It’s Time for Décor That Reflects Fall and Winter Seasons
Ready or not, here come the holidays. How will you decorate your home for the festive times ahead? We talked with a few decorators and folks who go all out decorating their homes for the fall and winter seasons.
Fall First
As eager as you might be to deck the halls for the winter holidays, consider first embracing the beauty of fall and its bounty. Even if it’s just a little décor at your front door. Your visitors will be delighted by a display of unusual pumpkins or gourds mixed in with items such as fall flowers, branches, pinecones, or other natural materials.
Kristin Witt-Bell grew up on a pumpkin farm. She has pumpkins in her house year-round and uses them to decorate for each season. She and her friend Jori Rose put Witt-Bell’s knowledge of pumpkins and their shared eye for design to work for their business, Patch and Porch, which installs stunning displays for homes and businesses in the Columbia area.
“Thanksgiving is a great time decorating with pumpkins,” Rose said. “There is definitely a trend toward using real pumpkins, both indoors and out.” For the most lasting options they recommend looking for ornamental pumpkins with harder edges, hybrid gourds, and squash.
“People have really been embracing the natural ugliness of pumpkins with wards and textures and colors,” Witt-Bell said. The team recommends including a variety of shapes and sizes.
“Have a cornucopia spilling over a space,” Rose said. What’s the biggest mistake people make when decorating? Witt-Bell is adamant, “Not enough pumpkins.”
These same fall decorations are equally at home inside your home. Scatter them on a fireplace mantel, coffee table, or kitchen counter. Or artfully arrange them on the dining table in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner, then add a fresh floral centerpiece to the arrangement a few days before your meal bring even more vibrance to the table.
Okay, Now?
You’ve polished off the turkey and you’re ready for Christmas, Hannukah, or Kwanza. Before you toss out that fall décor, consider ways it might hang around for those holidays. Spray-paint those pumpkins or twigs gold or silver and mix them in with winter greenery.
This all sounds lovely, you say. But you really don’t want to wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating. You are not alone. Kent Anderson of Kent’s Floral Gallery said, “In the past few years, I’ve seen a lot of people decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving. Mostly inside their homes. Outdoors, on their porches, they will still have fall décor until after Thanksgiving.”
Some Tips and Trends
As for holiday trends, Anderson said, “I’m seeing a trend of using a collection of items mixed. Old mixed with new; family heirlooms with quality décor. A lot of ribbons. A combination of colors.” One interesting combination he noted was orange and blue, with a touch of red. “But the biggest trend will always be red,” he added.
On the topic of trends, Sheely said, “People are buying interesting, thoughtful things – but less of them.” She added, “Also, buying local is big. Our greens are local and people appreciate that.”
As for keeping fresh greens and floral arrangements for as long as possible, Anderson said, “Make sure the water is always fresh and deep enough to cover the cut stems. Also, keep your arrangements away from heat and mist the greens with water daily.”
Interior designers Olivia Hutchinson and Jessica Davis of R. Home Design Co. have an easy (and no-cost) decorating tip: If you feel as though you just keep the same holiday decorations year after year, move things around. Don’t put it in the same spot. Guests may think its new if it’s in a different spot. Maybe rearrange the furniture for the holidays, too.
Fresh or Faux?
A home filled with an abundance of fresh, fragrant holiday boughs is the stuff that dreams are made of. But it’s not always practical. Even Sheely, queen of natural foliage, says, “There are some good fake greens out there that you can use year after year.” However, she cautions that if you plan to use them outdoors, make sure they are UV-stabilized, so they don’t fade from the sun.
When using faux indoors, Helmi said, “Be sure to add some fresh greens around your home for the fragrance.” If you need a little help getting creative, Helmi’s Gardens is hosting both a live wreath decorating class and a Christmas pot designing class in early December.
When asked about greens and flowers, Anderson agrees most people choose artificial greenery for overall decorating. But they still want a freshly cut centerpiece.
Let’s Talk Lighting
Any indoor holiday décor can be enhanced with the right lighting. “Lighting helps tie a space together. Add extra lighting to spotlight holiday displays. Battery-powered gallery lights are ideal and can go anywhere,” the R. Home Design designers said. As for the type of bulbs, they said, “Ditch the cool tone lights and get warm. It feels more inviting.”
As for outdoor holiday lights, Dennys Bertash of Mid-Mo Holiday Lighting has some tips. “Safety first. Be sure ladders are firmly secure before ascending,” he cautions. As for the appearance, Bertash suggests measuring and planning your light strands to keep hiding unattractive connectors or unlit wires from detracting from your display.
Sixty percent of Mid-Mo Holiday Lighting customers prefer warm white lights. Bertash said, “Warm white with red and green are also popular. Once you have your strands to fit your home, you can swap out the bulbs year to year for color change.”
Like Kristin with her pumpkins, Bertash has a firm belief: “You can never have too many lights,” he says.
Make it Personal
Design tips and trends aside, the way you decorate your home for the holidays should reflect your style, your interests, and your memories.
“Include sentimental pieces you look forward to displaying every year,” was the advice of the designers at Rhome. Helmi said, “Add things you love. Add something that will make your holiday décor tell an interesting story.”
For Jennifer Black Cone that story includes wedding and family memories. Jennifer and her husband Rex honeymooned over Christmas, so the holiday is a sentimental one. Their front parlor features a large tree laden with ornaments given as wedding gifts or picked up while traveling. And they have Christmas stockings made from their bridesmaids’ dress fabric as well.
Other family memories are reflected in the “Skittles tree,” featuring multi-color lights and their children’s handmade ornaments, and tree upon which their children’s old teddy bears are perched, waiting for little visitors to grab and cuddle. Their home was featured on a Missouri Symphony Holiday Home Tour
The decorated home of Donna Breedlove was also included in a Holiday Home Tour. Donna decorates her home to make others – and herself – happy. Her love of decorating for the holidays comes from her mother. The red trucks you’ll see everywhere? It’s a tradition from her mom, who began decorated with them years before they started showing up in a lot of holiday decorations. Breedlove estimates she has around 20 red trucks – small and large – scattered inside and outside. She also decorates her eye-popping pink laundry for the holidays and has many of keepsake decorations throughout her home.
Keep it Glowing
Just as you can transition your holiday décor from fall to holidays, you can also transition from holiday glitz to soft winter coziness. “If you decorate with more neutral elements, you’re not in a rush to take them down. You can enjoy them all winter,” said the R. Home designers.
Go ahead and pack away the red Santas but keep the more neutral greens, candles, and fluffy blankets. Shift the holiday lights to illuminate indoor plants or pottery. As for the tree in the front window, if you are enjoying it and it’s not a live tree that will become a fire hazard, go ahead and keep it up as long as your heart desires.
Life is short. Be that neighbor.
Holiday Decoration Enjoyment and Inspiration
- The Missouri Symphony Holiday Home Tour on December 5 and 6
- Living Windows Display in The District on December 4
Places to Shop Local for Your Holiday Décor
- Floral shops, nurseries, and grocery stores for fresh greens and florals
- Estate sales and antique stores for vintage
- Art galleries and craft fairs for handmade
- Gift and specialty shops unusual things you won’t find in big box stores
