How to Add Pizazz to Your Holiday Decor

By Kate Riley November 7, 2012

Well the holidays are upon us!  As much as I’d like to savor one holiday at a time, I can’t help but pull out a few Christmasy things before the big turkey day.  I know there are purists out there, but for me waiting until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas proves much too difficult, especially with elementary school children begging to open the Christmas closet the day after Halloween.   Also because we host a party every year and I like to get started early on the decorations. 

Do you ever feel like those Christmas decorations you bring out of storage look a little tired?  Of course we all love our traditions and keepsakes, they bring the most nostalgic feelings, but sometimes the same old thing can feel like… the same old thing. 

To inspire you, I invited Michelle of Ten June back to share some tips on adding pizazz to your holiday decor.  Please welcome back Michelle and her insight on mixing it up this season with fresh ideas for holiday decorating. 

“As I walked through a department store last week, I watched the store employees beginning to arrange holiday decorations around the store.  My first reaction was complete surprise – is it really that time of year again?  But that feeling was quickly surpassed by one of excitement.   Yes, it’s time to pack up those witch hats and jack-o-lanterns and break out your holiday décor.

While I was watching the department store employees decorate, I realized that I want to do a little something different with my decorating this holiday season. Traditional Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year decorations are certainly beautiful, but my mind started wandering as to ways I could add some zing to my holiday décor this year. How could I kick my holiday decorating up a notch? After some intense research (ie. browsing the pages of my favorite magazines and clicking away on Pinterest… okay, so really fun research!), I’ve come up with three solid ways for anyone to add pizazz to your holiday decorating!

1. Incorporate a punch of unexpected color.

One way to add pizazz into your holiday décor is to incorporate a punch of an unexpected color.  We all expect red and green in Christmas decorations or orange and brown for Thanksgiving; while these traditional colors are beautiful, they certainly don’t surprise anyone.  Instead of using customary colors, change up your holiday look and think outside of the box with your holiday décor color scheme!  Your guest will love the refreshing change!

Outside of Valentine’s Day, pink is a totally unanticipated, but such a fun, holiday color. Who wouldn’t smile at seeing a hot pink Christmas tree or pastel pumpkin?

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Freshome

 

martha stewart pink christmas tree

Martha Stewart

 

pink hue pumpkin

Flickr

 

pink new years eve

 Pizzazzerie

 

pink tree tobi fairley

Tobi Fairley

If pink isn’t your style (or if your husband vetoes the color!) try other bright but unexpected holiday colors such as blue and purple.  By bringing colors like these into your decorations and table top décor, you’ll definitely add an element of fun to your holiday!

purple and gold tablescape

You Are My Fave

 

purple and white christmas tree

Houzz

 

gold and pale blue tablescape

The Kitchn

 

2. Layer with texture from natural elements.

Another way to spice up your holiday décor this season is to layer fresh, natural elements. By incorporating natural outdoorsy pieces, such as pinecones, acorns, and birch bark, you’ll add an entirely different textured dimension to your traditional décor beyond  faux greenery.  Casually drape them with floral wire or display them effortlessly with little embellishment.

pinecone garland

Midwest Living

 

pomegranate and evergreen sprig

Flickr

 

evergreen garland on stairs

Better Homes & Gardens

 

Gathering several different natural elements together, such as acorns, fruit, berries and flowers, creates a beautiful holiday tabletop centerpiece or decorating vignette.

acorn basket

Better Homes & Gardens

 

christmas window box

Better Homes & Gardens

 

Or curate your own collection by gathering and displaying an abundance of one type of natural element, such as cork, twigs, or fresh produce.

cork garland

Once Wed

 

birch twig tree

You Are My Fave

 

3. Bring some glamour with sparkling metallic.

If bright colors and textured natural elements aren’t your thing, add some pop to your holiday décor with the simple addition of glittery metallic accessories.  Gather up your collection of silver and mercury glass into one dramatic display and let the sparkle speak for itself. 

silver collection

Southern Living

 

You’re always free to mix metallic sheens, the more the merrier!

golden christmas

Country Living

 

silver and gold mix

Martha Stewart

 

tinsel garland

Better Homes & Gardens

 

black and white holiday

 HGTV

 

And don’t just stop at your traditional gold and silver metallic sheens- bring in less used metals like copper or multi-colored sparkles and festive sequins.

copper ribbon wreath

Lady Bug Wreaths

 

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Style Notes

 

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Living With Punks

 

By mixing up your traditional holiday décor with unexpected holiday colors, textured natural elements, or fun metallic (or a mix of all three!), you’ll be sure to wow your family and friends with your holiday décor this season.   Happy decorating!”

Thank you so much Michelle!  You can catch up with Michelle’s daily adventures in design at her blog Ten June.  Both of us are really excited for a season of decorating, and I’m already thinking peacock sequins for the mantel and layers of mixed metallic sheens around the house. 

What about you?  Got anything new and fun planned for your holiday decor this season? 

15 comments

  1. All wonderful ideas as always Kate! I am going for a lot of native materials from my country (Philippines) – mainly capiz, brass and sinamay (straw fabric usually used for hats)! I am so excited to get started. Thanks for all these additional ideas!

  2. One thing that can be said about Christmas…It’s Beautiful. My favorite holiday. The air glows, the cheeks are rosier and the spirit sweeter. Decorations of Christmas just makes me happy and smile.

  3. Some excellent Christmas decorating ideas. I really like the pink Christmas tree, it’s just so unusual. For me I like natural tones and so the nuts and fruits display is something that really appeals. You’ve certainly provided me with lots of ideas. Thank you!

  4. A few years ago, I went against my usual red and green decor and added a white tree covered in all shades of green, turquoise and silver. I loved it and I got so many compliments. It is really beautiful.

    Amy W in Colorado

  5. A couple of years ago I really wanted to use my brown transferware at the cookie exchange. I ended up adding in a very bright green to the mix of brown and cream and it looked great! I found brown linen napkins and did a quick stitch of a large cream snowflake on it. I already had several bright green glittery trees and put those on top of a mirror used as a tray, added some faux snow and some bright green votive holders with brown ribbon tied around and it looked very good put together. The bright lime green made the brown look very festive.

  6. I bought my daughter a pink and silver tinsel tree when she was 1 and she loves it. It comes out every Christmas time and we add new ornaments every year (making them mainly). I saw a great item on Pinterest the other day about adding bright, fun colors with little houses on a mantel. I think I may try to do some for her room to go with the tree. I tend to keep my tree traditional with all our family ornaments and pretty ones but I definitely go towards metallic too. Lots of mercury glass trees (a new collection of mine), mercury glass (silver and red) ornaments, and sparkly ornaments. Christmas needs to shine! I also have mercury glass year round with candle holders and some new pumpkins for fall, one even has a light in it.

  7. Great tips! I was seeing how these tips fit in with my pre-planned holiday decor plan for our apartment and was surprised to find my vision fit all three tips! Haha. I’m using teal, sparkly gold & natural wood accents. Can’t wait to get started :)

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