I love this time of year - the smell of pine, the beautiful lights, and the celebrations with family and friends. It really is a special time. So the key to designing your home decor for the holidays is to keep it stress free. It should be about making things fun rather than worrying about everything being perfect! So I have 4 pro tips to keep things festive and enjoyable when you’re setting your holiday decor.

1. Color Your World

Rather than trying to redo your decor to fit some sort of “holiday rule,” play by your own color rules! In the room above, we selected blues and brass tones that would match the lovely furnishings we had already selected for my clients’ living room. And use things that you love, like collections of glass or mementos. The key is to create a room that your family will enjoy, not to make a fussy space where everyone is afraid to touch anything!

2. Control the Clutter

One of the most important tips I give my clients is that they should put as many things away as they pull out of their holiday storage. Make room for those beautiful nutcrackers or dreidels by storing books and other accessories. If you just put your decor around what’s already there, you create chaos and a room that isn’t as visually pleasing. In the room above, we cleared the console table behind the sofa so the lovely white trees would have their own holiday moment.

3. Inside and Out

If you celebrate with a tree, I always think it should be just as visible from outside the house as it is inside. In my client’s house above, they placed the tree next to a floor-to-ceiling window so the warm glow of the lights would welcome people to the house.

4. Act Natural

No matter what holiday you celebrate, you should have fresh flowers and greenery in your home, preferably in every room. It’s important that all of your senses are engaged during the holidays. So you want to have lovely lights, amazing scents, and delicious food. It’s part of what makes things festive!

What are your favorite holiday decor pieces? Let me know in the comments section below!

Happy holidays!

Beth