Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Unique Garland Display

It's no surprise, when it comes to my home décor, I can become so wrapped up in the details and making a decision that I miss the opportunity to get much done.  Well, I'm happy to report I've discovered a decision-making process I like.  It starts with the purpose for the room.  In the case of my holiday staircase décor, thinking of its function made me quickly realize my dreams of having garland would not happen.  What dreams you ask?  Something subtle:
 
 
It's not too much, right? HAHAHAHA!
 
OK. Maybe not that dramatic but... you know, something similar.
 
We don't have a spiraling staircase but we do have a lot of stairs.  As I planned how the staircase would look, all of the reasons NOT to have anything on the banister flooded my mind.
 
- My kid is clumsy(me too).  I could see her slipping, reaching for the banister to catch her and pulling my garland down instead.
 
- Early morning races to catch the school bus might cause an issue (especially if my design comes out as perfectly as it did in my mind).  I mean, what if we return home to find my gorgeous garland all over the floor?!
 
- Plush garland is expensive.  I priced out my dream garland and, for more than 20 feet, I'm looking at more than $300.  Don't go get your glasses, my chubby fingers didn't make a mistake.  $300.
 
$300?!
 
For the man to complain about it on each of his trips up and down the stairs?
 
For the kid to mess it up?
 
For me to fluff and re-fluff everyday?
 
Nope.  Not for our high-traffic staircase.
 
I needed to find an alternative.  If only I could put it on the bottom.  No one would ever mess it up there... It would be so easy to maintain... THAT was it!
 
I searched Google and I knew this idea would work when I saw these images:
 
 
 
Sure, I already had a few smaller garlands but I needed more if I expected to cover the full length of our staircase.  My first stop? The Village Thrift Store.  I rarely pay retail for anything any more, lol.
 
They have a Christmas aisle all year long and I love it. I mean, it's one of my favorite aisles in the store any time of the year.  Sure enough, I was able to purchase 3 strands of garland for $7.00 total!!  I rushed home to fluff and arrange the garland.  I pulled my chocolate and silver bulbs from the box of unused Christmas décor and went to crazy town decorating.  I still have a few finishing touches I'll add as Christmas nears but, for now, I'm happy with it :)
 
 
 
 
There are mini silver present boxes and stars and bulbs galore! The pictures really don't do it justice and that could be because I haven't used my fancy-pants camera in months (the flash had batteries melt inside and now I need another $700+ flash).
 
I know you've probably noticed my quality of images has gone down but I also know you, my beloved Islanders, don't judge me.
 
I'll make it work :)
 
To re-cap, I took a traditional approach in our entry way, a whimsical design for my mom tree, the dining room is all glam and the family room is rustic glam.
 
I'm having fun finding new homes for all of our Christmas décor.  You're probably wondering why I'm determined to get our décor up...  Well, we're hosting Christmas breakfast at our house - OMG. 
 
I've got to finish decorating because there is just so much going on! I've got to tell about the Christmas décor so we can talk about my plans for the event!  I'll share our plan to tackle all of our projects soon enough!
 
Stay tuned! 
 
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