- Home >> Lifestyle: Organizers:
Organize Your Seasonal
Home Decorating
I don't spend
a lot of money decorating my home. Many people don't want to
spend the time or money to decorate with the seasons, but over
the years I have learned some ways to creatively seasonally decorate
that have cost little or next to nothing.
Because I work a lot, I don't spend very much time decorating
my home. When I'm updating my home to a new seasonal theme, I
don't spend more than a couple of hours arranging and rearranging
to get a nice seasonal effect. Here are some of the ways I've
learned to organize my seasonal accessories:
- I store my seasonal decorations in several large stackable
Rubbermaid containers: two for Christmas, one for Easter/spring,
and one for autumn/Thanksgiving. When I'm ready to change themes,
I get out the one(s) to put things away in, dust or otherwise
clean the area(s) where the new decorations will sit, and then
get out the new decorations. The storage containers get put back
away, and everything is still organized for next season. Make
sure you mark the containers in some way to know which one is
which. Color coding them buy buying different colored containers
works well.
- You will inevitably forget to put something away and stumble
across it when you're cleaning another day. In each bathroom
I have a corner of a closet shelf reserved for miscellaneous
seasonal decorations. Or if someone gives you a seasonal gift
you don't have anywhere else to put at the moment, this is a
good place to put it.
If you find the task of re-decorating your entire home overwhelming,
look for certain areas of your home that would be good for displaying
seasonal decorations. In my home the kitchen, dining room, and
living room are the focal areas of our home. There are certain
areas where I concentrate when decorating for the seasons:
- Kitchen: I don't do a lot of
seasonal decorating in the kitchen, but there are a couple of
easy things you can do to liven it up a little. Seasonal dish
cloths and hand towels are really cute, as well as seasonal floor
mats. If you use the towels for decoration only, like hanging
from your oven door handle, they will still be nice for the next
year. Seasonal refrigerator magnets are also easy to update.
- Dining
Area: Our
dining room table is the focal point of our dining room. We have
a long oak table that is great for seasonal decorating. A table
runner makes a nice seasonal addition. I have one made out of
Easter fabric for spring, a floral one for summer, and one of
Christmas fabric. I just need to get one for autumn. You can
accessorize with seasonal place mats, napkins, and napkin rings.
These you can make yourself or pick up at yard sales or clearance
sales off-season. I also like to decorate the center of the table
for the season. A lot of times I will use a vase of seasonal
flowers. For autumn I have a vase of artificial fall foliage.
I accent the vase with Indian corn, gourds, and artificial fall
leaves.
- Living
Room:
The main areas of the living room I concentrate on are the fireplace
mantel and hearth, a corner curio shelf, and the entertainment
center. I lay a garland across the top of the entertainment center
that can be changed with the seasons: fall foliage for autumn,
flowers for spring and summer, and evergreens for winter. On
the shelves of the entertainment center and the curio shelves
I rotate my seasonal knickknacks. The last place I decorate is
the top of the piano. Sometimes I just decorate with houseplants
and photographs, but it is also a great place to showcase collections,
like my angels at Christmas or my bunny village in the spring.
I also have a piece of fabric draped over the piano that I can
change with the seasons.
- Other:
Window
clings are great for any season. Door wreaths can also be rotated
any time of year. My grapevine wreath goes up in the autumn and
is soon replaced by my Christmas wreath. You could have one for
every season. Although I don't have one yet, a lot of people
have seasonal flags or banners displayed outside of the house.
These you could buy or make yourself.
These are just ideas to get in the mood of seasonal decorating.
Learning to bring the outdoors indoors can be fun--there are
many easy, inexpensive ways you can change the look of your home
to get in tune with the seasons.
|
Author: © COPYRIGHT RACHEL PAXTON |
|
Rachel Paxton
is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for
Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner
ideas. For more recipes, gardening, organizing tips, home decorating,
holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.
|
|
ARTICLE POSTED
2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WHAT'S NEW?
