Holidays & Seasons

Christmas Decorating With Style: How To Do It Right

Many people take pride in how they decorate their homes for the holiday. However, their results don’t always match up with the ideas that they have in their head. If you’re feeling a little disappointed by your past holiday decorating attempts, or if you just want to ensure that you get the best possible results for the upcoming holiday season, here are a few tips you can use to decorate with style the right way.

Christmas Decorating With Style: How To Do It Right
Photo by Arina Krasnikova

Research the Latest Trends

A good place to start is researching the latest holiday decorating trends. There are always new trends emerging each year and by finding out what they are, you can keep your home looking fresh each year. It’s easy to research the latest trends through a search engine or you can follow some holiday-decorating themed social media accounts on sites like Pinterest or Instagram. Once you find some good sources, you can learn things like the best new Christmas decorations or the types of themes that are now in style. Make some notes of the ones you like, then you can start to incorporate them into your home.

Find More Classic Decorations

The other route you can take is going back in time. Instead of searching for the latest holiday decorating trends each year, you can create a more classic look for your home. To do this, research the styles used in your preferred decade, such as the 60s, 70s, or 80s. For example, maybe you want to create a style that reminds you of your childhood. Find some pictures online of holiday decorations from that time or pull out some of your old family photo albums to get started.

Once you have some ideas, you can start to narrow down on specifics. For instance, according to Cadeaux Christmas Interior Decorating, “European blown-glass ornaments are a world heritage and a vanishing tradition.” If these old-fashioned ornaments fit your designs, you could order some to help complete the look. There are plenty of places online that offer old-fashioned Christmas decorations, making it easy to get the exact pieces that you’re looking for.

snowman christmas decorations
Photo by Barry Plott

Steal Ideas from Other Designs

As you’re planning out your home’s holiday décor, don’t be afraid to steal from other designers. Use design ideas you find online or in magazines to create the look you want for your home. Chances are, the people you have over to your home won’t know you borrowed the idea from someone, as they likely aren’t looking at the same sources as you. In addition, as you’re browsing for ideas, you’ll likely combine different designs you find from various sources. The result will be something that’s entirely you and that fits your home, regardless of where you got your inspiration from.

Map Out Your Plans Beforehand

Before you start purchasing all new décor items for your home, it’s a good idea to map things out. This means making a list of everything you want to buy and having an idea as to where it will go before you buy it. You may want to break out the tape measurer and masking tape to make sure that everything you buy will fit and that it will look nice when it’s complete. Mapping out your designs beforehand will help to ensure that you don’t spend money on things you don’t need and give you the opportunity to make changes before you spend money. It’s often much easier to play around with some interior design sketches on a notepad than it is with the actual items in your home.

Pay Attention to Small Details

As you’re decorating your home for the holidays, go through the process slowly and really pay attention to the small details. For example, there’s likely a better way to hang things from your walls than with an abundance of tape. How you set up your décor is just as important as the items themselves. Make sure you’re following all directions that come with your new décor items and that you research the best way to display things before you start. Little mistakes like chipped wall paint or incorrect drill holes can add up and distract from the overall appearance of your décor once you’re done.

white blue christmas tree
Photo by Valeria Boltneva

Accumulate Decorations Over Time

Finally, don’t think that you need to purchase all of your décor at once. Holiday decorations can be expensive and you may want to use that money for other things around that time. Instead, grab a few new pieces each year and build up your collection over time. This method takes a little longer to get your home the way you want it around the holidays but it’s also much easier on your finances. It’s also easier to adjust your style plans as time goes by, as you don’t have as large of an investment in your décor yet.