Holiday Decor

Floating shelves are small stages. That’s what makes them fun to decorate and also why they get crowded so fast. A bookcase can hide a mess behind books; a single floating shelf can’t. These are the rules I use. The rule of three, per shelf Every shelf gets three things, in three heights: one tall, one medium, one low. Then stop. On a 17-inch shelf, three objects is already full. ...

Window painting is the best kind of seasonal decorating for a rental. It costs very little, takes an hour, leaves no marks when you do it right, and it can switch to snowflakes the weekend after Thanksgiving. Here’s what to draw, and what to draw with. What to use Liquid chalk markers for grown-up designs. The Bandle B. liquid chalk markers (on Amazon) come in 24 colors and are water-based. The maker says they wipe off non-porous surfaces like glass with a damp cloth. They also say never to use them on a chalkboard, so keep them on the window. ...

A real gingerbread house is fun for one afternoon and then it either collapses or attracts ants. A cardboard one keeps. It can stay out from December 1 to New Year’s, and it can go back in the box for next year. There are two very different kinds worth knowing about. The giant one, for kids The large color-your-own cardboard gingerbread house (on Amazon) is a playhouse, roughly 40 by 32 by 26 inches, printed with outlines kids fill in. Markers, crayons and paint aren’t included. It’s a project that stretches over several afternoons, and when it’s done it’s a hiding spot. ...

Changing the couch is the fastest way to make a living room look like December, and it costs a lot less than people think. Pillow covers, not pillows. One throw, not three. Here’s how I’d think about it. How many pillows A loveseat looks right with two or three. A standard three-seat sofa takes four. A sectional takes five or six, grouped in the corner and at the ends, with a gap in the middle seats so people can actually sit down. ...

When a living room is small, Christmas decor fails in a specific way: a little bit ends up on every surface, and the room just looks busy. I find it easier to split the room into four zones and give each one a single job. Zone 1: the tree corner Pick the corner farthest from the walkway. If a full tree would block a path or a window, go small and lift it. A 2-foot tabletop tree (on Amazon) with a burlap base on a side table or a stool reads as a real tree from across the room. It runs on 3 AA batteries (not included) and has a timer, 6 hours on and 18 off, so there’s no cord to hide. ...

An island or a peninsula is a work surface first. Any Christmas decor on it has to move when you start chopping, rolling cookies or setting out food. So my one rule for the island: everything lives in or next to a single container you can lift with one hand. The base: one long, low vessel A wooden dough bowl (on Amazon) is about 18 inches long and low, which is the right shape for an island. It doesn’t block the view across the counter, and it holds a surprising amount: pinecones, a few ornaments, clementines, a string of fairy lights. Put it to one side of the island, not dead center, so the middle stays free. ...

That strip of empty space between the cabinets and the ceiling is the most ignored real estate in most kitchens. In December it’s the easiest place to add a lot of Christmas without giving up a single inch of counter. The trick is to treat it as one long line, not a shelf for a dozen things. One continuous garland A garland running the full length of the cabinet tops is what makes the kitchen look decorated from the doorway. Measure along the front edge of the cabinets, including the returns at each end, and add a foot for draping. ...

The window over the sink is the one spot in a small kitchen you look at every single day. It’s also the one place where decorations have to stay out of the way of water, steam and a dish rack. Here’s how I’d dress it. What’s in this post A wreath that doesn’t need a nail Candles that turn on by themselves Greenery across the top What to leave off the sill A wreath that doesn’t need a nail A small wreath centered in the glass is the classic look, and it’s the easiest to do in a rental. A suction wreath hanger (on Amazon) holds it from the inside of the window. Wipe the glass with rubbing alcohol first so the cup grips. ...

Brown and gold is the coziest of the trend colors this year, and it suits apartments well. It reads warm under yellow bulbs, it doesn’t shout across a small room, and it sits nicely next to wood floors and tan sofas. It also fails in one predictable way: too much brown and the tree looks dull, too much gold and it looks like a hotel lobby. The ratio I’d aim for roughly two parts gold to one part brown, with green branches doing the rest of the work. Brown is the shadow, gold is the light. Place brown deeper in the branches and gold toward the tips, where the bulbs catch it. ...

Patterned wallpaper behind a tree does something no garland can. The whole corner looks finished, even when the tree is small. The catch for most of us is the lease. So this is about Christmas walls you can peel off on January 2 without a fight with the landlord. Start with one panel, not a room A full wall of holiday print gets loud fast, and it’s a lot of rolls to remove later. One or two vertical strips behind the tree, the bar cart or the bed are enough. Think of it as a backdrop the size of whatever stands in front of it. ...