We know it’s a cliche, but where did this year go? It seems that Halloween was yesterday, and now we’re in a speed run through the holidays. Before you even finish reading this blog, your guests will likely be ringing your doorbell. However, if you have an hour or two, decking your halls shouldn’t be a problem with these last-minute holiday decorating ideas.
Set Your Home Aglow with Warm Lighting
Even in sunny Los Angeles, the shorter days and longer nights bring a comparative gloom. Fortunately, you can keep the shadows of winter at bay by investing in warm strings of Christmas lights, energy-efficient LED candles, or even table lamps with softly glowing bulbs. If you want to maximize on LA’s uncommonly hospitable winter weather, some lights tastefully strewn across your backyard pergola can easily create a dazzling effect.
Sure, if you don’t already own these, you’ll need to make a quick run to your closest home goods store. But these radiant holiday decorating ideas take just minutes to set up and completely transform your home with their cozy, welcoming illumination.
Making the Best Use of Our Enviable Weather
Speaking of your backyard, have you noticed that LA homes often tend to favor the blurring of lines between the indoors and outdoors? It’s an architectural philosophy popularized by design legends like Frank Lloyd Wright and Richard Neutra. We can find their influence in the popularization of open floor plans, patios, and sliding glass doors. So, how does this indoor/outdoor marriage tie into simple holiday decorating ideas?
By incorporating exterior flourishes, like holiday arrangements, seasonal lanterns, and tasteful Christmas lights, you can orchestrate a cohesive aesthetic that transcends your home’s interior. Even on chilly nights, a warm drink station on the back patio can encourage guests to mingle outdoors, maximizing your limited space more effectively.
Giving That Seasonal Feeling – Literally
Not everyone realizes how vital texture is to interior design. Yet, savvy incorporation of textiles into your home environment is one of the most efficient and effective ways to facilitate that cozy holiday feeling. If you’re looking for a few quick holiday decorating ideas to bring some texture to your home, consider plush throws, soft area rugs, and textured pillows.
Interestingly, the more minimal your decor, the more textures seem to pop. So, if you prefer a less-is-more approach throughout the year, some artfully placed textiles may be your fastest path to festive holiday cheer without compromising your pre-established aesthetic.
Follow Your Nose Beyond Visual Holiday Decorating Ideas
You’ve likely heard that scent is the most powerful of the senses for triggering memory. Therefore, incorporating fragrance into your holiday decorating ideas is an easy way to facilitate certain moods or atmospheres that can be emotionally resonant to your guests. Think well-placed essential oil diffusers and simmer pots with cinnamon and citrus.
Citrus smells tend to evoke a distinctive California feel to the holiday season. But if you decide to go a scented candle route, favor subtle instead of overpowering aromas, especially if you’re planning on serving food. Fragrance can distract from flavor, so you have to be extra careful when planning simultaneous olfactory and culinary experiences.
A Welcoming First Impression
Finally, it’s important to establish a welcoming, festive first impression. This means paying particularly close attention to your entryway and foyer. Sometimes this is as simple as taking a few minutes to declutter, since the entry is prone to accumulating mail, shoes, coats, bags, and the like.
If your doormat has seen better days, give it a quick cleaning. Emphasize the holiday spirit by adding a few sprigs of holly or mistletoe and maybe a small bowl of decorative ornaments on a nearby console table. The objective is to make guests feel at home from the jump. Fortunately, even tiny details can leave a lasting impression that carries through the night.
You Don’t Need Much to Make an Impression
You don’t need an immense amount of store-bought decor to create a seasonal atmosphere that instills a cozy comfort in your guests. Tasteful employment of quick and simple holiday decorating ideas, such as warm lighting, texture, fragrance, greenery, and that very California blending of indoor and outdoor space, can do the trick nicely. Perhaps it’s one of the few times when waiting until the last minute isn’t so bad!
With a brand that says as much as JohnHart’s, Senior Copywriter Seth Styles never finds himself at a loss for words. Responsible for maintaining the voice of the company, he spends each day drafting marketing materials, blogs, bios, and agent resources that speak from the company’s collective mind and Hart… errr, heart.
Having spent over a decade in creative roles across a variety of industries, Seth brings with him vast experience in SEO practices, digital marketing, and all manner of professional writing with particular strength in blogging, content creation, and brand building. Gratitude, passion, and sincerity remain core tenets of his unwavering work ethic. The landscape of the industry changes daily, paralleling JohnHart’s efforts to {re}define real estate, but Seth works to maintain the company’s consistent message while offering both agents and clients a new echelon of service.
When not preserving the JohnHart essence in stirring copy, Seth puts his efforts into writing and illustrating an ongoing series entitled The Death of Romance. In addition, he adores spending quality time with his girlfriend and Romeo (his long-haired chihuahua mix), watching ‘70s and ‘80s horror movies, and reading (with a particular penchant for Victorian horror novels and authors Yukio Mishima and Bret Easton Ellis). He also occasionally records music as the vocalist and songwriter for his glam rock band, Peppermint Pumpkin.
