Home for the Holidays: Holiday Decorating Ideas
Given how many mundane tasks a house must perform, a touch of glam is a necessity. Spruce up your home for the holidays with our holiday decorating ideas.
The holidays are a perfect time to spice things up a bit. It can elevate a room into an experience! Glamour does require guts though. What creates glamour? Sparkle! Shine! Color! Embellishments! Pattern!
I am not suggesting that we have to go all over-the-top, glitzy “more is more” kind of look. You can be selective and elegant, choosing perhaps one brilliantly ornate mirror, a lavish wallpaper, or a single glimmering chandelier, in an otherwise modern or refined room. You don’t need to overdo it, but you can’t be wimpy either. That chandelier, or wallpaper, or mirror, has to assert itself loudly and clearly. Glamour is not meek.
Wallpaper
It’s hard to imagine that several years ago the only thing most people wanted to do with wallpaper was tear it down. All of its potential to add pattern, color, style, excitement, and impact was dismissed. And for what? Wallpaper can make a boring space feel alive and important. Especially in small rooms, it can transform them into really special spaces. Small rooms can often handle large-scale or busy patterns better than larger rooms, where the pattern can feel too overwhelming.
It would be rare to find a room that could not benefit from some wallpaper. We especially love it in bathrooms, where it adds nice texture and interest. Tip: If you’re going to use wallpaper in a bathroom make sure the room has good ventilation. In a powder bath you don’t have to worry about this so much since there isn’t a shower or tub to create excess moisture. Maybe kitchens are the only place where painted walls should be left unchallenged. Save the super bold or large patterned wallpapers for areas that are more passed through than lived in, such as an entry hall, a powder room, laundry rooms and hallways.
Decorative Mirrors
Mirrors are not just for checking out how you look in that outfit or putting on makeup. Glamorous mirrors, as opposed to practical ones, have beautiful frames- like red lacquer, gold starbursts, or beautiful carved wood. They may also have dark smoky antiqued glass and are often hung in places where you can’t see yourself in them anyway- like above a fireplace. A decorative mirror is a big beautiful object that can create the kind of drama that grounds a room. Tip: If you want to throw some light into a dark room, place a mirror on the wall perpendicular to the window, not across from the window as is commonly done, and which actually bounces the light right back out the window!
Make sure whatever is directly across from the mirror is something lovely. It could be a window with a nice view of the outside, in which case you’re choosing to bring that view into the room rather than taking advantage of the extra natural light. Here are some top places we like to hang mirrors:
- Above the fireplace
- In-between a pair of tall windows
- On the floor leaning against a wall *safety first- you need to secure the mirror to the wall!
- Above a sofa
- Above a console table or dresser- in the bedroom, hallway, or entry
- In a dining room
Sparkling Chandeliers
Sparkling, drippy chandeliers deserve a special shout-out here in the glam department! Place one of these old-fashioned pieces where it can really stand out- in a modern kitchen, a simple dining room, or a child’s room or nursery, for example- has a greater impact than in a fancy or traditional room. Amp things up a notch by making sure the chandelier’s fluttering light is reflected in a mirror. Boom! Magical!
Shiny Objects
We are all attracted to bright, shiny things, and for good reason. Well, our homes need them too. As our eyes bounce around the room, they focus on and are delighted by those bright spots that demand attention. If your style leans toward earthy or boho, a bit of sparkle brings sharp focus to the look of natural materials and organic shapes. These objects can be in silver, gold, brass, mirror, or glass. They can come in the form of anything from boxes to bowls to candlesticks, or even just a sculptural piece or figurine whose only purpose is to be decorative. Think of these things as points of punctuation. Set shiny things on top of consoles, on coffee tables, in bookcases, on side tables, or even on top of a stack of books. Mix and mingle them, just don’t overlook them!
So go on, get out there, and glam it up a notch this holiday season with our holiday decorating ideas!
For more inspiration follow our Holiday Glam Pinterest board.
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