The holiday season is fast coming upon us and we know that you want things to be perfect for when your family and friends come over to share the festivities. Here are 5 DÉCOR dos and don’t’s to help you spruce up or refresh your home for all of your celebrations. Contact us at [email protected] and we can provide a consult & décor roadmap for you to follow so you can do it yourself.
1. A PILLOW PLETHORA
TOO MANY PILLOWS on a sofa or chair is a common mistake many people make. While the use of a pillow is to actually aid with a deep seat, it’s also an excellent opportunity to introduce color and patterns. What ends up happening when there too many on the seat, though, is that they end up on the floor. Two or three pillows per sofa and one per chair is more than enough in any sitting area.
An easy and inexpensive way to create a holiday look for you room is to swap out the pillows you have with a holiday-themed pattern such as the ones found on Wayfair or these from Pottery Barn.
No matter what room and how big it may be, the less is more approach always works with the use of pillows. Even if you are not doing a holiday theme change up, then still…less is more.
2. WOOD FINISH WOES
As it is with pillows, when it comes to choosing multiple wood finishes, LESS IS BEST. Chose one wood finish to use as the primary one in the space. A secondary wood finish that either complements or supports the first in some way is the rule to follow. A third must work with both. The success of any more than three wood finishes used in a single space is determined on a case-by-case basis. Here is an excellent article that explains the various modus operandi on how to make multiple wood finishes work well together in a design.
The 2 examples below, using a wood flooring, simple desk, and bookcase shows why one works and the other does not.
Example #1 does not work because all three finishes -the wood floor, the desk finish, and the black of the bookcase- do not relate in color or grain as if they were just placed together with no thought given to creating a relationship or coordinated design.
The second example works because there is a color relationship established with the black, gray and white components. All three are connected from the same color family and so whatever flooring used would will always work. Also, the light wood finish of this floor and the light gray of the wall allows the black furniture to pop in a smart and appealing visual.
3. FOLIAGE FOLLIES
Plants are like jewelry to the outfit. They are the LAST COMPONENT to be addressed in the creation of a room design. Unless you have a spectacular specimen to feature or you are designing a greenhouse, the foliage does not need to be considered until closer to the end of the project, which is not to say that they are an unimportant component. Add appropriately-sized and type of plants, ones that will enhance the design of the space and not clutter it up. Lastly, don’t forget to pay attention to the correct amount of light needed for this living design element; that is another factor which will greatly influence the placement of any plant and, so, will affect the design you worked so hard to achieve. 
The image shown above is an example of how improperly using plants can easily make it feel like they are taking over.
The single oversize fern planted in a white, square planter placed by the window wall benefits from the generous light and beautifully supports the strong, minimalist design of this living room image.
4. PICTURE PERFECT
I love a FAMILY PHOTO WALL.There is nothing better that enjoying a collection of cherished family 
photos placed up a staircase or on a wall in a family room. The key to a successful photo wall is to establish rules to follow. For instance, use all the same-colored frames or, even better, the same frames no matter what the size of the picture. Use the same color and style of matte if you are using a matte.
I once did a family photo wall down a hallway for a client. I established a line where the pictures were placed so that all of the pictures met the center of the line. Most of the pictures were similar in size, but there were a few breaks where I place smaller ones in a grouping. I used all the same-colored frames and same matte. It looked fabulous.
Another way to approach a photo wall is to treat the pieces like a well-placed jigsaw puzzle. This approach is even more effective when the pictures are not necessarily family photos, but a collection of various art. There are some really good groupings shown on this search page result.
Finally, If you are doing photo wall, then a few other smaller pieces throughout the house are all you will need to achieve a desirable balance.
5. COHESIVE DESIGN
A big pet peeve for Staci is when there are no COHESIVE ELEMENTS rendered in the space.
If this is a refresh of your living room, or dining room, do look around the connecting rooms – kitchen, dining room, living room, entry hall, staircase – whatever is in eye-view and take one element or style of something (a color usually works best) and make sure that each room has that in it. For example, in the dining room, use a color or pattern in the window treatment and then use it in the pillows for the living room and then again on a painted wall in the entry way.
The idea is to connect the rooms in some way through a CONNECTOR MATERIAL, something to give the design of the house a cohesive feel to it. A color or pattern is the easiest way to achieve a cohesive design. Here is a short article that echoes this concept.
If you need help with your holiday décor changes, call or email us today. We are here for you!
856.269.0707
[email protected]
-Tara & Staci
