Ask A Baltimore Expert: How To Decorate Your Home For Thanksgiving
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According to Higgins, the home staging techniques she uses to help homes sell can be used to ready your home for the Thanksgiving holidays. Home owners should consider decluttering rooms, rearranging furniture and adding fall and Thanksgiving-themed decorative accents and touches to their home as Thanksgiving approaches. Home staging can transform your home for the holidays. Just as buyers decide whether they like your home before they step foot inside, so will guests be instantly enchanted by how you have transformed your home for Thanksgiving, says Higgins. With a dual business and fine arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Higgins finds that home staging "fulfills [her] creative side" while also allowing her to "meet new people" and have a flexible schedule. Here are her top tips for decorating your home for Thanksgiving.
A great fall theme is acorns, says Higgins. Gather about 20 or so acorns from your yard. Paint them with different colors using craft store acrylic paint. Paint acorns with a small foam brush, or spray paint the acorns. Place acorns on wax paper while painting to prevent sticking. Use teal, yellow, orange, light blue, fuchsia, or your favorite fall colors to create an inviting decorative display for your Thanksgiving table. For a more natural look, remove the acorn caps before painting, then glue caps back on when paint is dry. Place acorns in clear vases and jars for a great fall kitchen decoration. Or scatter acorns near candles on a coffee table or on your Thanksgiving table.
Higgins suggests that you "spruce up a plain glass vase." Wrap the clear vase -- cylinder shaped vases work best -- with copper wire and twine. Start by gluing down the copper wire and twine with hot glue. Wrap copper wire and twine around vase to create a crisscross pattern. Wrap it at least six times. Glue the end of the copper wire or twine in the same spot as where you began. Cover the glued ends by hot gluing on a burlap flower.
Create a table scape by purchasing papier mache pumpkins or gourds. Or use dried gourds. Use metallic paint in fall colors to create your Thanksgiving table scape. You can use either acrylic craft paint or spray paint. After painting, sponge on a contrasting metallic color. Golds, silvers, coppers and champagne colors are perfect for your Thanksgiving table, according to Higgins.
Give plain napkins a great Thanksgiving face lift by stamping with fabric paint. Use a foam stamp or a simple rubber stamp. First, wash the fabric napkins without fabric softener, then dry and iron. Fall leaves, a turkey, acorns and pumpkins would be perfect. Use a foam paint dauber to apply the ink on the napkin for a creative way to spruce up your Thanksgiving table.
Halloween has come and gone, but you "can still use pumpkins to decorate your home," says Higgins. Carve out mini pumpkins to create your own votive candle holders. Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin a little larger than the candle. Add a candle, and voila! You have a decorative Thanksgiving-themed item for your home! Use carved or uncarved pumpkins at your front door steps, too, said Higgins. Clear out with a spoon and place the candle in the hole. Line your sidewalk or table with pumpkins to create an inviting Thanksgiving atmosphere for your home.
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