The holiday season is here – smells of sugar cookies baking in the kitchen to twinkly lights cascading down fir trees in the living room. But what if you haven’t had the time to decorate yet and all the stores are sold out of those snowflake ornaments or cinnamon-apple scented candles? Or maybe, you’re just looking for more DIY ideas to decorate your home this season. No need to lose your holiday cheer, we’ve reached out to experts living in Dallas, TX all the way to those living in Seattle, WA for their design advice. Check out their tips for easy holiday home decor ideas so your decorating will be a breeze.
1) Swap out decorative accessories such as pillows, throws and area rugs. Use rich, warm colors reminiscent of autumn, think rusty oranges, spicy browns, amber and olive green. Alternatively, you can go for deep, rich colors as a nod to the winter holiday season such as jewel-tone reds, greens, or sapphire purple. A winter white “mash-up” fused with soft neutral tones of beige, taupe and grey can be light and lovely if you prefer subtleness and simplicity.
Textures and fabrics should be warm and comfortable—knobby knits and fluffy faux fur help bring out the “cozy” in any space. Try combining bold or subtle patterns with color-complimentary solids to bring a bit of drama and flair to your room, and If you want to infuse a bit of sparkle, try adding a few metallics into the mix. Finally, use your favorite candles and lamps (we love textured fabric shades) to highlight your updated decor then sit back, relax and enjoy! – Joseph McCarter, Principal and Owner at McCarter Design
2) Make your home smell like the holidays with natural ingredients. The most classic version of this DIY is to use cinnamon, citrus, and cloves but feel free to mix and match what ingredients smell like the holidays to you. Choose a fairly large saucepan and fill it 3/4 full. Add in cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange zest, and a bit of vanilla extract. As the water heats up, the scent will spread throughout your home making the atmosphere very warm and cozy. You can also do the same thing in your slow cooker, keeping it warming throughout the day. – Holly Mills, Thrive Cuisine
3) Add simple greenery to every room. Branches of holly or eucalyptus are our favorite. It’s worth investing in the real stuff – the colors and textures are so rich and bring a lovely scent to your space. Remember to switch or flip your cushions for a festive feel – choose deep luxurious colors, seasonal patterns and rich texture; we love velvet and thick woven jacquards. Aim for a thread of a theme throughout your home – crisp whites with green and gold, classic green and red or bright and multicolored. – Rosie Axford, Co-Founder of Wicklewood
4) Bring drama to your wreath. Forget the green and red wreath this year! Buy white feathers and fabric dye to create texture and match your color-theme for the holiday. Think outside the box with a teal-peacock theme, jewel toned purple or deep pink additions to bring some drama to your traditional pine greens. – Katharina Thinnes, Interior Designer & Real Estate Professional, Homes By Katharina
5) Design your own winter village. Buy a few miniature houses and create a snowy village. Add some fake snow underneath the houses, and perhaps a glistening tree, some deer, or anything that makes for a happy winter scene. – Lauren Levy, Founder of Aden’s Mom
6) Snow will brighten up just about anything. DIY flocking can be done to just about any item from wreaths, to trees to garland for a beautiful snowy look this winter. – Martina Schaffer, The Lived-in Look
7) Decorate everyday items in your home as gifts. You can tie wide, colorful ribbons around a coffee table, lounge chair or individual pillows. This creates an immediately recognizable holiday theme in your home. Another way to decorate your home with a winter/holiday theme is to use tree branches. You can place evergreen branches in glass vases, or hang them on your wall. You can even attach Christmas cards or additional decorations to them for extra ambiance. – Tim Koster, Founder of CleverCreations
8) Spray paint pinecones. Yes, there is finally a use for pinecones and they go great with your home. Spray paint them silver for a winter wonderland effect, gold for that rich warm home feeling, red for the Christmas spirit, or leave them as they are – the natural, rustic look. One bit of advice, especially if you have kids, is to put them in a bowl or as part of a centerpiece. – Phillip Ash, Founder of Pro Paint Corner
9) DIY a Christmas centerpiece. You will need a glass, white cardboard, craft scissors, glue, glitter, conifer cone, baking soda & salt (for the fake snow inside). Decorate your conifer cone with glitter – I picked green as it is Christmassy and fresh. Fill the glass with the baking soda and salt mixture. Cut out a piece of the cardboard as wide as your glass. Attach the decorated conifer cone to the cardboard and glue it to the glass. Voilà! Let it dry for a few hours and enjoy your centerpiece. – Eva Bowker, Fantastic Handyman Australia
10) Bring out your inner woodworker. As a woodworker by heart, I’ve made a wooden sign board for our front door that says “Let It Snow” and an address post sign too. Its font is patterned with Narnia as it’s my son’s favorite movie and matched accurately with the winter vibe. A hot tip for decorating is to always find a theme to follow so that it will be a lot easier to curate the pieces and make them look more put together. – Robert Johnson, Founder of Sawinery
11) Create a driftwood Christmas tree. All the DIY tools you’ll need are: driftwood sticks, a wood base, a topper, a dowel rod, glue, and a drill. Firstly, collect some driftwood and make sure they’re all straight but different sizes. Short ones will be placed towards the top and large one will be at the bottom. Second, make a hole in each wood piece with the help of the drill. Make sure all holes are in the middle of each branch. You can also drill a hole into the topper or simply glue it in the end.
No matter what you choose a base, you need to drill a hole into it at least 3/4 of the way through the same size as the rod you are using. Place the rod into the hole and make sure it is stable. Assemble starting with longest branches to the shortest one, stacking each driftwood in a different direction. Your final step is to put the topper, so it can be stacked as a final piece. – Deemer Cass, Christmas Tree Expert at Fantastic Services
12) For warmer climates, decorate your pool. If you live somewhere without snow, it can sometimes feel difficult to get into the holiday spirit. I say face the warm weather head on with humor and style – add garland or adhesive decals to the pool fencing. Snowflakes, Santa, reindeer – there are so many decals available. If you have acrylic or tempera paints you can paint your own decals, too. Use warm water and soap and gently scrub off the decal at the end of the season. – Mark Wood, CEO of National Pool Fences
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