HOLIDAY DECORATING TIPS
It's that time of year again – there's a chill in the air and our thoughts turn to family gatherings and entertaining friends. Here are some tips from local designers to make your home fun and festive.

A Thanksgiving Table to Remember
by Terry Ellis, ASID

If you have a rectangular dining table, cocoon the host and hostess chairs with rich velvet or chenille fabric in a warm red or buttery yellow. For a fabulous Thanksgiving centerpiece, spread leaves around the center of the table, then take a tray or round baking pan and cover it with fabric. Place it among the leaves and put mini-pumpkins, gourds, rocks and votives on top to create a tiered look. Burrow pinecones, acorns, Indian corn, apples and pears in the leaves.

To view a bio and work samples from Terry Ellis, click here

Festive Tabletop Decorating Tips
by Angela Stawiarski

The holidays provide a great opportunity to step beyond the ordinary tabletop and add a little “wow.” Replace your everyday linens with crisp white hotel linens and set the table with your best china, crystal and silver. For a centerpiece, use crystal hurricane lamps half-filled with white popcorn surrounding jewel-encrusted gold pillar candles. For extra sparkle, place a beautiful bauble in the center of each plate. For the finishing touch, attach chair-ties or tassels to the back of each chair.

Creating a True “Home for the Holidays”
by Kathleen Graf

It doesn't take much to bring a holiday feel to any room in your home. It could be as simple as wrapping holiday ribbon around individual candles and placing them in groups of 3 to 5 on a simple bamboo mat or a colorful holiday placemat. You can also attach a beaded tassel around a silk ribbon and tie it in a bow on everyday candlesticks for a festive flair.

It’s also a nice time to look to the outdoors for inspiration. Now that the leaves have fallen it's easy to spot branches with berries in your yard. Place some sprigs at different heights in a vase along with pine boughs or colorful leaves and place throughout your home to give it a festive flair. Another idea is to pile red and green apples with some pomegranates in a bowl or basket and interspace sprigs of pine or twigs for an easy fall centerpiece.

To view a bio and work samples from Kathleen Graf, click here

Transitioning from Fall to Christmas with the Same Decor
by Donna Brown

Do you decorate your home with gourds and pumpkins for fall? For Christmas decorating, take those same gourds and pumpkins and spray-paint them gold, silver or bronze, add a holiday ribbon, berries and evergreens and you have the makings of a beautiful holiday arrangement. Display them in a basket, bowl, tray or just position them loose on your table.

To view a bio and work samples from Donna Brown, click here

Create a Nature-Themed Christmas Tree
by Mary Antenucci, Allied ASID

Clump small branches of dried flowers like roses or hydrangea with some vines from your garden and place at intervals on your tree. Bittersweet vines with colorful berries from your garden or a garden center can be twisted to form a garland. For added interest, attach a few life-like birds. Fill any voids in the tree with natural raffia ribbons.

To view a bio from Mary Antenucci, click here