Un-decorating For The Holidays - A Great Time To Mix It Up

Every year when I pull out the Christmas decorations I wonder why I didn't take pictures the year before so I wouldn't have to re-invent the wheel.  But then I remember that one of my favorite parts of the holidays is, in fact, re-decorating each year.    I love changing thing up and using my decorations in different areas of the house each season.  It keeps things fresh and exciting.   

This is also true of the un-decorating process.  Post holiday un-decorating is a wonderful time to reassess your decor and give your home a fresh look for the New Year.  During the holidays, we often move furnishings and accessories to make room for the Christmas tree and other decorations.  Well, when it’s time to take it all down, resist the urge to put things back exactly as they were, and take the opportunity to mix it up a bit.

Because most of us have color schemes that we carry through out our homes, moving around accessories (and in some cases even furniture) is not  as strange as it may seem.  A great place to start is with your photographs.  Collect every photo in your home and put them all on a table.  Then pick the ones you love the most and put them in the rooms you spend the most time in.  If this gets you motivated, do the same with your other accessories.  The same rule of thumb applies...put the thing you love in the rooms you use the most, fill in with the things you like, and get rid of the things you don’t like (it is the New Year after all).  Think outside of the box a bit.  Just because you had a stack of books on your coffee table, doesn’t mean you have to use books again.  Try a tray with some vases, or perhaps a great bowl you had in your bookshelves.   Find magazine pictures with arrangements you like and recreate them with the things you have.  You will be surprised at how much new life you can give your rooms with just a few small changes.

Have fun and Happy New Year!

For more decorating ideas, visit my Baltimore Interior Design website at www.millbrookcircle.com.