Monday, November 14, 2011

Change Your Room For The Season


Just a few minor tweaks can give you a winter wonderland feel, JUST DON"T OVER-DO IT!

A standard living room with basic decor (except for that great chandelier((had to do it!)), can transform with subtle changes! BEFORE PIC
Hace frio! At least it is everywhere else. I live in AZ, and I guess we would say it was freezing here too, but we'd be over-reacting, it's in the upper 70's. We cry like babies when we have to wear three quarter length sleeves! But your poor living room is sad too, sad that it has to wear the same decor season in and season out without a little change to spruce things up when the holidays come. 

So.... some us of tend to go un poco loco with the Christmas decor. You're in the store and you see the cutest little turkey pillow and think "hmm, that would look great on my couch." Then, across the same aisle you see little pilgrim statues and "ay que lindo, the indians right next to them make you think of the village people." Usted tiene que tener! Before you know it, you've filled your cart with sparkly cornucopia, pumpkin spice scented candles, all of the pilgrims, village people and gingerbread men that you can find (cuz you're already thinking about Christmas!). Ay, yay, yay, your poor living room looks more like a holiday flea market, than a well put together room. While the urge to alter your decor for the changing seasons is right, the approach of more is better is all wrong and us Latinos can't help but want it all- we shop in complete sets honey!

One of the greatest things about the seasons changing is that you can create a new identity in your room for very little money. Here are the do's and don'ts for a sophisticated yet understated transformation.

  1. Focus only on the rooms that your guests will see, and even then DON'T GO CRAZY! Start with your powder room and just add a new scent, a tasteful hand towel in the holiday theme- PERO, ES MUY IMPORTANTE that it stays in the same color scheme as the room currently is. Where we start to get tacky is when we throw red, green and gold in a room that is teal or lavender or rusty orange. Don't go there! Stick with a hand towel and possibly a small statue in a neutral tone of cream or silver or gold, not multiple colors of joy.
  2. A tablescape is another great way to show your holiday spirit. A tablescape is a grouping of like items on a table, console or cabinet. Si, yo se usted tiene todo el pueblo de Navidad- but that doesn't mean all fifty little houses need to go on your dining room table. If you truly have the space to display them, then do so, but not in an area that gets used constantly like a coffee table or an area where your pets or children/ grandchildren can attack the little skaters on the ice. A good example of a grouping would be a decorative bowl of pretty Christmas tree ornaments, 3 metal mini trees, or 5 small angel statues. Make sure you group in quantities of three or five, never just two items. Also, unless going for a very modern look, do not line these items up like you would do to your village people, no bueno!
  3. Change out your pillows- AGAIN NO TE VUELVAS LOCO! That red plaid pillow with the grandma and the snowman is NOT HOT! Here is a real chance to change the overall feel of your room with simple changes. Focus on the color of your room's main pieces- the wall color, your sofa and the accent furniture. Remove your current pillows and accent your room with a new fur throw in snowy white and maybe a few throw pillows in cream or white with white shimmery or silver snowflakes. If your room has blues or teals, incorporate the white and blue combination or even purples for your bold Christmas decor. If your room has more of a neutral palette- tans, browns, camel colors- use white, cream decor, red decor or golds. If your room has a cooler neutral palette- the trendy grays or blacks, go for whites, blacks, shimmery silvers, reds, teals or purples. To sum up, a bright white snowy look will work with any palette. If lost- go for white!
  4. Have fun, not too much fun! Be practical- this is a space you will use constantly. If you see the room above, replacing just a few small items makes the room ready for snow- even in a warm climate like AZ or FL, where you just won't get any... There are also many pieces of trendy current decor that can be interpreted to have a holiday theme (like the crown pillow). You can always work that into your room later on in spring.




No comments:

Post a Comment