Happy Holidays!
This beautiful season is upon us and I can't think of a more magical time. I'm all about the new thought that the Christmas Holiday Season begins on November 1st and goes through January 1st and that the celebration of Thanksgiving is for that one day. Sign me up, I'm in and my decorating starts earlier every year!
After all, it's hard to resist the magic of the season, the lights, the trees, the colors, the music, the cool fresh air and the hint of special surprises to come. The world slows down just a teeny bit and everyone becomes just a little bit kinder. You can feel the love and the light returning at Winter Solstice and the hope building for the new year to bring good things to all.
The older I get, the more I enjoy decorating for the holidays, and that's saying a lot, as decorating for holidays, parties and the home in general has always been one of my greatest joys. Now though, I'm able to savor these moments a bit longer, and appreciate what every...
Halloween is around the corner, are your outdoor decorations ready?
I know, I know... you're saying, but Kala, Covid has changed things, maybe there won't be any trick or treaters, why should I bother? And I say, Come on, this is exactly why we should be doing our absolute best to decorate outside, to show people some Halloween Spirit! So even when people drive by our home, they can enjoy a bit of the fun and spookiness of Halloween.
We choose every day to feel happy and to look for the good in life or to feel down and victimized by what's going on around us. We can't control the world, but we can control how we're going to feel about it and how much we will let it affect us on a daily basis and whether or not we're going to find a way to celebrate life.
So gather up your brooms and cauldrons witches, and let's get to decorating and sharing our love of the Holiday Seasons with the world.
Yesterday you saw what I've done with my Interior Design for Halloween this year,...
Happy Halloween! Here's a peek at my Interior Design for Halloween this year in my home, which I'm calling A Toast to Witches. I hope it generates some fun ideas for your home too!
First up, I created a Witch's Shop Entrance in my home. I used a closet to hang the witches hats and robes in order to create what looks like an entrance to their shop.
From the foyer we venture into my Office where I recently chalk-painted this Bombe Chest.
In the center of my home is what I describe as the sacred space altar area. My pumpkin garland welcomes the energy of Fall into the home.
Over in the Kitchen area, I have my mantle that I change seasonally. This year I went for a darker look for Halloween, using a lot of black accents.
and then grouped some pumpkins over on the kitchen island.
and over on the breakfast room table, I'm exploring lots of color and can't help but smile at the moon phase sign.
In the corner of the kitchen, I'm brewing up something good in the cauldron and every Good...
Happy Holidays! It's that wonderful, joyful, thoughtful, generous time of year! And it's time to get your decorating on!
I love a variety of decorating styles for the holidays, from the traditional colors of red and green to the new modern versions. There are so many wonderful options now when decorating for the holidays. The best part? If you like, you can have several different styles throughout your home, just keep the style the same in each room and from there you can offer a fun tour of different holiday displays in various locations throughout your home.
Here's a few snapshots of the decorating at my place and the different styles, let's take a look...
First up, my beloved "Lady Trees".
I name my Lady Trees and this beautiful lady in red is named Scarlett. She has a traditional look to me with her red and green colors. I tried to wrap her ribbon but it was just too fussy. So we removed the ribbon and adorned her "dress area" with a multitude of berries, picks and...
I love decorating for Halloween, starting with the entrance to my home. This year it's challenging in a new way, as I'm in a condo, where there are some restrictions of what I'm allowed to do and I don't have a yard to play around with. I do have a landing though where I've been able to decorate.
The video above shows the area where I have some outdoor furniture on the landing and the photo here shows the entrance. No matter how much space you have or don't have, there's always a creative way to make some seasonal fun, that you and visitors will enjoy. Even my UPS delivery guy tells me he loves seeing the changes I've done as he delivers throughout the seasons.
Here's a few pictures of what's new. My ghost girls are still floating around, if you remember pictures from other seasons where they were out in the front yard. I have them sitting in flower pots this year so they can stand up and do their thing.
These white hutches are probably my most favorite pieces of furniture that I...
Living on the coast, one can't help but to embrace the seaside vibe and this spills into the decor. It can be challenging to create a traditional Fall feel when the evergreen trees and palms sway in the breeze year long.
What's one to do? Embrace the look and make it your own. Blend touches of the season into the coastal decor, creating an authentic look that connects with your natural surroundings.
I've done this several times while living at different locations on the coast.
A couple of years ago I was fascinated with the hand painted pumpkins done by local artists along with the wide variety of pumpkin colors, shapes and sizes, so I create my own pumpkin patch here on my coffee table:
I began with traditional pumpkin colors, exploring the various hues of orange and shapes and sizes. Put some of the smaller ones on pedestals created a sense of drama.
Next I added the coastal hand painted pumpkins I've collected with starfish, octopus and other designs. Touches of silver and gold...
The tour continues in my new Coastal Fall style home. Next up, it's time to bring some bursts of orange and black in several space to create that spooky and fun vibe!
I love working with gold and this table in my dining room is the perfect place to add some orange to work with the gold lamp and legs on this side table. Bright pillows, colorful acorns and a whimsical sign set the mood.
Not all decor has to be on a grand scale. I grouped these items (cauldron to hold candy, house rules sign, a bottle to create some love potion and a moody blue pumpkin) to put on a countertop in my kitchen and voila, we're in the Halloween mood!
I'll feature the "how to" in another blog, as I painted this red chest that came with me from the mountains, to this flat black using chalk paint. I changed the handles to new chunky gold ones and it's a completely new piece. It looks great in my office next to my white storage cabinets. I've added my palmistry hand in the corner and a fun group of...
This Halloween feels a bit different for many of us as parties and trick or treating are off limits this year due to Covid. It doesn't mean though that you can't bring the Spirit of Halloween into your home through your décor. In fact, it's probably even more special this year to celebrate with your family and to create this special feeling in each room.
I've been doing just this in my new home, as I've moved from the mountains back to the coast. This year I’m giving Halloween a bit of a Coastal Fall look, using some items I brought with me and introducing some new bits and pieces to represent Halloween and Fall 2020 style. Let's take a quick tour, beginning here with items I brought with me that worked well in a home in the mountains and how they can convert and work in a coastal home.
My fireplace mantel has moved with me from the mountains and now works great in my new kitchen area. It's a wonderful area to decorate for the holidays. In my condo in the...
Holiday Tablescapes are fun to make and often you can use what you already have in your home and add to it with a fun new item each year.
Here's an example of a tablescape that I made for my dining room table this year.
First I lay a runner on the table. The runner (a beige linen) here can't be seen by the time I'm done, but it's great to anchor and support the garland.
On top of the runner, I began with my Southern Magnolia Gold Leaf garland from Ballard Designs.
Next, running through the garland, I added the Suzanne Kasler Red Plaid Ribbon, which this year, I'm pretty much using it everywhere! I love plaid so much and Suzanne's ribbon, available at Ballard Designs, is great quality, wired and able to twist and bend any way that you want it.
Next I added some sprigs of berries, tucking them into the garland. You can find these anywhere at craft stores, these in particular here are from Martha Stewart and are available on QVC.
The white Light Up Lanterns and Gold Moravian Stars are...
I have clients in Manhattan who are in their 30s and live in a beautiful apartment there. The details in the space are gorgeous but space is at a definite premium as is the case in the city. Their home is about 850 sq feet all together and the location is pretty great.
They enjoy the holidays but aren't into traditional Christmas decor.
They hired me as their Intuitive Interior Decorator for my Holiday Decor package to assist them with decorating their space.
Here are their requests:
1. They love modern decor.
2. They don't like traditional Christmas decor.
3. They don't want to buy many decor items, as storage space is pretty limited for them and so they needs things they can pack up in one box.
4. They'd love for the decor to be versatile and look great for New Years as well.
My suggestion to them based on their likes, wants and needs?
Make it Modern and Metallic!
They have a console that is very similar to the console I have in my home. It's part of the feature wall...
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