Friday, November 9, 2012

Christmas Tree Theme Ideas

Incorporate creativity into the holiday season this year and choose a Christmas tree theme. Christmas trees can often end up as a hodgepodge of different decorations. This year, experiment with selecting one specific theme to focus your design. Consider Christmas tree theme ideas such as a santa theme, candy cane theme, or vintage ornament theme.

Here are a few other Christmas tree themes to get you started:

Nautical Theme: Take a cue from the maritime side of life and decorate the Christmas tree with a nautical theme this year. Incorporate all of the symbols that represent sailing or nautical life in general, or stick to one element and keep the tree design unified and simple. Decorate with mini nautical ornaments, small red and green buoys, simple white lights, and an old nautical style lantern as the "star" on the top of the tree. For another idea, include nautical wildlife such as starfish, sand dollars, seashells, string-lights adorned with lanterns, or simple red and green colored ornaments to mimic the nautical port and starboard theme.

Sports Theme: Adorn the tree with sports related ornaments and memorabilia. Hang items to represent the home team or a favorite baseball, basketball, hockey, or football team. Make ornaments out of sports game tickets. Frame and hang pictures of the family at the game. Make homemade ornaments of mascots and the team logo.

Kids Crafts Theme: Decorate the tree with the kids’ artwork from school and home. Laminate (with the kids’ permission) drawings, and hang beaded necklaces and small figurines. Sit the kids down at the table and have them create additional decorations for the tree such as popcorn garlands and reindeer made from candy canes.

Pets Theme: Plan the decorations for the tree around the pets. Hang pictures of both living and deceased pets (to honor their memory). Hang dog bones from the tree along with dog collars, leashes, and raw hide bones.

Patriotic Theme: Add patriotic decorations to the tree this year. Decorate the tree with a flag and accent it with ornaments in the same colors as the flag. Type out the national anthem, laminate it, and hang it on the tree.

Select simple, fun, and fabulous themed Christmas tree ideas. Tie the summer into the winter, incorporate a favorite sports team, or put the kids’ artwork on display for all to see and admire during the holidays. Have a fun and merry Christmas!

Posted by Joanne Vanderhoef
Marketing and Media Specialist

Distinctively Home Interiors
http://www.distinctivelyhome.com
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Thursday, November 8, 2012

Christmas Table Decorating Idea!

How to Decorate a Christmas Table

Make your Christmas table just as festive as the rest of your home. Use pine garland, candles, Christmas ornaments and other special touches to create a memorable holiday table. Does this Spark an idea?

Brushes
Silver & Gold Ribbon
Acrylic Paints

Instructions

- 1
  
  Purchase an artificial or fresh-flower Christmas arrangement from a craft store or florist shop to use as your table's centerpiece. Let someone else do the work if you're pressed for time.
- 2
  
  Use candles to make your own Christmas centerpiece. Set red or green taper or pillar candles in brass or wooden candle holders and arrange fresh or artificial pine garland, pine cones and cranberries around the base.
- 3
  
  Place a large, decorative bowl in the center of your table and fill it with gilded fruit and gilded pine cones. Arrange pine garland around the base of the bowl and scatter Christmas picks throughout the garland.
- 4
  
  Place pieces of fresh pine garland in a large decorative bowl and place red and gold ball ornaments on top. Arrange larger pieces of pine garland around the base of the bowl. Place taper or pillar candles on each side of the bowl, and dim the artificial lights in the room so that the light from the lit candles is reflected in your centerpiece.
- 5
  
  Set your table with a tablecloth, table runner, place mats and napkins done in holiday prints and coordinating solids. Use prints sparingly to avoid giving your table a busy look and to keep attention focused on your centerpiece.
- 6
  
  Use napkin rings that reflect the season as well. Hand-paint holiday motifs onto plain wooden napkin rings or use purchased holiday napkin rings. Unusual napkin rings, such as those made to look like strands of cranberries, are readily available at many craft stores.
- 7
  
  Use your good china or special dishes that show Christmas motifs. If you are using a lot of holiday print fabric to decorate your table, use dishes done in coordinating, solid colors and complement them with brass charger plates.
- 8
  
  Place a small gift at each table setting. Give collectible Christmas ornaments or small sachet bags filled with homemade Christmas candy, nuts or other small trinkets.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

5 Decorating Tips for Small Houses

Maximize your space with this helpful advice

“If it’s done right, a smaller house doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice—in fact, it can be a much more attractive place to live,” says Marianne Cusato, author of The Value of Design and an architect who has won national awards for her small-house plans. “It’s not about shrinking everything down, but rather about using spaces for more than one purpose and building those spaces with an attention to quality and good design.”

As big houses on large lots have declined in value, some of the most sought-after real estate in America today is smaller homes in mixed-use neighborhoods, places with sidewalks and front porches and a feeling of community. In other words, neighborhoods that look a lot like those from the 1950s.

If the current economic downturn means that you’ve had to put on hold your plans to move up—or that you need to downsize to a smaller home—think of it as an opportunity. Here are some tips for making a smaller home work for you.

1. Make the Most of What You Have
You don’t have to use a room in the way its name suggests. “Just because it’s a dining room doesn’t mean you have to use it as one,” says Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live. “Make it a home office or sewing room or both. It’s your house and you can do what you want with it.”
2. Remodel Small
To open up a modest-size home, put in interior windows or take out walls or parts of walls. The house will feel larger without added square footage.
3. Declutter
When Cusato lived in a 300-squarefoot New York apartment for eight years, she told her family not to give her any gift that she had to store. “I loved the feeling that everything I had, I really wanted and needed,” she says. “Ironically, now that I’ve moved into a space that’s 1,180 square feet, it doesn’t feel nearly as well organized.”
4. Celebrate Details
A smaller house doesn’t mean you need to downsize on quality. Focus on the smaller details that add texture and beauty to a room, such as elegant light fixtures or natural woodwork in floors or moldings. Realize that less can be more.
5. Add an Outdoor Room
Extend your living space by creating attractive outdoor places in which to sit and socialize. During the warm months, you’ll gain square footage without hiring a builder or taking out a home equity loan.

Reference Women's Day

Posted by Joanne Vanderhoef
Marketing and Media Specialist

Distinctively Home Interiors
http://www.distinctivelyhome.com
Visit out Facebook at
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Saturday, November 3, 2012

Decorating with Wall Art

Tips on Decorating with Wall Art

Turn any residence into a home with dazzling wall art. No home or apartment should suffer from barren walls. Instead of leaving walls naked, unique and creative wall art can grant your room a strong personality. By taking advantage of wall decor, you can create a new identity for your room without having to revamp your furniture or rearrange the room at all. Framed art can easily enhance every room of your house. Here are some ideas on how to use wall art to give your home an atmosphere that reflects your personality and style.

Decorating with Wall Art:

The rule of three: When you are shopping for wall art, try to find a set of work done by the same artist in a set of three. There are a huge number of arrangements and display schemes you can cook up with three matching pieces of framed art. Usually, the three will have an underlying theme or been specifically designed to be displayed together.
Get unconventional: Usually, wall art is equated with paintings or posters, but that doesn't always have to be the case. Try decorating with wall clocks, wall mirrors, metal wall art, wall sculptures or canvas art. You don't need to completely shun more conventional wall art; after all, it's popular for a reason, but don't feel limited by conventions.
Reflect your style: If you're going to put up wall art, chances are it is going to be there for a good while. As such, make sure it is something you will enjoy looking at. Whether you prefer abstract wall art, modern wall art or a more traditional look, make sure your wall decor matches your personality. Wall art might impress and intrigue visitors, but pick out framed art with you in mind.
Be size conscious: When it comes to choosing wall art, size matters. Be careful not to overwhelm the rest of your wall decor with one especially large piece of wall art. At the same time, make sure not to crowd any furniture you have pushed up against the wall. Before buying wall art, measure the wall space. Imagine how you plan on hanging wall decor before you choose the art itself.

Reference Overstock.com

Posted by Joanne Vanderhoef
Marketing and Media Specialist

Distinctively Home Interiors
http://www.distinctivelyhome.com
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Friday, November 2, 2012

Add an element of surprise to spruce up a room!

Change Your Decorating Style in the Middle of a Room

Add an Element of Surprise in Each Space

A punch of color or texture would add a lot to this stark room.

To avoid a boring look, change your decorating style in the middle of a room. Consider adding one element of surprise in each space.

Sometimes you walk into a room that is perfectly decorated, only to get the feeling that things are just "too perfect." Sometimes all that's needed is a little surprise--something that doesn't really belong but adds a touch of whimsy.

In this type of situation, I like to add the unexpected.

In a perfectly traditional room with matching sofas, matching end tables, matching side chairs, and matching lamps, consider adding something ultra modern. A modern painting, a minimalist chair or table, or a contemporary sculpture could be just what's needed to jolt your eye away from the boring.
In a very contemporary interior with stark white walls, black furniture, sleek and smooth surfaces, try a textured area rug in fuscia, add a bold-patterned pillow on a chair, place a pair of classic silver candlesticks and colored candles or a traditional floral arrangement on a dining room table. Just something enough to break the tedious look of everything matching.
Try it! You'll probably like it.

Posted by Joanne Vanderhoef
Marketing and Media Specialist

Distinctively Home Interiors
http://www.distinctivelyhome.com
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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Jewelry at a GREAT price just in time for the holidays!

Jewelry just in time for the holidays!

This Holiday Season Only! Distinctively Home will be offering a beautiful, quality collection of jewelry and scarves. Show off that new Holiday dress or sweater with a silver bead and stone necklace and earring set, or be classically "charm-ing" with a stunning bracelet. The entire collection is well-crafted and eye-catching, yet reasonably priced. Find that special gift for your sister, mother or best friend. Husbands and sons will discover how easy gift giving is this season at Distinctively Home!