While it is a little late in the game for this year, I decided to share my thoughts anyway while they are rolling around in my brain. Like the slow-basting of a turkey to produce the most succulent results, I've 'simmered' my Holiday Season decorating to get my vignettes just the way I want them.
(Of course, from a price perspective, the best time of year to buy Holiday Season decor items is after Christmas -- but if you find a 'must-have' item before the sales are on, I say you have to get it to avoid being disappointed. Although, waiting usually works out for me ...)
I tied them together with gift-wrap ribbon, and then used a shimmery Debbie Travis ribbon I purchased this year to hang them from my window handle:
I love this little tree!
I love the pom-pom white mums! Mums are a great flower - they last a long time and are inexpensive; I find them both flirty and elegant. They are absolutely one of my fave fleurs!
{Btw, the Vancouver Art Gallery Store is a *wonderful* place to hit right after Christmas - get there on Boxing Day if you can; they have classy and different kinds of ornaments etc. and are all half-off right after Christmas. {designer tip #4}}
The look I prefer for my own home is one that is simple and elegant, so I kept many of my vignettes quite minimal. For the display cabinet off our kitchen, I simply used silver glass candle holders and gunmetal metal pine cones (both clustered in 3s, of course), along with a mercury-like glass small tree.
Without question however, my favourite new little vignette this season is the balls I hung in front of our sofa from the ceiling. They are plastic (so lightweight), and have a wonderful light-catching sparkle to them (I used gold, shimmering-cream and a gorgeous deep bordeaux).
{Use 3M Command hooks to avoid damage to your drywall, or if you've got a textured ceiling, try using athletic tape before resorting to white duct tape which is sure to pull off some of your ceiling when you remove them.} {designer tip #5}
If you're local, tune in this Fall to hear about the workshops I plan to have on creating truly gorgeous, sizable 'star flakes' that, hung from the ceiling, will add fabulosity to even the most high-end homes!
It is my hope that you would be surprised at how little I spent on my holiday season decorating (yes, I am one for a bargain -- as long as what I buy doesn't look like it was a bargain...).
I purchased at least a dozen new items this season (most are shown in this post). Between finding coveted sales and shopping at big box stores, I spent less than $125 before HST. And that includes this whimsical -- if perhaps slightly odd, but fits our space perfectly and I love it -- artificial Christmas tree!
We finally tore down our old, falling-apart 1918 house in 2008, and my husband forgot to take our expensive artificial Christmas tree out from the storage under our front steps; well, he remembered just as the bulldozer took its first swipe ...We decided in that moment we had to let that go along with our old house. We'd been without a tree since then -- which I have not minded at all (I had actually stopped putting the tree up already a couple of years prior).
{I highly recommend foregoing a tree to anyone who feels the need to simplify during the Holidays and doesn't have children in the picture they feel a tree is important for. You can still have a wonderfully festive home without a tree, in my opinion!}
But when I saw this tree at HomeSense the other day, I knew it would fit our space perfectly and with the price being close to free, I didn't give it a 3rd thought [I always give decor a 2nd thought ;) ].
(While many designers feel that anything other than a fresh tree is not 'designer' at all, I am not one who likes to kill trees, even if they are bred for that purpose. So in my 'design for living', tastefully-decorated artificial trees are just as beautiful as the real thing.)
Ok - almost there, but I love these items too much to not share these ideas with you:I found these trellis-patterned olive green felt placemats before Christmas; instead of using them as placemats, I put 3 in a row in the centre of my table {designer tip #6} for a simple yet elegant Holiday Season look for day.
Simple, white stock flowers (another favourite of mine) with red & green berries kept the look clean and elegant.
One final closing thought for this late Holiday Season post: mandarin orange anyone? :)
Whether it's a whole home renovation or new build you need a colour palette and finishings for, or just one room you're looking to re-decorate or better showcase, contact me to find out how I can help you create the feel you want in your space, your place, your life.
Liz
Nice pictures Liz! :)
ReplyDeleteLiz is one of the finest designers in Vancouver BC Canada
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