Colors you need now for instant holiday glamour!

Still trying to figure out why feedburner isn't working on the new blog. Here is our latest post. 

To visit the new blog 

click here.

Color is such an intrinsic part of the holiday season. When fall leaves begin to change, the colors of warm cinnamon, spice, and umber envelop us with familiar things. It is no surprise that people love fall. When the warm temperatures quickly turn cool, we gravitate towards warm earthy colors that provide us comfort and bring us back to the routines that we are accustomed to. The holidays deliver to us rich traditions that remind us of joyful memories spent with our families and friends and each year our rituals begin: the decorations get unpacked, the recipe cards get pulled, holiday cards get sent and the decorating unfolds.

This year I wanted to embark on something new. As a designer I am an expert at creating stylish and updated homes, and I wanted to approach this holiday season with this same frame of mind.  I teamed up with Lori Sawaya of Color strategies to talk shop about how you can create stylish and updated holiday decorations with new colors in a way that still honors our favorite season but giving your home a fresh take on an old classic.

One of the biggest trends in fashion this fall was deep plums, with splashes of yellow. I loved this combination and wanted to sit down with one of my favorite colorist to find out why this combination works, and how we can incorporate it into our existing holiday decor for a fresh take on Christmas 2010. Listen below to my conversation with Lori Sawaya, color expert:

Click here to Listen to our podcast:

Purple & Gold~Indulgence and Joy!

How are you going to incorporate this new combo into your decor this season?

Tune in next week to learn how we incorporated this new color combo in our Festive table scape post.

AB HOME Interiors holiday photo shoot 2010

Next week will be our final post for Mrs Bliss’ holiday workshops. We are delighted to bring to you my tips on:

Festive Tablescapes-A guide to true Southern style.

We had the opportunity to use Christina Strutt’s, (the owner and CEO of Cabbages and Roses) beautiful linens to show you how to get true Southern style.

Christina will be offering up her top holiday tips and I will be offering up some of the best tips to set your table with Southern grace with a little AB HOME twist.

My staff and I had a blast doing this photo shoot (see a sneak peek above) and I cannot wait to share all the fun. Be sure to follow our blog and leave a comment because we will be raffling off several

of the goodies from the photo shoot, styled by Amanda Burdge (moi) and staff of AB HOME Interiors, and photographed by Christy Bryan of Waldorf Photography here in Nashville.

Dont forget to follow the Holiday Workshop Train with our host Mrs Bliss!

Mindy Lockard Getting your stationery wardrobe ready for the holidays + a giveaway

Pemberley Collections Creating a Fall Centrepiece

The Entertaining House Cocktails to Kick off Your Holiday Season

Lily Lemon Tree In Vogue at the Tailgate Party: The Height of Chic on the Twenty Yard Line

Tatertots and Jello Thankful Garland

Lucky Life Parties Setting Up Bar and Food Stations

The Daily Basics Creating Fun Holiday Traditions – Memories You’ll Love

Housewife Bliss The Art of Wrapping

Do you need decorating assistance? Want your home to be filled with warmth and joy?

Call us about our online design services.

We offer an array of services to meet your design needs whether you live in our area, or out of state.

Click here for more info!

Don’t forget to follow us on twitter!

And become a FAN on our AB HOME facebook fanpage!

Handcrafted Halloween- How to get spellbinding decor

Designers Challenge 101: 

Top tips for decorating like a pro!

Don't forget this Friday we go live with all our decorating tips, tricks, and how-to's for decorating on shoestring budget; do it like the pros!

 Below is a list of all the designers participating: 

Traci Zellar of Traci Zeller Designs

Kelly Berg of Arte Styling

Kelly James of Design Ties

Dayka Robinson of Meditations on Life and style 

Kathy Passarette of Creative home expressions 

Amanda Burdge of Abhomeinteriors.com

Susan Snow of  Movingdesinz

Ok great, so what does this mean for you? All seven of us are decorating the same family room with a six thousand dollar budget in mind. The idea is to see how the pros take a few thousand dollars and make a room look fabulous, when done right! We will be showing pictures, products used and much more so tune in and be sure to see all the great ideas!

Now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast....

Is it me or were we just celebrating the New Year? I cannot believe that Halloween is just a few short weeks away. Fall has approached us at warp speed and it is time to get decorating! October is the best time to send shivers of delight throughout the house, and prepare for another holiday filled with ghouls and goblins. Here are some of my favorites!

Get a heads up on this Halloween:

Super easy to make. Hollow out the bottom of an eggshell, or mold from clay. Spray on an antique white paint for a base coat. Then paint with crackle paint (like Delta cream coat.) Buy little hats from a craft store, and glue on an orange nose made of felt, or paint one on. Take a sharpie and paint on a ghoulish grin and you have yourself little monsters. With a hot glue gun you can glue string on them and hang them from chandeliers, over archways, and make fun mobiles with then to hang on the porch.

Stencil your Pumpkins

Have a favorite poochie and want to show him off? Better Homes and gardens has pumpkin-carving stencils for a Happy Howloween! Click here to get yours!

DIY creepy crawlies

Everyone knows that half the excitement of trick or treating is the presentation of the entrance! Add a wicked web of scary delight by using black clothesline. Use one large eye hook to secure bottom of the web and use tacks to build and secure the design. Add a big black spider from a craft store and for extra fun add baby creepy crawlies (every craft store has them) all over your front porch, pillars and plant beds.

Source

No carve Pumpkins for the lazy at heart (me)
Take old paint from around the house, Black sharpies (add a little painters tape to help get a straight edge if you like and I recommend doing this before you dip into the sauce) and you have a plethora of decorated pumpkins. This is great for unused fireplaces, table buffets, porches, and mantel decorating.

Sources

Source

Another quick and easy way to decorate pumpkins is with tacks, and ribbon:

Sources

Candlescape your way through fall

Grab the kids and the hubs and take a stroll around the neighborhood. Gather up acorns, pinecones, seeds and plop them into a mason jar. (make sure the mason jar doesn't  have vodka in it for those who read my previous vodka post!) Insert votives of spiced orange, chai, cinnamon, and vanilla to create the smells of autumn and a beautiful holiday candlescape.

Source

A pillar of harvest

Take pumpkins and stack them into a topiary. Start large on the bottom and cap off with one thats a little smaller. Remove the tops of the bottom two to secure pumpkins placement. You can also take a steel rod or landscaping stake (both from a hardware store) to hold them more securely. For added fun take the painted pumpkins from above and stack into fun colored arrangements. Put onto an old pot and use for a festive tablescape, fireplace decoration or porch decor.

Source

Spooky candy

This is a great way to use what you have and update for the current holiday. Take existing apothecary jars, or vases, fill with candy and decorate with craft paper a haunted jar of BOOO!

Source

I love the fall season and everything it brings. This fall decorate your home with everything that reminds you of home. Fragrant candles, yummy candy, harvest decorations, good food, and of course booze!


What are some of your favorite holiday memories?

Eat, drink and be scary!

Don't forget to follow us on twitter!

And become a FAN on our AB HOME facebook fanpage!