apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Come to think of it, felt has been a part of every single Christmas I've been home for. Our familiar felt stockings have been around for as long as I can remember, and they continue to be used each year. What other holiday decorations can we find that are made of felt?

Dressing in layers is what gets us through these transitional seasons when it's sunny and warm one day and gray and cold the next. The layered look can serve well in the home, as well. It can provide visual interest, texture, depth, and a sense of abundance.

We love the bright jolt of orange paired with more muted colors. But what happens when you tone down the orange, too? Pairing a burnt, rusty hue with other muted colors gives you results that are somber but beautiful.

Cornucopia are something we first encountered in kindergarten Thanksgiving craft projects. You know, at the same time we were making hand prints into turkeys. Since then, we haven't really come across many actual horns of plenty.

The ginkgoes around the neighborhood are really showing off right now. Their yellow plumes of leaves are beautiful. They're also showing off in a not-so-pleasant way: their ginkgo fruits at this time of year smell bad. Both traits have ginkgoes on our mind, so let's take a look at the distinctive leaf used in decor.

A little tabletop inspiration from good old Domino: this is a simple, beautiful option for Thanksgiving. The overall tone of the room is pretty calm and quiet, excepting this large, dramatic pheasant feather centerpiece...

Subtle holiday decorations can be great for those of us who can't wait to get seasonal and want to leave decorations up as long as possible. That subtle touch might just be a little extra greenery, sparkle, or color but it doesn't scream holiday so it can be worked in before Thanksgiving and come down long after the New Year.

Move over, "less is more". We're penning another dictum about quantities: "Less for more". Those of you who live in tiny spaces may know what we're talking about here: paying more for smaller, more efficient, or lower-quantity items. The opposite of stocking up. We ran into this on a recent trip to the grocery store for light bulbs...

Silver and gold, silver and gold. We can't wait to hear it for the thirty-something-eth time this year on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Pose it as a question - silver or gold - and we choose silver, every time.

The magnolia leaf's glossy green front side and soft brown back make it a very pretty natural material to use in holiday decor. Some ideas that put the leaves to use:

These dinner parties bridge the years from the early 1800's to present day, so we're taking some pretty big steps here, leaping over a lot from in between. The present day we are, of course, familiar with. And we remember the 80's dinner parties of our parents. Reaching back further, we look to television (Mad Men) and paintings...

When you're entertaining over the coming month, one easy little detail to keep in mind is lighting a candle in the bathroom.

By late next week, most of us will probably be eating cranberries in some form or another. But what about using the pretty red berries in holiday decor?

We loved the wreath in the window from Lindsey's Where to Wear Your Wreath. Hanging a wreath in a window lets if float a bit, with all eyes on its color and form.