Monday, December 7, 2009
Louisville Holiday Home Tour Décor 2009
We were so inspired and thrilled to help out with the holiday décor of the homes featured on the 2009 Louisville Holiday Home Tour. It was exciting to meet all of the wonderful homeowners and to see and hear about Louisville family holiday traditions. We wanted to share our holiday decorating journey by showing some of the holiday decorating ideas that were incorporated this year into the homes. Many of these ideas are very simple and affordable, and we hope that you take away as much inspiration as we have to create wonderful holiday décor in your home.
Here are some ideas you can take home from the tour:
Incorporate the architectural details of your home into your holiday decorating:
The homeowners have used light fixtures, bolts, ceiling beams and other fixed elements as the backdrop and inspiration for their holiday decorating. This makes decorating less time consuming and draws attention to what is already beautiful about your home, instead of masking it.
Ornaments are strung from the bolts in the beams and from a light fixture.
Decorate without using floor space:
For many people, the holidays mean guests, entertaining and having a crowd in your house. Many of the homeowners have incorporated their decorations into their homes without taking up floor space. If you don’t have room for a tree, hang ornaments elsewhere, like is shown above. Consider using a tabletop tree on a side table or an over-sized mantle, or use wreaths and garlands to add greenery to the top of upper cabinets, armoires, or other large pieces of furniture instead of a large tree.
Bring out your favorite collections:
Display some of your collections together to add personality to your décor. Your favorite holiday-themed mugs in open-shelving in the kitchen or, as seen on the table below, an eclectic collection of dishes and hotel silver add sparkle and interest to a holiday table.
Work with a simple color palette:
Holiday decorations come in a wide variety of colors, but to keep your home from feeling overwhelming during the holidays, pick one or two strong colors for your decorations. To bring in variety, you can add metallic accents and different textures. This table uses red in multiple textures, but feels cohesive due to the unity of colors:
Shop the supermarket and discount stores:
You can shop for beautiful holiday accents at the same time you are buying your groceries and household items. Cranberries, candy canes and greens can transform simple white dishes.
Mix authentic greens with synthetic versions you can buy at a discount store to add color and texture without spending a lot of money (and time vacuuming needles!). Simple red tinsel and white lights add sparkle and interest when repeated throughout.
Edit your decorations:
Don’t feel as if you have to take every item out of your boxes of holiday décor. One homeowner chooses a theme each year for the ornaments on their tree and hangs only those ornaments that fit the theme. This year’s theme is “all sparkle,” so the tree really shines!
We hope you found inspiration and holiday cheer as you enjoyed this year’s Louisville Holiday Home Tour! - The Design Matters Home Team
Labels: holiday decorating, Interior Design, Louisville Colorado
Friday, November 6, 2009
Holiday Decorating Workshop Recap
 The Design Matters Home Team hosted a fun, festive and informative workshop on Holiday Decorating at the Mountain High Appliance showroom this past week. This workshop was the second out of three holiday oriented workshops to get you inspired for the holidays. Led by Helly, the Team shared many valuable tips for bringing sophistication, sparkle, creativity and a little humor to your home this holiday season. Guests were treated to delicious treats from the Mountain High kitchen and beautiful examples of the Design Matters’ vision for making your holiday décor unique and affordable.
A celebration of the rich colors and bountiful foods of autumn is the cornerstone of a beautiful Thanksgiving table and the centerpiece of Helly’s tips for decorating this fall. To give this traditional look a twist, incorporate metallics by spray painting pumpkins and gourds in silver, copper or gold (the fake versions take paint beautifully and last year-to-year). Add flowers in deep colors, like chrysanthemums, for contrast. Amber glass is also a beautiful compliment to the fall colors and brings in a retro touch—an important trend this season. When thinking about the winter holidays, resist the urge to over-do it. Less is more: you can have a festive home that is still a peaceful retreat for you and your family by editing your holiday décor. Pick a single theme and use it throughout your home; it can be a color (again, metallics are a fun trend), shape (think round Christmas balls) or item (repeating a winter icon, like the snowy tree). By being selective with the items you display, you can keep your holiday collections fresh by packing some accessories away for a few seasons and revisiting them when you are ready for a change. Also, when you pick a theme it is easier to shop the overwhelming holiday displays at your favorite stores. You will know just the color, shape or item you want and being decisive will save time and money.
Below are the five themes we highlighted in the workshop. All will remain on display in the Mountain High Appliance showroom in Louisville Colorado through the holidays. Stop by and check them out! Casual autumn decorations with a metallic shimmer:  Bringing the outdoors in, but with a bold pop of color:
 Decorating with candy for the young and young at heart:
 Highlighting blue and silver for an elegant and modern table:  Ringing in the New Year with a luxurious and playful setting: 
Here are a few of the hot holiday trends you’ll be seeing this year:
We so enjoyed sharing our holiday vision with our guests at Mountain High Appliance! If you feel inspired by our choices, please call us at (303) 249-4661 for an appointment for our Holiday Styling Services. We would love to bring some holiday shimmer to your home!
Also, we will be hosting an encore presentation of the Holiday Eatertaining live cooking workshop that we held on October 27th. The second date will be on December 8th, 5:30pm - 7:00pm at Mountain High Appliance in Louisville. Seating is limited and they filled up quick for the first workshop so call (303)249-4661 today to reserve your spot! Labels: holiday decorating, Interior Design, Workshops
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Eatertainment Recap
 A full house, full bellies, full on fun! We had an amazing night at the kick-off of our new Design Inspiration Series this past Tuesday night (before the snow!) at Mountain High Appliance in Louisville. Guests of Eatertainment were ushered in for beverages, including a yummy non-alcoholic Cranberry Sparkler, and featured appetizers before Mountain High Executive Chef, Keith Jones took the stage to show how to create his delectable, simple holiday treats. Chef Keith gave us a lesson on wrapping Chinese Vegetable Egg Rolls and tips for easy, delicious egg roll fillings like broccoli slaw for example. A Moussaka Tart was next on the demonstration list with Keith sharing great tips on how to tackle challenging Phyllo dough. To finish off the night, Chef Keith baked Triple Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies, and pulled Pumpkin Walnut Pudding with Ginger Sabayon Cream out of a warming drawer! Total decadence!  The night was a smash hit thanks to Chef Keith, great food, and a great crowd. Thank you again to everyone who attended! Also, thank you to everyone who donated generously to the Flatirons Habitat for Humanity vase. Now that you have your holiday food inspiration, it is time to focus on your holiday decorating inspiration! Join us next Tuesday, November 3rd, for our next workshop where we will be taking highlighting fresh schemes and themes that will give your home a cohesive, sophisticated, and unique style for the holidays. Visit our Workshops page to learn more and to RSVP. If you missed the Eatertainment workshop on the 27th, don’t worry there will be an encore presentation on December 8th 2009, 5:30pm, at Mountain High Appliance. Seating is limited so call (303)249-4661 today to reserve your spot! Labels: holiday decorating, Interior Design, Workshops
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Holidays Decorating Ideas - Bar Carts
A new “twist” on holiday decorating: The new on-line design magazine, Lonny, features a number of eclectic and inspiring house tours (check it out at http://www.lonnymag.com/). If you look closely, you’ll see that most of the houses feature one common element in the living or dining space: a dedicated bar cart. What better time of year to think about setting aside space in your living area to set up a bar (either alcoholic or non-alcoholic) than the upcoming holiday season? To build your bar, pick a few favorite liquors and mixers and place on a side table (or even a folding table covered with a holiday tablecloth) along with some glasses, swizzle sticks and cocktail napkins. To find inexpensive holiday-themed glassware and accessories, check out the holiday décor sections of your favorite discount store. For a non-alcoholic bar, consider stocking a range of gourmet sodas in unusual flavors as well as sparkling water and ciders. A mix of cranberry juice and lemon-line soda is also a great non-alcoholic treat to have on hand during the holidays. To add a unique twist to your bar, consider making citrus fruit the decorative element that makes your bar area come alive with color. If the palette of your holiday decorations is mainly metallic colors such as silver or gold, consider going crazy with lemons and oranges to add color. Take glass vases and fill with fruit and place in the center of your bar. If you decorate in traditional red and green colors, find a simple bowl and load it with limes and pomegranate to add a fruity and abundant touch to your bar. Setting up a citrus-y bar cart brings together festive sophistication with the bright sunshine colors of a Colorado winter. Happy Holidays, indeed! Get more ideas and a jump-start on your Holiday preparations by attending our Holiday Workshops on October 27th and November 3rd. To get more information and to RSVP (required) go to our Workshops page. Labels: holiday decorating, Interior Design
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Simple Holiday Decorating with Style
Happy Holidays everyone!
Here are some tips to make your home festive for the holidays. If you have any questions or need some help let us know. Also, check out our holiday specials.
Table Top: Place dried branches with mini-Christmas balls in a tall glass cylinder vase
Lighting: Hang ornaments off of chandeliers with ribbon Swag greenery off of chandeliers Lay festive branches across your chandelier. Swag Christmas lights in the bathroom and leave on at night. The warm glow will provide flattering and festive light for you and your guests without turning on the overhead light. Wreaths: Hang them with ribbon over mirrors especially rectangular and square mirrors to provide shape contrast Center weath on front of built-in bookcases to overlap the items in the bookcase Hang (3) horizontally on a wide ribbon (4") Be creative with embellishment. Most things can be secured on with floral wire pinecones, ornaments, fruit, candy, flowers, or wrap ribbon around the wreath. Flowers: Cluster amaryllis, holly, and orchids in low silver cups the size of a toothbrush holder so the flowers are low in the up or holder. You can use a toothbrush holder!
Trees: Use shorter strands to keep snarls down and for easier replacement of strands if one goes out. Beaded garland is a great way to add sparkle with less ornaments. Ditch the metal hooks for ribbon. Tie each ornament to the tree. This may be more work, but you will have to put less on as the ribbon serves as adornment and secures ornaments better than the hooks. Don’t pitch ornaments that have lost their crowns, put them into a vase or bowl. Glue the crowns on with superglue so they don’t fall off in the first place. Make color your theme and inspiration. Go for one color of lights, ornaments, garland, beads, bows, and floral on your tree to create an elegant color themed tree. Labels: holiday decorating, holiday style
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