Choosing seasonal and holiday decor can be fun or overwhelming depending on your personality type. Those who get overwhelmed with the daunting task of planning for holidays, decorating and then storing those decorations tend to keep it simple by doing as minimal as possible. For those seasonal holiday loving junkies who embrace the newest items and their premature arrival in stores, you, you are who this is for. Love you and your passion for making your home festive and welcoming to friends and family, however, we need to have a talk. It may hurt a bit, but I promise you’ll enjoy the outcome. First of all, there are so many beautiful home decor options out there and it’s natural to love many different styles at the same time. This is part reality check and part getting to know your personal style and going for it. We shall call this your “come to tina moment.”

Let’s begin with assessing all of the decorations and accessories you have keeping the broken or severely damaged pieces in a separate pile. Discard any damaged items with the exception items that are family heirlooms. (It does not have to be expensive or made of the finest material to be considered a family heirloom.)

Next, place the items you absolutely love together. Look them over and choose your 3 favorite of the favorite pieces. What are their similarities, color, size, function?

What do you naturally gravitate toward when shopping for holiday decor or what do you seem to have multiples of in your collection? Choose from the following to highlight your preferences:

• organic materials such as; branches, berries or seasonal dried or fresh flowers

• festive prints and patterns

• characters or cartoons

• sports themed

• all of the above

If you’ve chosen more than three, I can’t help you at this point. You’re eclectic and everyone knows it so rock on with your funky badass self. Haa

If you’ve chosen three or less then we can work to simplify and hone in on your personal style. This will be your baseline formula for all seasonal decorating which will then become your overall aesthetic. Every holiday will have unique items, however, the overall aesthetic will have a familiar feeling similar to a brand creating a visual story for consistency.

Now that you’ve chosen your favorite items and can see similarities in those items, it’s time to select the secondary or complimentary pieces. For example, if your three favorite items were branches and dried flowers, you’d then select a table runner or napkins that support the main items. The secondary pieces is a backdrop to the main “feature” pieces. Take a look at the picture below. The flowers are an elevated centerpiece with the contrasting amber/burnt orange glasses as the secondary or supportive item. When the candles beneath the flowers are lit, the color from glasses and the flowers will vibrate and invoke a feeling of warmth. Notice the plates, silverware and napkins are muted allowing the flowers and glasses to do the work in creating ambiance. In other words, if everything is important and vibrant, then nothing is important and vibrant. Too much of a bunch of individually great things creates visual clutter and can trigger emotions of anxiousness. Pare it down and keep it simple. Don’t worry about jamming a bunch of things into a space to create the sense of a season. A few very beautiful items strategically placed with contrasting textiles communicates a season or holiday perfectly.

If you’re still struggling to find your personal style, email your decor quandary with photos and you will receive the guidance you need.

Who knows, you could be featured in another blog post with your before and after seasonal holiday decor.