The holiday season is the perfect time of year to get together with close friends and family. Though hosting a party is an art in its own right, what’s often overlooked is how your sense of decorating dictates the evening.
Whether you decorated the day after Halloween or the minute you pulled yourself off the couch from a self-induced turkey coma, creating the right experience is the main goal for the holiday season.
“Making the full experience for your guests is key,” says Cheryl Stauffer, CEO of Crimson Design Group. “Everything from the smells, like fresh greens or pines, to the music and cocktails as well.”
First time hosting?
For most, holiday decorating is second nature. If this is the first year you are hosting an event at your home, don’t worry about the big picture.
“Focus on one room and do that very well rather than doing bits and pieces throughout the whole house,” Stauffer says. “People might buy a bunch of decorations so the whole house has something and oftentimes it is not executed very well.”
If decorating is something that you want to continue to grow in your house, the same approach should be taken. One room at a time for the year can really help grow your holiday collection.
“Spending money one year on completing a room and the next year focusing on the next helps continue to build a collection rather than spending a lot of money for little impact,” Stauffer says.
With this all in mind, where should your decorating budget be spent this year?
Three New Design Trends for 2018
Rustic Cheer
In home décor today, you are seeing a lot of rustic and reclaimed designs throughout the home. The same style can continue to inspire your own home through a holiday lens.
“Keep it really simple and involve a lot of natural and real trees and fresh pines,” Stauffer says. “With this, you might have one specific color for ornaments on your tree and it is very clean and simplified.”
Use a lot of wood and fresh greens throughout the home, along with crisp linen napkins.
Gold and Gilded
We all have an inner desire to have everything match in our homes. However, newer design trends have pointed to quite the opposite.
“Gold and gilded is mixing vintage with modern. You’ll see a lot of golds with blacks and reds and typically a lot of glass,” Stauffer says.
In the world of design, you are seeing more people move away from deciding on whether they are a gold or silver person and now embrace both together.
“When it is completely done and well executed, it looks beautiful when you mix the two together,” Stauffer says.
Contrary to the previous two trends, merry and bright is a little cleaner. With a heavy focus on white and bright light mixed in with blues, pinks, greens and creams.
“This is a little happier, cheerful and brighter,” Stauffer says.
Rocco Falleti is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at rfalleti@cityscenecolumbus.com
