Guest Post: Get Festive with Holiday Curb Appeal by Sarah Kellner

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this post, free of charge, from the Home Depot, for blog posting purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

christmas reindeer scary

Have you started decorating for Christmas yet?

I know it seemed like Thanksgiving was a dull day, and we should have been decorating for Christmas right after Halloween.

So some of you may need some inspiration to get moving with the decor!

Here ya go!

christmas
"Photos courtesy of Style Estate"

Curb appeal is one of the most important things to consider when making your home appear warm and welcoming during the holidays, especially if you are throwing a holiday party or hosting house guests. Just like a sharp suit makes a great first impression in an interview, your home's yard and façade is the first thing that people see when they "meet" your home, so make sure it's spiffy!

Here are some tips for creating charming curb appeal for your home this Christmas.

Christmas Lights
Christmas lights are the heavyweights of holiday decoration. They can add sparkle and pizzazz inside and outside your home. The important thing to remember when planning your light application is to shoot for subtlety; don't overdo it. If you use too many lights and colors, and then exacerbate things by adding multiple blinking sections, your yard can quickly go from twinkly and fun to busy and chaotic.

Follow these rules of thumb for safely hanging Christmas lights this season:
  • Check the wattage count on each circuit and make sure that no more than 1,400 watts are connected. Any more is overload.
  • Do not use any old fashioned fasteners like nails, screws or staples that will damage your roof. Choose electrical tape or the shingle tab clips made specifically for hanging lights.
  • Turn off the lights when going to bed or leaving for vacation, or keep them on a timer.
Garlands & Greenery
One of the best parts of the holiday season is the smells: roasting turkey, cinnamon and spices, and spruce trees. Even if you don't put up a real tree in your home, you can still reap the aromatic benefits by decorating with fresh fir and spruce branches.

One important thing to do before decorating with fresh cut greenery is to condition the branches. To do this, fill several buckets with room temperature water, and then make fresh 45 degree cuts on the ends, gently crush the exposed woody ends with a small hammer and soak for several hours before manipulating them. This will ensure that they stay fresh-looking all season.

Using either conditioned fresh greenery or faux, you can wrap them around pillars, outline your front door, drape them on your porch of fence posts, and then adorn with an assortment of ornaments, lights, pine cones, berries, bows, fake snow, and whatever else you wish.

"Photos courtesy of Style Estate"
Porch & Walkway Trimmings
The focal point of your festive curb appeal is your home's front door and entryway. In addition to Christmas lights and greenery, you can transform your porch by adding things like a wreath on your front door, cute antique lanterns filled with LED lights on your porch steps, and even an old piece of wood painted with chalkboard paint and decorated with a classic phrase like "joy to the world" or "baby it's cold outside."
How will you dress up your home for the holidays?

About the Author: 
Sarah Kellner often writes for The Home Depot about sprucing your décor for the holidays with fun DIY projects. If you are looking to give your entry some warm Holiday charm, you can find the outdoor decorations and Christmas LED lights that Sarah talks about in this article on The Home Depot website.


Comments

  1. I would love to have my porch looking so festive like the picture above, very nice.

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