by GraceAnn Simoni

Here’s some great advice for the upcoming holidays, from Contributor GraceAnn Simoni. An Interior Redesign and Staging Specialist and Instructor from the Chicagoland area, GraceAnn shares with us budget tips and advice for decorating with your existing furniture and accessories.

And so it begins….

Can you believe it? Thanksgiving—the first big Holiday of the season—is right around the corner. I love this holiday, to have the chance to fill the house with the wonderful turkey and pumpkin smells, and the thoughts of all the people around the table.

“Oh no!” you say. “Where am I am going to put everyone?”

When I was growing up, there was always the extra card table or two in the living room and the ‘kids’ table’, usually set up in the kitchen. (I think I was still there at age 13!)

Thanksgiving is all about getting together over a meal and giving thanks. Let’s take a look at some ideas for at least getting more people in the same room.

Some tricks I have tried in the past include turning the dining room table at an angle . You will discover that it really opens up the ability to seat more people, and results in less damage to the china cabinet or buffet by chairs too close.

Photos above are a client’s home Before and After. You can see the space that is created for additional chairs. This also allows plenty of room to add the table extensions (leaves). Here again is the finished room:

Another option is to ‘switch’ rooms. Below is a home of my client and her large family, where I did just that for the holidays.

We then moved the table and china hutch to the living room. The table turned at an angle also allows room to set up small separate tables in the same room, perhaps one ‘for the kids’. The plan for the event was to accessorize the hutch with all sizes of old family photos, and extend the theme of ‘thankfulness for family’.

We used the original dining room as a small sitting area for the Grandmas to talk and spend time with the little ones, in a room separate from the ‘football’ family room.

As it turns out, these rooms were left this way after the holidays and the sitting room became the quiet homework center. The dining room was used more often because it felt more open and worked great for school projects.

GraceAnn Simoni of Yours Redesigned Naperville, IL, is a Redesign and Staging Specialist and Instructor, and a member of Interior Redesign Industry Specialists (I.R.I.S.).

If you need help getting the The Home You Want With the House You Have™ visit www.yoursredesigned.com.

 
 
 
How many guests are you expecting for holiday dinners this year? How will you handle the crowd?