You don’t have to be selling your house to borrow these ideas — straight from the design experts.
If you’ve ever been wowed by an open house — and honestly, who hasn’t? — you may well wonder how you can recreate that impressive look in your own home and do it with a holiday flair. The answer is much easier than you may think. Whether you’re decorating for family and friends or only for yourself, these holiday home decor ideas from four top design experts will help you achieve the “wow” factor you want during this festive season.
Tip #1: Bring nature indoors
Ashley Tapley, an interior design, home staging and color consultant at House Candy Home in Aptos, Calif., says holiday decorating starts with deciding which spaces you want to decorate and how you want to decorate them. “Figure out what you have on hand and what you need to buy before you head out shopping. What goes up must come down, so plan wisely,” Tapley says.
Add items from nature such as dried fruit, cinnamon sticks, pinecones and succulents to elevate a traditional wreath.
Tapley’s favorite tip is to bring nature indoors with plants or produce. Place red and green stems, like holly berries or red dogwood twigs and pine sprigs, in a vase. Wire succulents onto a garland. Make candle holders out of artichokes or apples. Set out a beautiful bowl of pomegranates. “Using simple pleasures from nature can make decorating look effortless, and it’s sustainable and requires no storage afterward,” Tapley says.
Rather than decorate every space in your home, focus on a couple of key areas, such as lighting the front of your house, your tree (if you have one) and your fireplace mantel. “If there are too many things in a space, nothing seems special, so choose wisely,” Tapley says.
Other tips from Tapley include:
- Give bright red and green a new spin by using a current color theme. Choose alternatives like blush, moss and cream.
- Fill a bowl with vintage glass ball ornaments. Set on a tabletop or your mantle for a simple and pretty display.
- Tuck battery-operated fairy lights into a garland or wreath. Lots of white lights really make a place sparkle.
- Embrace the boho trend. Incorporate wood beads with yarn tassels as a garland for your tree or stair railing.
Tip: Wrap gifts in a color theme using a beautiful ribbon. Gifts can be a great decoration under a tree, and you don’t need to store them when the holiday’s over. Photo c/o Ashley Tapley
Tip #2: Mix and match
What’s your vibe? Traditional, vintage, modern or a blend of styles? The first step in planning your holiday décor is to decide which theme best matches your space, says Francesca Grace, celebrity interior designer and home stager with her eponymous firm in Los Angeles. “When I’m decorating for the holidays in my own home,” Grace says, “I love to combine vintage patterns with contemporary shapes. This makes my holiday décor feel purposeful and ensures nothing feels outdated.”
Photo c/o Francesca Grace
One of Grace’s favorite tips is to take a more contemporary holiday approach. “I love to incorporate more modern décor, such as feathers, or even choosing a tree that isn’t a traditional choice,” Grace says. “Incorporating greenery is key.” Garlands are one way to infuse a festive style. Add table linens and accent pillows to create subtle “pops” of color.
But be careful. “Too many colors throughout your home can leave it looking chaotic,” Grace says. “Choose a color theme and stick to it. A consistent theme throughout your home can keep things feeling festive yet sophisticated.” And another word of caution: Be selective about reusing old holiday décor. Combined with new items, outdated décor can start to look “kitschy,” Grace says.
Tip #3: Go for a coordinated look
Pamela O’Brien, principal designer at Pamela Hope Designs in Houston, Texas, says using the same color scheme and themes for your holiday décor inside and outside gives your home a coordinated look.
“Select colors and themes you can sprinkle into everything from a swag on a railing, a spray hanging from a coach light and a wreath on the front door. Continue the same color scheme and motifs on your tree, in your mantel décor and on tabletops throughout your home,” O’Brien says. “Whichever style you prefer, people will love how harmonious your home feels for the holiday season.”
Stick to a few colors or a theme that you can use throughout your home to help the look feel effortlessly put together.
Additional tips from O’Brien:
- Combine traditional holiday colors with more unexpected shades. Pair shiny red and green ornaments with warm metallic ribbons and gold-glittered pine cones, or contemporary hues, like turquoise and pink ornaments, with silvery ribbons and frosted branches.
- Use new ribbon to update older garlands. You can also apply this tip to wreaths, swag and even your tree.
- Use large containers, such as hurricane lanterns or clear vases, on your mantel, dining table or entry hall chest to create elegant displays. Fill them with anything from holiday fruits to glass ornaments to pine cones. Tie a sumptuous bow around the bottom.
- Not into bows? Loop, swirl and twirl ribbons into existing decorations. Snip the tails at a slant, cut a decorative fishtail or curl them around a pencil for a pretty finish.
Tip #4: More is more
“Holiday décor that wows should be visually appealing and evoke an emotional response,” says Stephanie Brunt, home stager, decorator and color consultant at Olive + Opal Interiors in St. Louis, Mo. Start with a main color plus one or two accent colors, such as white or cream with green or blue sprinkled in. To add sparkle, use a metallic accent, such as silver or gold.
Photo c/o Stephanie Brunt
“Feature the main color with larger items, like accent pillows and throws, tablecloths or runners and placemats, and even florals or greenery arrangements. Layering items in the same color but with different textures, such as fur, velvet or linen, makes a wonderfully cozy but sophisticated statement,” Brunt says. “Sprinkle accent colors in smaller elements, like tabletop vignettes, napkin rings and candles.”
Think twice before you opt for décor with holiday words and phrases on it. “You don’t need pillows and placemats declaring ‘Ho, ho, ho!’ or decorative signs reading, ‘Walking in a winter wonderland,’ to tell guests you’ve decorated for the holidays,” Brunt says. Brunt also suggests homeowners incorporate softer lighting, as it’s more pleasant than harsh overhead lighting and brings a little bit of magic and life to any space.”
Finally, when it comes to holiday decorating, “more is more,” Brunt says. “Go big. It’s one of the only times of the year when you can. Utilizing your palette of two-to-three colors with soft lamplight, glimmering candles and twinkle lights will guarantee your guests will be awed by and impressed with your holiday decorating skills.”