredients in and out of storage easier. You may want to include decorative bowls with bar snacks like peanuts. Make sure your home bar is located aways from traffic flows but close to where the action will be.
The affordable Camila Bar Cabinet by Cosmopolitan has built-in storage area for cocktail mixers, wine bottles, wine glasses, and more. Your home bar will help you to throw the perfect party from Thanksgiving to New Year’s and beyond.
COSMOLIVING BY COSMOPOLITAN Camila Bar Cabinet
Many of us have fond memories of sharing a meal with those we love during the holidays. These are the kind of memories that spread cheer throughout the year. You can create the right setting for new memories by transforming your dining room into a Christmas fantasyland with festive table linens, placemats, tableware, ornaments, candles, lighting, and greenery.
You can add holiday inspired swags to make even the plainest dinning chair look festive. You may want to consider adding a small Christmas tree to your dining room. Pay attention to areas that look empty and add little accidents. Consider details like the images you have on the wall or the dishware on display in your hutch. Paying attention to detail with help you to create a beautiful holiday dining space in which new memories are made.
Tables may be the most symbolically important piece of holiday furniture. It is hard to find enough table space when hosting a lot of people, so take advantage of buffets, hutches, and sideboards for decorations and to serve food, drinks, or desserts. Before you decorate your table, you have to make sure that it is big enough to accommodate your guests. If there is no way you can fit everyone around one table, consider hosting a buffet style dinner or getting an additional table.
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Its always a good idea to have extra tables when entertaining. You can use it to extend your dining surface, as a separate table or as a snacking station. If you need tables for you holiday affair consider this trendy yet sophisticated whitewash gray multipurpose folding dining table. The great thing about this inexpensive solid wood table is that it folds flat for easy storage when not in use.
If you need something bigger check out this inexpensive 8 foot folding banquet table. It not only folds down flat but this indoor/outdoor table has a handle that makes it easy to carry. Perhaps you are interested in creating a separate kids table. If so consider this inexpensive aluminum table and bench set or this 5 piece folding table and chairs set
If your looking for an accent table for Christmas decorations or hors d’oeuvres consider this smart, foldable, display serving table. At less than $70 its perfect for holiday parties and useful throughout the year.
Holiday Decorating Tips for the Bedroom
Whether planned or unplanned it is always a good idea to be ready for overnight guests during the holidays. With the right furniture you will be ready when the need arises. If you don’t have a dedicated guestroom, consider turning your home office, games room, den or basement into temporary sleeping quarters for your overnight guests. Start by decluttering the space and then decide about what your guests will sleep on.
DHP Tokyo Metal Daybed and Trundle Set with Metal Slats
You have lots of choices. You can pull out a folding cot or you can beautify your space with an elegant trundle bed, like the classic Tokyo Metal Daybed that will serve you well long after your guests go home.
Follow these tips and you will create holiday magic that both you and your guests will remember for years to come.
