This is for Anyone Selling their home, but then again, it works for anyone wanting to decorate in a classic style!
by Sue Wallace Brown on Monday, November 22, 2010 at 7:36am
The key to holiday decorating is to keep it simple, high quality and of course, color-coordinated.
If you plan on staging a home for the holidays, here are some important things to keep in mind.
1. Don't overdo it.
The best way to avoid trouble is to keep it simple and elegant.
Don't let it look like a bunch of clutter.
For every holiday decor item put on display, temporarily pack some of your everyday decor.
Mix in small centerpieces on dining room tables, bookcases, bathroom sinks or end tables -- simple touches such as pine cones or ornaments in a glass bowl.
If you're selling your home during the holidays, you might want to rethink hanging those Christmas stockings from the fireplace. Instead, hang the stockings on Christmas eve and remove them Christmas day.
2. Add splashes of holiday colors, but be consistent with it.
How about some holiday red? Seasonal colors -- such as red or green -- add festive cheer to a home too and can be as simple as just adding a red throw to the sofa or poinsettias thoughtfully placed throughout the home (remember #1?).
It doesn't have to be bold holiday statements: Bows and ribbons can add splashes of color -- tie them around candles, wreaths, and basket handles. Classic neutrals can be nice too, such as silvers and classic whites.
For some ideas check out WorldofChristmas.net.
Keep your own everyday decorum in mind, if your regular decor is purples or blues, use silvers instead of red or greens.
3. If you are selling your home, you want the Buyers to feel warm and comfortable, so stage for their feelings or emotions, buying your home is an emotional purchase.
Get buyers in the mood with some holiday music and the smell of Christmas filling the home. Christmas music and holiday candles or aroma scents work wonders.
The two go together, they don't seem to work as well seperately, Christmas scents with rock n roll? No, but gingerbread cookies scent with Christmas carols, lift the mood in the home and please the Buyers walking through.
4. Oh Christmas Tree.
It doesn't have to be the GRAND statement in the room, simply stated - revert back to #1. You can have a small tree on a table draped with velvet surrounding the base of the tree. If you do have a large tree, make it a real tree, the smell of the tree, is inviting too. And again, decorate it consistent with the colors palette and make it simple and elegant. Look up Christmas Trees in Google images for guidelines if you need to or google, simple but elegant christmas tree decorating.
Other tips found online:
- If your tree is larger than six feet, consider removing a piece or two of furniture so the space doesn't feel crowded, Wallitsch says.
- Use ornaments all in one basic color palette with "show piece" ornaments mixed in that add extra style. As a general rule of thumb, use about 20 filler ornaments (such as one or two tone bulb ornaments) for every two feet of Christmas tree and then mix in those special "show piece" ornaments between the filler ornaments, using about 10 for every two feet of tree, according to interior design writer Coral Nafie who wrote about holiday decorating tips at About.com.
- Hang ornaments on the tips of branches as well as inside the tree to add depth, and mix in various size of ornaments.
- Make sure ornaments that are overly personal -- such as those marking milestones like "Our First Christmas" or "Baby's First Christmas" -- are not in prominent locations on the tree or keep them packed up for next year.
5. Give a holiday impression from the curb.
You needn't be able to view your outdoor holiday lights from space, Clark Griswold, to show your holiday spirit. Twinkling clear, white lights (preferably non-blinking) tend to be the favorite among staging and real estate professionals for classy holiday curb appeal that adds a glow to your listings at night.
Here some holiday curb appeal tips from online too:
- Add poinsettias: Plant several poinsettias in groups of three or five close together in the garden.
- Hang a wreath on the front door.
- Have battery-operated candle lamps in each of the windows for extra glow and to show off all of those windows at night.
6. Remove decor after the holidays.
Don't leave your Christmas lights up past New Year's Day. Buyers will worry about how you took care of your home, if you still have lights up in the summer!
Just keep it simple and elegant and remove clutter and you'll be just fine!
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