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Outdoor Living Spaces, Outdoor Décor

Holiday Decorating Ideas, Decorating Your Home

Include outdoor spaces in your holiday decorating plans

The holidays conjure images of blazing fires, hearths laden with glittery ornaments and ubiquitous twinkling candles. Well, that's inside. But what about the great outdoors? This season, expand your horizons and include outdoor spaces in your holiday-decorating plans.

Wreaths are a seasonal front-door fixture. This year, shake up that formula. Consider a square or rectangular wreath versus the expected circular one. The effect is striking and modern. Be sure to place it high enough to be seen from the sidewalk, or, go even more daring and hang two or three wreaths in a pattern, or place your masterpiece just to the side of the door. You might also contemporize your wreath with novel hanging materials: try ribbon in an unexpected colour or make your wreath a bejeweled one with faux gems or glitter.

Containers are another great way to charm holiday guests. Beyond evergreen boughs, experiment with strips of birch or dogwood. You might even want to spray paint willow wands or branches gold or silver. Punctuate your arrangements with vibrant-coloured fruit like pomegranates or oversized ornaments. Balls of twigs, wrapped with strings of outdoor lights, can also be positioned within your container creation to create a twinkly effect. And placement-wise, be strategic: set at the door, of course, but if you align your containers along the path leading to the entrance, you create an even more welcoming impression.

Experiment also with different forms of containers in different finishes - they too could be spray-painted to suit your chosen holiday colour scheme. A birdbath, for example, also makes for a charming vessel for a deck or front-porch arrangement when piled high with ornaments or outdoor lights.

And don't forget the patio. Delight dinner guests with a captivating garden scene within the sight line of the dining room. Try echoing the candlelight at your table by scattering candles across the deck and yard (place them in hurricane lamps to protect them from the wind). Containers of spiky grasses, birch, grapevine, willow or dogwood will catch snow and create interesting architecture just outside the window. Highlight these displays with strings of outdoor lights as a dynamic alternative to simply dressing deck railings. Under-lighting trees will also showcase their stark forms and create striking centerpieces in the backyard.

Holiday decorated front door and walkway

Finally, consider a second tree. Position it on the front porch or on the deck so its majesty may best be viewed. Holiday trees are a seasonal favourite, but they can be so much more than a Christmas tree. And there's no reason to limit yourself to one. Use outdoor lights to bring the tree to life and add a little sparkle to your outdoor space during the long cold winter, and in peak holiday time, natural objects that can withstand cold - think bark, juniper berries, twig balls, and pinecones-all work well as inexpensive but innovative decorations.

The message: Don't stop your holiday decorating at the front door. Think of your outdoor space like your indoor one, as an opportunity to express your personality and interior-design-loving panache.