Put Holiday Spirit in Every Room of Your Home

Why limit your decorations to the living room when you can spread Yuletide cheer throughout the house?

By Nancy Mattia

If you’ve been putting up a Christmas tree in the family room and a garland on the mantle in the living room every year, consider instilling some Christmas love in a few other rooms too. It could be as simple as metallic deer antlers on a shelf in the kitchen. To keep the look focused and not over the top, follow this decorator tip: Remove one everyday decor item for every holiday item you add. For example, if you display Christmas photos of your children and family from years past, remove one of your everyday framed pictures of them. Below, more ideas on spreading Holiday cheer:

Living Room

Garland

It’s classic to drape the fireplace mantle or a banister with a green garland but what if you don’t have a fireplace or banister? Drape it around a door frame instead and you’ll be singing Christmas carols every time you walk through the doorway.

Wrapped stacked boxes

Use your prettiest, most glittery wrapping paper to cover the boxes. “This kind of thing works best by the fireplace,” says Sandra Funk, founder and principal designer of House of Funk, an interior design firm in New York and New Jersey. She advises not using them as the dining décor. “Stacked boxes may get in the way of eye contact across the table— then again, some may prefer less eye contact with certain family members!”

 Dining Room

Metallic accents

You could set the table with metallic place mats or a tablecloth, and the look will instantly turn from practical to posh. Or go big(ger) and hang drapes that incorporate glittery threads.

Hang ornaments from a crystal chandelier. 

Leftover ornaments will get their time to shine when you hang them up high from a crystal chandelier. Make sure the ornaments don’t clash with the colors in the centerpiece or table linens, and for the best look, pick ornaments in the same color or shape.

Kitchen  

Ceiling embellishment

  While you may not want to do much decorating in a room like the kitchen where there’s so much bustle and activity, use the ceiling — out of the way for kids and pets — to hang paper snowflakes, gingerbread ornaments, or even festive cookie cutters hung from red ribbons.

Garland on the windows

Another kid- and pet-proof element, windows can be the framework for garland swags. Keep garland high enough so it can’t be pulled off by little hands or paws.

Bedrooms

Flower arrangement  

If you always display flowers in the living room, think about another place to put them during the holidays like the master bedroom. And if you’re hosting holiday guests, a simple tabletop tree with some winter decorations is always a warm, welcoming gesture.

A small decorated tree  

A Christmas tree looks festive in any room. But it takes on a special significance when it’s your own tree in your own bedroom decorated how you want it. If the home’s main tree is green, think about getting an artificial tree in a different color like blue or white or decorate it to match the color scheme of your room.

Bathroom

Wreath

If your bathroom is small, keep the decorations to a minimum, like a small wreath with a simple bow hung on the window.

 Scented candle  

Your shower or bath will be a fragrant Yuletide experience when you light a pine- or Frasier-fir scented candle just before stepping in to the stall or tub.