When the weather outside gets frightful, make your interior look delightful - ‘tis the season of giving, so give your bank account a priceless gift. Deck your halls with these creative, cost-cutting holiday decorating tips.
Say “Feliz Navidad” with nature or find festivity with flowers. Look no further than your closet or use décor from far off destinations. Today’s season of interior style salutes the winter solstice without expensive price tags. Raise the bar without raising the minimum payment on your credit card. Unwrap your inner Martha Stewart this holiday season with these simple expert tips.
Nurture Nature
Becky Burg, owner of Kansas City, Mo.-based Becky Burg Design, captures the festivity of the season by bringing the outside in. “Going green doesn’t stop with holiday decorating,” she says. “The best low budget secret is to go natural.”
Jennifer Trainer Thompson, the author of “The Joy of Family Traditions: A Season-by-Season Companion to 400 Celebrations and Activities” (Ten Speed Press, 2008), makes her own ice sculpture. Take any size clear, freezer-ready vase or bowl and fill it with some water. Toss in hollyberry, pinecones or cranberries as the ice freezes and add more water to create a layered ice sculpture centerpiece. Chisel room at the top for small votives to illuminate your creativity.
Create cohesion throughout a home at half the cost. Sandra Mangel, of Minneapolis-based Sandra Mangel Interior Design, shares the scent of the season by buying fresh evergreens and mixing them with artificial garland. Layer the greenery on a mantle, string around a chandelier, frame an archway or wrap around the stair banister. Thompson makes a similar move by making her own wreath with a Styrofoam circle and greens found in her backyard.
Ashleigh Clark, lead designer at Cleveland-based Ashleigh Lynn Designs, observes this latest trend. Skip big floral centerpieces and channel a Zen appeal - high designs for a low price are always in season. “We see decorative rocks surrounded with sticks dipped in gold sparkle glue mixed with pinecones to create an abstract centerpiece. The sticks bring height to a table.”
Flower Power
Brighten the season of lights with your favorite florals. Mangel encourages her clients to add a twist to tradition. For those stuck on red and green, move to metallics. “So many of us are tired of the reds and greens of the season. Instead, mix and match whites and ivories with gold or silver,” she suggests.
Berg and team go straight to the florist. “Anyone can walk in and buy flowers to use in arrangements.” Copy her favorite low-budget look. Start six weeks ahead of when you plan on entertaining and place narcissus bulbs in long skinny containers or separate in small bowls. These blossoms, accented with greenery on the table, create a light and airy centerpiece.
Berg recommends collecting hydrangeas in the fall as they turn rosy pink and mixing them with winter pinecones and evergreen branches. Spray with gold or silver for glitz.
Mangel skips the overpriced floral arrangement with a mix of blossoms and sticks with refined elegance. “I love seeing white and ivory orchids in the holiday season,” she says.
Household Treasures
For the ultimate wallet relief, find festivity under your nose. With common materials, from fishing line to fake fruit, create a winter wonderland without leaving home.
For Mangel, forget about a tree. Display ornaments throughout the house in glass jars and vases, or tie them with fishing line to create an eye-pleasing garland to hang above an archway or along a banister. If you do opt for a holiday tree, skip buying a skirt. Take a decorative quilt to use at the base for an antique feel.
Clark takes a fruitier approach. “Make a wreath with inexpensive fake pears, apples and oranges,” she says. Accent with gold or silver to add a festive feel.
When it comes to counting down the days to a holiday celebration, Thompson’s family skips the expensive store-bought advent calendars filled with pieces of candy or small trinkets, and they make your own. “Take the cardboard from men’s shirts after the dry cleaner and cut little doors in each. On another cardboard piece, draw a picture or write a special message. Attach one on top of the other and open a door each day.”
Destination Decorations
When strolling the beach, nothing is further from the mind than winter, but for Thompson the beach brings out her creative side. Warm any home instantly with symbols from the sea.
Collect sand dollars and come holiday season, lace them with ribbon and use for decorating or as gifts.
Take your favorite family holiday pictures from years past. Buy inexpensive frames and attach shells with a glue gun for a wintry mix with a summer twist.
Smoke and Mirrors
To design for the holidays, Clark’s design firm focuses on fabric first. “It’s easy to work with and great to create a cohesive festive look.” Her favorite fabric of all? “Taffeta looks like silk but is not as pricey.” Lay the foundation and then get decorative.
Use inexpensive mirrors of all shapes and sizes, from circular to square for a glamorous feel.
Both on and around the mirrors, place candles of equally mismatched sizes, from small votives to larger stand alones. The mirrors reflect the candlelight for a soft but dramatic mood.
