Decorating Outdoor Spaces

Decorating for the Holidays is not limited to inside your home. If you have an outdoor room or any outdoor living space it is a perfect opportunity to create a festive feeling, as you get ready for the holidays.

The first step is to decorate your front door, whether you are a homeowner or a business the front door is the first thing that greets your guests, so hang a large plush wreath over the front door, or green garland wrapped around the door frame. Add some bows for color as you welcome them inside.

As you enter my home you see a beautiful winding staircase with wrought iron railing that leads up to the 2nd floor, this is where I start my interior decorating. I hang green garlands along the decorative iron rails, add sparkling white lights, dress up the garlands with handmade bows made from gold glimmering ribbon at the top of each swag and add a special touch with a handmade fabric rag garland that adds a bit of color and nostalgia, by wrapping this around the swags of the garland all the way up the staircase.

If you are a storeowner, you can easily dress up your display with green garlands, bows and twinkling lights. Place these on railings in your store or along dividers amongst your vignettes.

As you move further into my home you are ushered into the living room, in here the marble fireplace and mantle are decked out with colorful wooden blocks wishing you a happy holiday, green garland and twinkling lights are draped over the mantle to frame the fireplace as its embers glow. The coffee table is a place to add a bowl of wonderfully aromatic pinecones and scented candles to create a romantic ambience.

Throughout your store, you can add garlands to your fireplace and fire pit displays, baskets of pinecones and scented candles to inspire memories of the holiday season.

The dining table has a holiday table runner, flowering centerpiece, candles and green garland wrapped around the chandelier.

Many outdoor furniture stores have numerous dining table displays, embellish a few tables with colorful Sunbrella Burgundy, Canvas Forest Green, Gold or Logo Red fabric, a table runner of fresh garland, and fill a row of glass hurricanes with matching candles.

The room where family and friends gather the most in my home is the family great room / kitchen. As you walk into these rooms the holiday spirit envelopes you in an atmosphere of cheer with the vibrant color, glowing tree and treasured keepsakes of the season. Once again the fireplace is framed in green garland, candles and personalized stockings, the television is not left out, it too has been adorned for the holiday. Tabletops are covered in decorative runners and cloths, candles and keepsakes.

Next family, friends and guests move outside to enjoy the warmth of the fire pit and comfort of the outdoor furniture. This is where I add decorative outdoor holiday throw pillows and a cozy Sunbrella throw blanket, flickering candles in glass lanterns, and fresh garland hangs from the covered pavilion. The outdoor table is draped in festive Sunbrella fabric as tea light candles glimmer.

If you have a gazebo, pavilion or outdoor room it is easy to add garland, pinecones, candles and twinkling lights to create the perfect mood for the holiday season.

Add some holiday tunes inside and out and you are ready to enjoy while you entertain during the holiday season.

A friend suggested a terrific idea to decorate for Thanksgiving, use the same holiday green garland, twinkling lights, add some raffia, colorful fall leaves and a few sprigs of cinnamon on your staircase.

Tell me how you decorate your outdoor room or casual living store for the holidays? Write a comment below….

These are my outside views…Marcia Blake