Fabulous Holiday Decorating Ideas
Plan Early
Yes, it’s a little early to start thinking about the holidays but it’s always best to get a jump on the planning. So a little planning now is going to allow you to enjoy the wonders of the season without feeling like you are under tremendous stress. So let’s get started!
Be True To You
Ok, so you’ve skimmed through that holiday decorating magazine while waiting in line at the checkout counter or you just learned that the guest du jour on Oprah has the absolute best holiday decorating ideas, so you think you are ready to start decking your home out in holiday dress?
No! Before you even start, examine your own decorating style and be honest. If your entire home is decorated in country or rustic decor then the ultra modern Miami Beach White Acrylic Christmas decor is not for you even if you did absolutely love the way it looked in the magazine. So for starters, find your decorating style by looking around your home.
When examining your own style you will also learn if a casual or formal holiday decor would best suit your style. Often your choice for casual or formal may also be dictated by where you live. On the island community where I live, holiday decor tends to lean toward the Florida casual lifestyle but my holiday decorating is always formal because my home is decorated in a traditional and rather formal decor. So find your decorating style and then extend it to your own unique holiday decorating style.
Color Schemes
This is really easy to implement. First you want to make sure that whatever color scheme you select for your holiday decor doesn’t conflict with the color scheme in your home. Now for the fun part! All of us are quite familiar with the traditional red, green and white holiday color scheme but today I am going to introduce you to other equally beautiful color palettes:
- Blues & Silver
- Pinks & Gold or Silver
- Greens & Gold or Silver
- Gold with all colors
- Silver with all colors
These colors conjure up a winter wonderland vision that you can bring to your own home. My personal favorite is the icy blues, silvers, a touch of icy pink and warm gold.
In the next holiday update I will be posting photos chock full of great holiday decorating ideas that you can use at home.
Read More »Decorating Library Book Reviews – Personal Favorites
I’ve listed my five all-time favorite decorating books which was a difficult task considering I own over 50 decorating and interior design books and truth be known all of those books are in my decorating library because they are inspirational as well as informative. So picking only five did prove difficult but as you can see below, I did it 
Anyhow , I hope that my reviews and opinions help you decide which book is best suited for your home decorating needs.
Ruby & Begonia’s Christmas Style
by Sara Toliver, Jo Packham
I love this book for two reasons, first it was given to me as a gift from the author Jo Packham. I met Jo in NYC at the 52nd Annual Gift & Decorative Accessories Awards Gala where both of our companies where being honored. I was honored to meet Jo because she was the person who inspired me to create the captivating visual display vignettes that earned me a spot among the best of the best in our industry.
Of course, the second reason is that this book, like all of Jo’s books, is filled with beautiful inspirational photos and descriptions of stunning and unique Christmas decorating ideas. This book will definitely help stimulate your creativity and creativity is the most essential ingredient in decorating and design.
Nina Campbell’s Decorating Notebook: Insider Secrets and Decorating Ideas for Your Home
by Nina Campbell
Gorgeous pictures of the author’s apartment and her clients’ homes fill this 176 page book. Nina’s Notebook sections are used by the author to explain her design motivations behind each room’s design. The author uses an idea akin to a designer’s sample board and design notebook to give the reader a taste of the different decorating elements she used to create the finished room.
by Mary Gilliatt
This is a well organized 224 page full color design book, which is an excellent reference resource for the design professional and the aspiring interior decorator. This book provides the reader with decorating terms defined, design principles explained and images of beautifully decorated rooms are analyzed.
Use What You Have Decorating : Transform Your Home in One Hour With Ten Simple Design Principles — Using the Space You Have, the Things You Like, the Budget You Choose
by Lauri Ward
I consider this book a classic and encourage my students ( specially the ones attending my “High Style/Tight Budget” workshop) to make it part of their decorating libraries. Lauri Ward proves that you can create beautiful decor with quite a bit of what you already own through careful floor and design layout planning.
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Room Redux: The Home Decorating Workbook
by Joann Eckstut, Sheran James
Practical decorating advice is offered throughout the 263 pages of Room Redux. This artist illustrated book is a good basic design resource for those new to the world of decorating. Room Redux delivers on the promise of providing the reader with basic design principles. And the workbook format is also a wonderful learning tool for the do-it-herself decorator as she is actively engaged in the process.
Read More »Color Psychology: The Meaning of Color
Color can affect all parts of your life. Colors can create conditions such as fatigue, increased excitement or activity, aggressiveness or restfulness and can lead to an increase or decrease in stress. Thereby understanding the advantages and disadvantages of color can help you create the best suited interior environment for yourself and your family.
Different People, Different Reactions to Color
Your response to color is based on three very important factors. The first is based on physiology. For example if you are color blind you will see colors differently then someone who isn’t. The second factor is psychological. If you experienced a horrible car accident as a young child and that car was red, you may find the color red leads to anxiety or fear for you. Lastly, culture and society have a tremendous impact on our perception of color. For example in Western societies white implies purity and innocence and is used widely in bridal
gowns. In China, the color white is representative of a state of mourning.
Color Temperature and Their Psychological Characteristics
Cool colors can slow down your perception of time and can produce an environment that seems cold and distant (As often is associated with professional environments -cubeville). Cool colors can also have passive, calming qualities that aid concentration and can create a mood of peacefulness and tranquility. An example of a calming cool color is an aqua blue, reminiscent of the beautiful blue of the ocean. A cool color that can be harsh and cold in psychological impact would be a deep blue-grey used in large quantities. Warm colors tend to speed up our perception of time. As a matter of fact fast food restaurants use red and orange heavily in their decor to get customers in and out fast, so they can make more money per customer. Warm colors also lead us to have feelings of warmth & coziness and are often are associated with happiness & comfort.
Colors and Their Psychological Characteristics
I have compiled a subset list of colors that I use as examples in my decorating
workshop “Color Theory” for you.
RED
- Has a stimulating effect & warmth Use in rooms that need warmth & action: kitchens, halls,children’s play areas, Stairs
- Avoid using when calming is needed (hyperactive child) or if aggression or frustration is a problem because it will make the problem even worse.
YELLOW
- True BRIGHT Yellow results in excessive stimulation to the eyes. Some side effects of an environment with LARGE doses of bright yellow are: babies cry more, spouses/partners/clients are prone to arguing and disagreement.
- The correct shade/hue of yellow can be useful in the family room, kitchen, living room, classroom environment (if external to the home) in order to create brightness and to stimulate the learning process.
- Use a lighter version CREAM in the bedroom, study or den
- Avoid strong (BRIGHT) yellow colors in nurseries, bedrooms and bathrooms
BLUE
- Good for relaxing and concentration -Use in bedroom, nursery (lighter & pastel blues), sitting room, study, bathroom, spa type rooms
- If the color is too dark of a blue the impression created can be depressing and cold.
- Do not use blues in rooms that SCREAM activity or need physical movement such as halls, dining areas, entertainment/fun rooms, or stairways.
Christmas Decorating
Exciting Holiday Decorating News !
We’ve partnered with Amazon.com to bring you the best home decor and gift ideas for the upcoming Holiday season. Make this the best decorated Christmas Holiday season ever by getting a jumpstart on your holiday decor shopping at the all new “It’s a Decorating Diva Christmas“.
Enjoy!
Read More »Stress Free Approach to Preparing Holiday Meals
Plan Ahead – Some items such as pies, rolls, and cookies can all be made a week or more ahead of your planned holiday dinner and frozen until you need them. You may be able to buy those items and others pre-made and also save yourself some time.
Shop Ahead - If you get your meal plan and your recipes collected ahead of time, then you will be able to shop the sales, save yourself money, and avoid the crowds.
Prep the Day Before – Recipe items such as onions, mushrooms, celery, olives, and sweet potatoes can all be cut and prepared the day before your big event. Some side dishes including mashed potatos and stuffing can also be prepped and simply and easily be warmed up for your holiday fete.
Keep it Simple - Everybody loves a good meal, but don’t plan more than you can honestly do. Nobody wants a stressed out hostess, that never shows her face out of the kitchen. So when planning your menu, keep it realistic, balance things that can be made
ahead of time, with things you will make on the day of the feast.
Ask for Help – Most people do not mind lending a helping hand and you may find that your friends and family will have a great time chatting and socializing as everyone works on the sure to be fabulous holiday dinner.
Read More »Stunning Christmas Table Centerpiece, Easy as 1, 2, 3…
- Wide Slightly Shallow Container
- Floral Foam
- 10 pine-branches
- 3†-5†Diam. Orange candle (non-scented)
- 6 Slices of dried orange
- 4 Dried pomegranates—small
- 2 Mandarins– small
- 10—20 Cranberries
- 2 Cinnamon sticks
- Orange satin ribbon
- Gold glitter Spray
Insert the floral foam into your container. Add water and allow the foam to soak for 10 minutes. Insert the pine branches in to form the base. Place the candle in the middle and add the
cranberries, pomegranates, and the mandarins in a decorative fashion around the candle.
Cut the cinnamon sticks into 2 or 3 pieces and tie all them with some orange satin ribbon. Arrange the slices of dried orange and finished cinnamon sticks around the other items.
Tie a ribbon around the base of the candle. Spray the end of the pine-branches with the gold glitter to finish off the centerpiece.
The pine branches are long lasting and your table display will last for 2 to 4 weeks as long as you continue to water the arrangement. To do so easily leave a small opening in the arrangement
where you can gently pour water into the container without disturbing the dry design elements.
NOTE: When using candles in décor—NEVER EVER leave a burning candle unattended.
Read More »