Easy ideas to make your house look perfect for Thanksgiving.
Are you hosting parties this fall? Decorating for a festive Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. Here are some ideas for decorations inside and out for your home.
How to Decorate for Thanksgiving
Decorating for fall holidays can be a bit overwhelming. Breaking down your plans into what colors to use, what theme to use, and the materials to choose from can help you decorate with less stress.
Colors
Thanksgiving has traditionally used the colors nature displays in the fall. Yellow, orange, and red are reflected in the foliage. While any decorations need to fit your home’s usual decor and colors, focusing on bright hues of red, orange, and yellow can bring the colors from outside into your house. Bold colors brighten and enhance rooms, especially when it is dark outside.
Themes
The usual themes for Thanksgiving are gratitude for events from the last year and bountiful harvests. Foods such as gourds and pumpkins reflect the bountiful harvest. Photographs or other memorabilia from pleasant events of the last year can be set up so guests can share in your gratitude. Infrequent visitors can see your display and catch up on what has happened in your life.
Materials
Many Thanksgiving decorations incorporate dried flowers, durable food items, and swaths of colorful cloth. The horn of plenty, filled with gourds or fruit, celebrates the harvest. Cut flowers that have been dried make colorful centerpieces on the table, mantel, and on tables in the foyer. Use a colorful scarf as an accent draped across the back of the sofa to tie your furniture into the decorations.
Thanksgiving Decoration Ideas for Your Home
Some people want to blend their decorations into their existing decor. Others want to make a bold splash that really stands out.
Making Harvest-Themed Decorations
Harvest-themed decorations don’t have to be the horn of plenty. You can make great centerpieces by using dried twigs with fruit on them, such as crabapples, wheat or barley stalks, and some fall-blooming flowers. Choose flowers that complement the colors you have decided on for your overarching theme. These arrangements can be placed on the entryway table, on the mantel and fireplace, or on an end table.
Show Your Gratitude
Harvests aren’t the only thing to celebrate. Set up an area, such as a table, and fill it with pictures and other things that represent what you are grateful for this year. Such a gratitude table allows friends and relatives you may not see frequently to catch up on your news quickly. You can choose to let these people add things they are grateful for to the table or keep it just for yourself.
Table decorations don’t have to be hard.
Dressing the Thanksgiving Table
The Thanksgiving feast is usually an important part of Thanksgiving. Decorate the table where you will eat so it reflects the themes you choose for your decor. Fall produce and foliage make nice runners down the center of the table. Remember to use low candles and vases of flowers so people can see each other and visit over the meal.
Avoid busy tables, as they can be overwhelming. Avoid fragrant foliage to avoid triggering allergies. Mix your table decorations so they are different heights and materials to keep things interesting. Using multiples of decorations in odd-number clumps, such as three candles, helps pull the decor together.
Thanksgiving Decoration Ideas for Outside
Your outdoor decor is the first thing your guests see. Decorate the porch and front of the house to welcome your guests to the party. Decorate the back of your house to make the space cheerful and pleasant.
Planters flank this door and frame it for visitors.
Coordinate The Porch and Door
Your porch and front door look best when they are a cohesive space. One way to do this is to take some small pictures and paint them white or gold. Place them on the porch steps with a planter that has coordinating plants with it. Chrysanthemums or daises will last quite a while in a flowerpot. Use the same colors and some cut plants from the pot to make a Thanksgiving wreath for the front door.
Using Seasonal Planters
As an alternative to flowerpots, place two large planters with seasonal plants in them on either side of the door. Beautiful seasonal planters can frame the door and lead the eye to the wreath there. If you have a porch with columns, place two planters against the outermost columns, then two more on either side of the door to funnel people’s attention to the door.
Enhance the Doormat
Doormats provide an additional way to enhance your porch. Place a sturdy area rug under the doormat and place flowerpots or planters on the corners of the area rug. You can get a holiday doormat to use in place of your usual one and add extra cheer.
Light Up the Landscape
Outdoor lighting serves multiple purposes in the landscape. Use it to highlight a specimen plant or direct attention to a fountain. Path lights make sure no one stumbles and falls. Advanced lighting, such as FX Luxor lighting systems, allows you to adjust the intensity and color of your outdoor lights from your smartphone. For example, for a football-watching party, you can make the lights red and white. For Thanksgiving, you can make them shades of red, orange, and yellow.
Stay Warm with a Cozy Fire Feature
Fire features are mesmerizing and keep the chill of autumn at bay. A fire pit is just right for making smores during a football-watching party. A fireplace with a big screen TV over it also works well. Guests can stay warm and still see the game in your outdoor living area.
Thanksgiving decor doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. We hope this article has given you some easy ideas to make your home shine for the holidays.
“Look at, my new outdoor living space. Isn’t it nice? Now I get to furnish it!”
Just like a house needs furniture, artwork, and decorations to feel like a home, your new outdoor living space needs those things to be truly enjoyable. Buying quality outdoor furnishings to outfit your new space is important. You didn’t spend all that money on the outdoor living space to furnish it with cheap, tacky stuff.
Why Furnish
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping employees are outdoor living specialists, and we create amazing outdoor spaces and rooms for families to enjoy for many, many years. No matter how significant the transformation that we make with the elements and details that we include, it is never quite finished until it is furnished and staged.
The furnishings make the space useful and make it feel lived in. The staging adds all the little details that really give off the WOW FACTOR. From rugs to candles, place settings, ornaments, planter pots, cafe lights, and all the other items that make a space feel like home.
Use Outdoor Products
It is tempting to buy the same things you would use in a house for your outdoor living space. That is a mistake. Even though the furnishings may be under a roof, temperature changes, blowing rain, windborne pollen and dust, and other features of the outdoors are hard on things. Purchase furnishings specifically made for the outdoors; you will be happy in the long run.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Here are a few common mistakes people make in furnishing their outdoor living space.
Measure Twice
Make sure you measure the space correctly. An easy trick is to use a piece of graph paper that is the size of your space or a scaled drawing provided by your landscape designer. You can then cut out the furniture you want out of another piece of graph paper to match the scale of the space. Place the furniture you want on the first piece of graph paper and make sure it all fits and make sure there is plenty of room for people to move in and around the space.
Choosing Only on Appearance
While appearance is important, you need to look at how practical each piece of furniture is. How comfortable is it? Can you use it for multiple things?
Choosing the Wrong Material
Outdoor furniture and accessories come in materials from wicker, wood, and metal to outdoor fabric. Each has pros and cons. Consider these clearly before buying anything.
Buying Cheap Products
Don’t buy something because it is cheap. Cheap products will break down or look bad much more quickly than quality furnishings. You spent a lot of money on your outdoor living space. Invest in good-quality furnishings that compliment your space. If you don’t invest in something quality you could end up paying a lot more in replacing pieces over and over again through the years.
Buying on Impulse
Big purchases need to be planned so that they fit with the other furnishings and the space. Often impulse purchases on furniture can be low quality and not long-lasting. When decorating a space, however, and including the small details of candles, place settings, and outdoor artwork, you can feel freer to buy what you like in the store or online and figure out how to make it work the best once it arrives.
Outdoor Furniture
Choose furniture that can be used for more than one purpose. For example, an ottoman can be used as a seat or writing surface if needed. You can find coffee tables with storage to put cushions and rugs into when they are not needed.
Some materials for outdoor furniture develop a weathered look or patina, while others stay looking like new. Here are some of the materials available.
Metal
Metal furniture is not damaged by the sun. However, it can get hot and burn an unwary person. Aluminum furniture is light, so strong winds can blow it over. Metal coated with a powder finish is the most durable option. Rust spots can form, but usually where water pools, rather than occasional dampness. You can sand the rust spots out and repaint the metal.
Wicker
Wicker is a popular option. It, too, is light and can be blown over. Wicker used to be made of willow branches, bamboo, rattan, or reeds. Now, wicker is almost always made of resin. Buy high-density polyethylene wicker, not PVC. It will last longer and feel nicer. Wicker degrades in the sun. Clean-up is easy with a little soapy water and a cloth.
Wood
Wood is an elegant material for furniture. Teak is rot-resistant and will last a long time. Wood develops a weathered patina as it ages unless it is regularly oiled. It will need to be cleaned annually before the season ends.
Plastic
Plastic is an economical choice but degrades in the sun and doesn’t last as long as the other choices. It is generally lightweight and will blow over in the wind. Expect to wash it frequently. Plastic chairs can be stackable and good for those occasions when you have a large gathering and need a little extra seating, but not for everyday use.
Fabric Choices for Furniture
While the furniture frame is important, the cushions or fabric covering the frame are what makes the furniture comfortable. Use outdoor grade fabric that has been treated to repel water. This also makes it harder for mold and mildew to grow on the fabric. Consider storing any cushions when not in use. This will make them last longer.
When choosing colors for your fabric, remember that any fabric will fade in the sunlight. Dark colors like black, navy, and dark brown fade the fastest, followed by bright, vibrant colors. Using furniture covers designed for outdoor furniture can keep fabrics bright longer.
Outdoor Art
You would not leave all your walls bare inside. Don’t do it outside, either. There are lots of available types of outdoor art. Metal, wood, and plastic are weather resistant and can be cut into wall hangings. You can also get paintings that are printed on metal, wood, or plastic. Waterproof canvas art can hang outside, as well. Most outdoor paintings are made with acrylic paints. As with fabric, the colors on painted or printed art will eventually fade. If you have paintings or printings outside, you will need to bring them inside during winter.
Accessories
You are not quite finished furnishing your outdoor living space yet. Now you need to stage it, so it really pops. Outdoor rugs can soften a room. If used in contrasting colors to the furniture, the rugs will help finish the room.
If you look at your interiors, consider using similar elements outdoors. Accent pieces such as vases, lamps, and other things will finish the room. Choose heavy items that will not get blown over by the wind. Wood, metal, and ceramic pieces will be more weather resistant and last longer.
Care Off-Season
Winter is hard on outdoor furniture. You may want to store your furniture in the garage, inside, or in another place out of the weather when winter comes. If you leave it outdoors, you will need to cover it. Even covered, the cold can make it brittle, especially plastic and wicker.
Places to Shop
Not everyone carries quality outdoor furniture. Here are some good places to consider buying from.
Wayfair
Wayfair is an internet-only company, but they have a nice selection of outdoor furnishings and decor. They have free shipping over $35 and have a thirty-day return window. They also have frequent sales so you can stretch your budget. Learn more at https://www.wayfair.com/outdoor/cat/outdoor-c32334.html
Yardbird
Yardbird has a new store in Overland Park that has eco-friendly, quality outdoor furniture that will last. You can learn more about them at https://yardbird.com/.
Outer
Outer is another newer resource for high-end quality furniture. This is an online shopping experience that walks you through every step of finding the perfect set for your space. You can learn more at https://liveouter.com/
Outdoor living spaces need quality outdoor furnishings to make them enjoyable. Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping does our best to design and install the right outdoor living space for your needs. You get to enjoy them for years and years to come. Buy the best furnishings you can to enhance your outdoor living space.
If you want an outdoor living space, or to add a feature to your existing outdoor living area, schedule a consult with us today.
