| If you have any difficulty viewing this newsletter click here
| |||||||||
| At Home Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009
DECORATE IT Designer Erin Paige Pitts knows lots of chic but easy tricks to make a home look like Christmas. Here are a few: *Tie your holiday decor together by choosing an unexpected color for accessories. Pitts chose navy blue velvet for a runner, Christmas stockings and pillows. *A can of silver spray paint is a great investment. Use it to give terra-cotta pots, pine cones, starfish or shells a new luster. *Bring in a bare branch, anchor it in a fun vase and hang a few balls on it for a minimalist look. *Get out your best platters or glass bowls and fill them with Christmas balls, shells and a bit of greenery. *Fill barren window boxes with clipped firs or magnolia leaves. *Don't just hang one wreath on the front door; make some extras and put them on windows in the front and back of your house or on your side entrances. *Clip greens and put them in unexpected places throughout the house, such as windowsills or kitchen corners. *Don't forget that your outdoor spaces can be beautified with greens and accessories such as large glass balls. – Jura Koncius • See photos of Pitts's Chesapeake Bay home • Join the home discussion with Erin Paige Pitts, 11 a.m. ET GROW IT Tip of the week Cut an inch off the base of your live Christmas tree just before plunging it into its reservoir stand. The water level then should not be allowed to drop below the fresh cut. Check after a few hours, because that's when the tree takes up the most water. The cut should be clean and square. Avoid cutting or scraping the sides of the trunk, which will reduce water uptake. • Adrian Higgins blogs about the weird and wonderful cardoon • Digging In: Planting daffodil bulbs CHAT ABOUT IT Every week Home staffers Jura Koncius and Terri Sapienza take your questions on home design. Here's an excerpt from last week's chat. Springfield, Va.: I want to get a duvet instead of a comforter but I don't know much about them. Do you have any tips on what to select? How do I tie the outside cover to the inside? Jura Koncius: A duvet is a comforter made to be used with a cloth cover -- called a duvet cover. The advantage of these is that you can change the look of your bedding by getting new covers. Most duvet covers attach either with buttons, snaps or ties. Determine whether you want down-filled or poly-filled -- there are lots of price ranges and you can pay a lot if you want top quality down filling. Join in today at 11 for this week's discussion. RECYCLE IT There is something about draping decorations from the ceiling that means it's time to celebrate. Strings of lights, banners, birthday signs -- and now, these festive paper garlands. Not only are they a snap to make, but they're a great project for using the awkward ends of wrapping paper and recycling gift wrap. I have a thing for paper, so I tend to hang on to wrapping paper I receive, along with other specimens such as maps, creased tissue paper and old sewing patterns. I love their texture as well as the stories and memories they evoke. Luckily for me, this is a project that looks more interesting if you draw from a variety of papers. And it's a project with a lot of give. Your circles don't have to be exactly the same size, and your sewing can be far from perfect. Using a sewing machine makes this project lightning fast, but if you don't have a machine, you can use glue for the same effect. (A glue stick works particularly well, as liquid glue can make paper ripple.) And once the holidays are over, you can re-create this project using papers with different patterns and colors to change the mood of the garlands. They can be used to decorate kids' rooms or for birthday parties or holidays. (Read more) – Kelly Wilkinson At Home is taking a break for the holidays. We won't send out an e-mail Dec. 24 or Dec. 31. We'll be back Jan. 7.  | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Home: Decorating for Christmas, Recycling Wrapping Paper
|
|
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment