How to Create a Decorating Plan Now for Holiday Parties & Guests

The last thing you want to have to mess with last minute is decorating your home right before guests begin arriving for parties or to stay around the holidays. That is why we suggest creating a decorating plan so you know exactly when to plan to have things out and ready so its not a last minute stressor. 

Mark Your Calendar

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Pick a time that works for you to decorate your home and mark it down so you can hold yourself accountable. Although decorating around the holidays is fun for some it can feel more like a chore to others. By blocking off a good part of a day to decorate, you eliminate the feeling of being rushed before guests arrive. 

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Set Achievable Goals

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If you have a large amount of decorating to do for the holidays make sure you set goals that are manageable and achievable. For example, you don't want to only set aside a couple hours to decorate the inside and outside of your home. Break the work up over a few days so you don't burn out. Also, recruit friends or family for help with larger projects, chances are they could use your help as well!

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Stay Organized 

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When taking down your decorations and putting them away, the more organized you can stay the easier it will be when you do it all again next year. Make sure to throw items out or donate things you never took out of the box this year to put up. Label boxes with exactly what is inside as well as the room it goes in for easy access next year. 

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How to go from Halloween to a Harvest Look

Keep the Pumpkins, Ditch the Skeletons

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Transitioning away from Halloween decor into a more harvest look can be simple if you just take away and/or add a few things. You want to make sure you take down any purely Halloween decor like skeletons, witches, or jack-o-lanterns. You don't have to toss out the (un-carved) pumpkins quite yet though. Pumpkins are a great staple to keep for your more harvest/thanksgiving decor. White pumpkins are especially on trend for Fall/Thanksgiving motifs this year. 

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Take Away any Blacks or Purples

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Another easy way to transition away from the Halloween decor is by removing any of the blacks and purples and going more toward oranges, reds and browns. Hopefully you can seamlessly take away and add to your current displays without having to start all over with new items. Neutrals remain a huge trend throughout all home decor, so going with whites, creams, grays and tans are another great color scheme for your harvest decor.  

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Add in Thankful / Gather Motifs

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One theme we continue to see offered in stores this time of year are “Thankful” and “Gather” signs and motifs. This is a clear decor item that fits in with the harvest side of things more than the Halloween side. With Thanksgiving right around the corner these signs can be the perfect addition to your displays.

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Fall Colors - How to Use Orange in Decor

Fall has officially arrived and with that comes all of it’s beautiful colors. One of the first colors that comes to mind when we think about Fall is orange. This, however, does not mean orange should be a Fall only color when it comes to your decor. Below we have included a number of examples of how we have worked orange into our designs. You will notice its almost never in an extremely prominent way. This is because orange is one of those colors that is best used in small doses. It only takes a little bit of orange to make a big impact as you will see in the examples below. 

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Fall Decor Trends

Plaids

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Plaid is one of those patterns that will always be a classic and timeless choice. When this crisp, cool time of year comes rolling around it is the perfect time to bust out the plaid! Although plaids can come in many forms, we tend to associate it with warm textures and fabrics like wool which is why it is {& always will be} a go-to trend for Fall! 

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Layering

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One of the simplest trends to get behind for Fall is layering. Just like with your wardrobe, your home decor can use some layers as the weather starts to turn cool. For example, if you have a large area rug in your space, you can add a slightly smaller one on top of it to add more depth and warmth to the room. This is also true for things like throw blankets and pillows, the more the merrier this time of year! 

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Natural Textures

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Natural textures like wood or clay are a huge trend for Fall {& beyond!}. There is just something about these that bring warmth into your home like manmade materials can’t quite capture. The photos below show two styles of wood case goods we used in the same living room. These show two ways of achieving this natural look whether that be more polished and smooth, or natural and raw.

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Quick Tips to Ready your Home for Thanksgiving Guests

Create a Centerpiece 

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If you are not wanting to go all out with Fall/Thanksgiving related decor, you can simply create a centerpiece for your dining table. This is a great way to concentrate your decor on one space which will create a nice impact without having to break the bank by having pieces throughout the house. These are all good examples of centerpieces that would work perfectly for your Thanksgiving table. The all white centerpiece was created by Liz from the inspiration photo beside it. This shows you how you can get an idea from places like Pinterest, and make it your own!

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Do a Quick Decor Refresh

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Another easy way to ready your home for your Thanksgiving guests is to do a simple decor refresh. This can be accomplished by taking down all of your accessories off of builtins, bookshelves & console tables, for example, then re-working where you have them placed. This will give your home an updated, fresh feel to you and your guests who may have been to your home recently. This is a great way to give your house a little pick-me-up without spending a dollar!

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Consider the Best Placement of Your Furniture

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Depending on the amount of guests you have coming over, you may need to re-think the way your furniture is placed to accommodate more people, or at least make it feel a bit more spacious. The more open you can make your home feel the better. When you have a large amount of people coming to visit, comfort is key. This may even mean tucking some things away that will make the space feel more crowded, like large blanket baskets for example. 

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How to Transition form Halloween to Thanksgiving Displays

Keep your Solid Pumpkins but Ditch the Jack-O-Lanterns

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Although it can be tempting to keep those Jack-O-Lanterns and painted faced pumpkins up on your porch, when transitioning into Fall / Thanksgiving decor its best to say goodbye. Solid color pumpkins or even pumpkins with painted designs on them can easily transition into your new displays. 

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Add in Leaves, Take out Anything Spooky

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Leaves (both real or fake) are your friend when transitioning away from Halloween decor. When you take away things like witch hats or skeletons from your displays you may feel they look sparse. This is where adding in some great fall foliage can help your case! 

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Use Earth Tones and Neutrals

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Halloween decor tends to lean toward black and oranges, so once you are ready to move on, switch to more neutrals and earth tones. These photos show two great examples of how using whites and tone on tone items makes for a gorgeous and clean look! It is a fun departure from your classic reds and oranges. 

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Tips to Decorate for a Child’s Halloween Party

Candy-corn Fun

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When decorating for a child’s Halloween party, fun is key, and what is more fun than decorating with candy? Candy-corn is the perfect candy to decorate with for a party because of its fun color and its ability to stay looking great. Add candy-corn to the bottom of a mason jar then put your utensils inside for a fun addition to your table!

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Decorate the Front Door 

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A great way to make a fun first impression is by decorating your front door. You can take this in any direction you wish. Get creative and make the whole door into a monster, or keep it simple with a festive wreath. The photo below shows a good example of how you can add some inexpensive toy bats to your door to add some extra spookiness to your classic display. 

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Make the Table the Main Event

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The food and snack table at the party is always where everyone wants to be. Take this opportunity to make the table your main focus for the Halloween decor. These photos both show how these people each chose themes and ran with them. This is a good tip for the decorations as a whole. Whether you want to go with classic black and orange or switch it up and go with blacks, whites, and purples you can’t go wrong!

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Budgeting for Fall Projects

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One big misconception some have when it comes to decorating is that you have to spend a lot on every piece you buy in order to have a nicely decorated space. This simply is not true. There are certain things to put more money into and others where you can get away with spending less. It is important to understand where to spend your money to get the most style and value out of each piece. 

What to Spend More on

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There are certain items in your home that you should absolutely spend more on, and look at them as investment pieces. Some examples of what to spend more on when decorating include but are not limited to upholstered pieces, dining tables, beds and mattresses, as well as flooring. These items and more are all very important pieces in your home and will get a lot of use. You want to find good style, comfort, durability, and functionality in all of these pieces. 

Where you can Save

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On the flip side, there are many items that you can spend less on while still making a fantastic impact on the overall look of a space. Art, accessories, and accent pieces are all good examples of where you can save money when decorating. By no means are we saying to completely skimp on these items, and if it is in your budget and you find any of these items and want to splurge, go for it! These are simply areas where you do not have to break the bank to make a great impression. 

Transitioning from Summer to Fall Decor

Faux Florals

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Decorating indoors with faux florals is a fun way to bring the outside in, especially if you're not one to keep live plants living for very long. If the faux florals you currently have in your home are a bit more summery feeling, you can simply add to them to transition to fall. If you have an arrangement that uses a lot of fun bold colors, you can swap some out for more fall friendly stems. Succulents are hugely popular right now, so adding a few of those is another fun way to add to your current florals to transition them to fall. 

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Outdoor Pillow Covers

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If you already have your full outdoor seating area set up from the summer time it can be easily transitioned for fall use. If you chose to use a lot of bright summer colors for your outdoor cushions, simply picking up some more neutral outdoor pillow covers is an easy and inexpensive way to make the space feel a little more cozy and fall like. 

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