When the holidays are coming up so many of us want to decorate! It’s one of the most fun times to fill our homes with new items, or those special ones you keep in the attic or basement. Holiday decorating can be a treat, but it can also be a trick. How do you know what is too much and what is not enough for your get togethers, what to do on your front porch or how to go about making the space really feel like the holiday without looking too kitschy? I’m here to help! Let’s talk some of these things over together. 

For a main living space like a Living Room for the holidays, let’s say Halloween since it’s almost October! I like to make a splash without making it too much. One of the great ways to change things up in a room for a holiday is an inexpensive rug. You still want it to be soft and inviting, but don’t spend a fortune on it, because it’s just going to be rolled up and put away for another year. But a rug with a lot of orange in in can be a great way to dress up your Living Room this Halloween. Pick your favorite style, Bohemian, Cottage-Core, Coastal or just go for something that catches your eye. After all, you’re going to change other things too. 

Another main thing to do is, of course, the pillows. I’m sure a lot of you who are reading this know that it’s easy to get some pillow covers in the right size from Wayfair or Amazon, or if you’re really in the mood for something nice go for Pottery Barn! Pop those covers on your usual pillows and you’ve got a great, dressed up sofa and chairs. If you have a fireplace you can go for a few lanterns as decor on the hearth, and if you’d rather not do real candles go for flicker battery operated candles, they even come with remote controls these days to make your life that much easier! 

On the mantel you can spread a garland of fall leaves and put up a few decorative pieces like some skeletons, pumpkins, scarecrows, blackbirds, anything that says “tis the season” without saying “I can’t get enough of this holiday so much that I’ve covered my mantel in holiday kitsch”. Let’s avoid that, stick to 3 pieces or at most 5. Less is more, but there is still a lot of fun to be had! 

Finally, let’s look at some other spaces, In the kitchen a basket full of apples on the counter with an orange or black bow on the handle is a great snack and a great look, you can put little pumpkins in it if you’d rather not do real fruit. They’re easy to find at Target or the craft store. And a few tasteful stick ons for the cabinets are ok, especially if you have kids to entertain. I love to have my kids do their own cut-outs or use a kit to create great, fun and temporary decor. For my Dining Room I have a collection of glass pumpkins I found at Target one year and I arrange them all in the middle of the table as a centerpiece. Some of them even have open bottoms so I can put candles underneath. Black cats and other holiday symbols are good too for centerpieces, remember that if you have a dark table, do something lighter and vice versa that your decor stands out. This style of centerpiece works for a Breakfast Area too, just on a smaller scale and a table runner is another good choice. Finally if you want to go that extra step and you just can’t help yourself find some wrapping paper online or in craft stores specific to Halloween and cover a few pieces of your art in each room like you would wrap a present, this can be taking it too far, so if you've taken my other advice it might be time to stop, but it depends on how big your rooms are. Now your space is ready for that party, book club, or just for you to enjoy as the season really gets going! 

Stick with me and my Blog and we’ll go over Christmas in another month or two! And before I forget, for the Front Porch, remember my last Blog and the 3-5-7 rule. Depending on how big your front porch is you may use 3, 5 or 7 items but putting your holiday items in asymmetrical order with odd numbers is a great way to look more professional. Add a tasteful wreath to the door (for me please avoid the ones made with lots of sparkly fabric!), and trailing pumpkins real or fake down the front steps never did anyone any harm.

And one more tip before I go, stick with candles for Fall and Halloween, string lights, no matter what color really brighten up Christmas, but there's nothing like flickering candles for setting a Fall/Halloween mood.

Enjoy your holidays with Casia Home Tips and Tricks! 🎃