With Black Friday behind us and the winter holidays fast approaching, some homeowners want to do more than dig the artificial tree out of the basement or hang up the Christmas lights.
Those who are looking for expert design advice can take some from Cathy Hobbs, an Emmy-winning television host and interior designer from New York City. Hobbs recently gave some of her best-kept secrets on holiday interior designs to homeowners, according to The News and Observer.
Hobbs recommends using several D.I.Y. tactics to brighten up the home for the holidays.
Adding a little bit of glitz and glam to the home is easy, she says, by spray painting inexpensive, tall glasses with silver or gold glitter paint. These make great candle holders.
Candles might be used with diffusers, which can hold various holiday-scented oils. Filling a vase with coffee beans can also add some earthy scents to the home this season.
Although pine cones, pine branches, and even walnuts may be standard decor fodder for the holiday season, they’re easy to find outdoors if you’re on a budget.
However, not everyone likes to go the D.I.Y. route, and some may want to focus on making more high-end purchases this holiday season.
Oriental rugs, which are typically made from silk and wool, are one trend that’s coming back, The Washington Post reported back in September. Famed for adding warmth and color to rooms, one of them even made the cover of House Beautiful magazine earlier this year.
“In many great country houses,” said Elizabeth Parker, head of Christie’s rug department in New York, “rugs anchor a big room and hold it together.”
Such carpets can go for a pretty penny, however, so be prepared to shell out some cash for an authentic one if buying as a gift or for your own home, country house or not.
Jan David Winitz, a rug dealer profiled in the Wall Street Journal, has roughly 3,500 such rugs in his inventory. Some of them are worth as much as $60,000 or $70,000.
Such carpets often sell priced by the square foot or meter, according to the U.K.’s Financial Times, and go for thousands of dollars at auction houses like Christie’s.
One small 17th century Turkish Lotto rug, named after Renaissance artist Lorenzo Lotto, went for a whopping £12,230 (or about $18,267 USD) per square meter at auction, the Financial Times reported.
Still, new and antique rugs, especially those hand-knotted in Asian countries, can transform a room if you’re looking to give it that pop for the holiday season.
