3 Easy Holiday Styling Tips

3 Easy Holiday Decorating Tips

As a part of the Holiday Style Challenge here on The Home Depot Blog, we asked 11 talented bloggers to decorate their homes with holiday decorations from The Home Depot. We loved seeing how our blogger partners brought their seasonal spaces to life! We’ve pulled together our favorite easy holiday decorating tips for this season inspired by our Holiday Style Challenge partners.

Incorporating Natural Tones

Gloribell Lebron, of I Don’t Know How She Does It, styled her front porch using greens and browns. She loves the character of her 1930’s Miami home and wanted to enhance it by incorporating greenery and terracotta pots. By adding subtle décor with natural tones, she was able to create a fresh and airy space that made her small porch feel bigger.

Check out how Gloribell transformed her space here and get more holiday decorating tips!

Sara Syrett, of Twelve on Main, decorated her porch with large candy canes and a whole forest of miniature Christmas trees. The natural colors paired with wooden accents and pops of red give her space a rustic, yet festive look. Sara’s favorite design tips are to “use nature-inspired elements, keep the colors simple, and use neutrals.”

Get the full story on how Sara’s holiday traditions inspired her front porch design!

Keeping Things Simple

Leslie Davis, of Deeply Southern Home, loves coming up with simple designs for her home. To achieve an elegant and polished look, Leslie used this gorgeous garland for a statement piece. She also incorporated a “pair of lit wreaths to continue the symmetry for a perfectly balanced, welcoming traditional Christmas front door.”

Read Leslie’s Holiday Style Challenge post to learn how she DIYed those festive, red Christmas tree planters!

Laura Stewart, of Junque Cottage, wanted to let her beautiful tree shine so she kept the decor very minimal. From the perfectly wrapped gifts to the stockings hung with care, this Christmas look is perfectly simple, yet traditional.

Read more about Laura’s living room decor!

Creating Visual Depth

Megan & Stephanie, of Do It Yourself Divas, had the creative idea to use this 3-ring wreath in their mantle decor. The duo used multiple layers of décor including nutcrackers, a pre-lit garland, DIY wreath shutters and handmade stockings, to create visual depth.

Check out Megan & Stephanie’s tutorial on how to create this look!

Kendra Williams, of Momtique, paired a Snowy Pine wreath with vintage French décor pieces. She created a beautiful wintery aesthetic. From the white candles to the vintage books, each piece was carefully chosen to complement one another. By grouping objects of different heights around her mantle, Kendra’s mantle became the focal point of her room.

Read how Kendra created this beautiful winter mantlescape here!

For more DIY holiday decorating tips, see other articles in our Holiday Style Challenge series, and follow our Holiday Style Challenge board on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Holiday Decor Department for more Christmas decor.

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7 Easy Steps to Install a Marble Hexagon Tile Kitchen Backsplash

Charlotte Smith, of At Charlotte’s House, is no stranger to DIY projects. For years, Charlotte wanted to update her kitchen backsplash. Charlotte finally gave her kitchen the refresh it needed with gorgeous marble hexagon tile.

Read on for detailed step-by-step instructions on how to update your kitchen backsplash!

7 Easy Steps to a Beautiful Kitchen Backsplash with Marble Hexagon Tile

The backsplash in our kitchen had fruits and vegetables. That should give you a sense of the era in which it was installed. When we first moved in, I painted the tile to buy us some time. But, it was clear to us this summer that the backsplash had to be replaced. I opted for this small marble hexagon tile.

Step 1: Demo

I heard from lots of folks on social media that they had completely cut out the drywall and the tile that was stuck to it. Then, they replaced the drywall. But, drywall can get a little fussy. I opted to give demo a whirl to see whether the tile would come off cleanly. We had the most luck tapping a chisel scraper underneath the tile edge and gently hammering to work the straight edge behind the tile to remove it.

There were definitely places where the drywall needed some patching. Otherwise, demo was easy and the tile came away pretty cleanly.

Step 2: Patch and Prep

Before I could put up the new marble hexagon tile, I had to prep the surface. For most of the wall this meant a light coat of joint compound.

For the places where the drywall had been damaged just a little bit, I was able to apply a metal mesh drywall patch and spackle right over to repair the wall.

There was one area that needed a new section of drywall installed (you can buy a 2 x 2 sheet of drywall to avoid lugging the entire 4 x 8 sheet). I used a Dremel to cut away the rough edges and to remove the drywall back to the closest studs. Once removed, I was able to cut a new piece of drywall, screw it into the studs, tape and mud.

The last step of preparation was to grab a drywall mask, tape off the area, and to sand the joint compound smooth.

Step 3: Dry Fit

Check to make sure your counters are level. If they are, you can use them as your guideline making sure to allow an 1/8 in. gap between the counters and the first row of tile.

With the small tiles I was using, it was a little tricky to dryfit, but you’ll want to layout your tiles first just to get a sense of where you’ll need to make cuts and how you want the pattern to lie.

Step 4: Thinset

I used a premixed thinset and applied it first with a wide putty knife and then went back over with a notched trowel. Choose a trowel with grooves that correspond to the size tile you are installing.

Step 5: Apply Marble Hexagon Tile

I tried two different techniques for this backsplash and I’m still not convinced of which one I prefer.

Technique #1: For one section, I used my Ryobi tile saw with a diamond blade to first cut a straight edge on the mosaic tile.  I slowly ran the tile through the wet saw, mesh side up. Using my rubber float, I carefully pressed the tile into the thinset. I worked my way across the section in this manner, precutting the sheets of tile and pressing into the thinset. In some spots the tile ended on an open wall, so I needed a marble edge piece to keep the section clean. In others, the window trim or a corner provided a natural edge for the tile.

Technique #2: In some places, I left the edges for last so I started by installing an uncut sheet of tile with the flat mosaic edge 1/8 in. above the counter. Then I went back and individually installed singular cut pieces of tile.

Step 6: Grout

Follow instructions on the thinset package and let the tile sit for 24-48 hours. For this backplash, I opted for an un-sanded white grout and I used a powder that required me to add water and mix. I use a paddle attachment on my drill, and follow the directions on the package to achieve a grout consistency of peanut butter. For a darker grout, it is important to mix each batch the same way in order to have color consistency, but with a white grout I didn’t need to be quite as precise.

Again, I used my putty knife to spread a small section of grout onto the tile. Then I pulled my rubber float across the tile at a 45 degree angle to ‘pull’ the grout into the tile joints. Repeat until the section of tile is filled in and then go back with a sponge to wipe off any grout residue. It’s necessary to rinse and repeat a few different times with the sponge in order to remove all the grout.

Step 7: Finish

Along the counter edge and against any trim, I installed a thin bead of caulk. Across the top edge of my tile, the gap was slightly too wide to caulk but not wide enough for another row of tile. I had to cut and install a trim piece.

I love the subtle texture this marble tile brings to our kitchen. The variations of tone are lovely against our white counter and white cabinets!

Read more about backsplashes and get inspired by tile on The Home Depot Blog. Shop mosiac tile and more at The Home Depot. Follow our Kitchen Ideas & Inspiration board on Pinterest for your kitchen remodel.

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Smart Home Upgrades

Ben Uyeda from Homemade Modern takes us through his latest smart home upgrades from The Home Depot. Read on to find out how he made his home more convenient and safe with smart home technology.

Smart Home Upgrades

I recently built a new home office center and wanted to test out some smart home upgrades so that I could easily control things from this work station. Technology often frustrates me, so I wanted to make sure I was selecting components that would make life easier and not more complicated. I started by focusing on a few simple scenarios and then selecting smart home components that could achieve these. Here is how I went about the process.

Selecting the Interface

I selected the Amazon Echo system as an interface and experimented with both the Echo Show and with the smaller and more compact Echo Dot. The Show has a screen and is nice for streaming content such as movies and music in addition to providing voice activated control options. Both of these systems are easy to physically install and basically just have to be plugged in. Once it is plugged in, you can control them from your smart phone and set them up for voice control.

Controlling Temperature

By installing a programmable thermostat like the ecobee4 Smart Thermostat, I can control the temperature in my loft simply by talking to either of my echo devices or the thermostat itself. Installing this thermostat can be quite simple if your house is newer and has the right wires ready to plug into it. I suggest talking to an electrician about proper installation if you are unsure of how to do it. I like that I can say “Alexa, warm up the loft” and the Echo system will tell my ecobee4 thermostat to raise the temperature of my loft by 2 degrees. 

Controlling Lights

By installing a smart dimming switch, I can now control my lights by talking to my echo system. I installed the Caseta Dimmer switch. This can be done as a DIY project if you have basic electrical knowledge, but if you are in doubt be sure to consult a professional. I can now say, “Alexa, dim the lights” or, “Alexa, turn off the lights” to control the lights through the Caseta Dimmer Switch. 

I can also turn the lights on or off from my smart phone, which is great when I leave my house in a hurry and forget to turn them off. The Caseta Dimmer switch I got also comes with a remote control. This is awesome because I can turn the lights on or off without getting out of bed! These Wi-Fi lighting systems are amazingly capable despite how easy they are to install. I remember from my architecture days how complex and expensive it was to get comparable abilities by running endless wires through the house. Now with wireless tech it is so easy and way more affordable.

Home Surveillance and Security

I wanted a way to monitor who comes in and out of the shared entrance in my condominium so I installed the Honeywell Lyric C2 Security camera. This was a super easy install and only took about 20 minutes to do.  Here is a video of the installation process.

I like that this system comes with cloud storage and has audio and motion detection abilities. I can set the system so that I get notified anytime there is movement or sound. This also allows me to search through the video footage quickly view the footage when things where moving or making noise.  Simply recording footage is not that convenient if you have to watch hours and hours of footage to find the few moments where something happened. I can also see what’s going on in real-time from my smartphone.

Shop at The Home Depot, the home for smart homes. Check out other smart home posts on The Home Depot Blog.

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How to Style a 12 ft. Christmas Tree

Savannah Kokaliares of Classy Clutter absolutely loves sprucing up her home for the holidays. We invited her to participate in this year’s Holiday Style Challenge and sent her the 12-ft. Noble Fir to get started.

Check out how Savannah used supplies from The Home Depot to decorate her 12-ft. Christmas tree with gold tones.

How to Decorate a 12-ft. Christmas Tree

Hi friends! It’s Savannah from Classy Clutter! I am so excited to participate in this year’s Home Depot Holiday Style Challenge. It’s the absolute best excuse for decorating early and for refreshing my holiday decor! Since I’m hosting Christmas at my house this year, I thought it would be really fun to get a new 12-ft. Christmas tree and trimmings to spruce up my space for the holidays!

When Home Depot provided me with a 12-ft. Christmas tree for the challenge I knew it was going to be, well, challenging! This is the by far the biggest tree I have ever decorated but I was so happy to tackle it! I have wanted a 12-ft. Christmas tree for years but my old home didn’t have the ceiling height to allow it. One thing I loved about my new home was the tall ceilings in our family room, so this was the perfect opportunity for me. I started with the 12-ft. Noble Fir Quick-Set Artificial Christmas Tree with 1450 clear lights.

Originally I wanted to do soft, feminine trimmings on the tree until I found a variety of gorgeous gold trimmings on HomeDepot.com. I thought it would be fun to match the trimmings to the decor in my family room, which has gold metallic accents throughout. I also found some beautiful green ribbon and some natural elements like pinecones to incorporate in my design.

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Materials

These are some of the trimmings I found to use for my tree. I also picked up some pinecones at my local Home Depot.

• 10 in. Christmas Bells Decoration
• 130mm Ornaments Set in Gold (9-count)
• 12 in. Snowflake Decoration Set
• 80mm Assortment Ornament in Gold (75-Count)
• 2.5 in. Pepper Berry Lane Wired Christmas Ribbon Ornament Ribbon Assortment (20-Pack)
• 20 in. Assorted Decorative Sprays

Start with large Ornaments

First, I start with my largest ornaments and space them out evenly throughout the tree. Then I add in my smaller ornaments and bulbs.

Add Ribbon Bows

Instead of wrapping the tree in ribbon, I decided to tie little ribbon bows to different boughs all over the tree. I plan to use my left-over ribbon to wrap gifts for my family as it gets closer to Christmas. I love how it turned out!

Final Reveal

This tree is now the Christmas centerpiece of our home and my whole family loves it! It really set the tone for our holiday season and we couldn’t be more excited!

For more DIY holiday ideas, see other articles in our Holiday Style Challenge series. Follow our Holiday Style Challenge board on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Holiday Decor Department for more beautiful Christmas tree decorations. Shop for your own 12-ft. Christmas tree at The Home Depot.

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Festive Christmas Makeover with Laurel & Wolf

Amy Baesler of Her Tool Belt loves to decorate her home for the holidays, but has had a difficult time creating a cohesive look. As a part of the Holiday Style Challenge here on The Home Depot Blog, Amy used Laurel & Wolf’s holiday design services to give her living room a complete Christmas makeover.

Read on to see the process Amy went through to complete the look!

Festive Christmas Makeover with Laurel & Wolf

I’ve collected Christmas holiday decorations slowly over the years. The pieces that I have purchased are items that I like, but are not necessarily cohesive with each other. The Christmas tree kind of looked like a haphazard of this and that. Oh, and I had no idea what to do with the mantel and entertainment center. I was excited to hear that The Home Depot partnered with Laurel & Wolf, an online design service, and that I could use their services to finally get a beautiful Christmas makeover for my living room!

Holiday Design Package

Laurel & Wolf has different service packages, and one package specifically for holiday decorating. It is perfect for someone like me who doesn’t like browsing store after store for décor. The designer narrows down your style and handpicks coordinating décor for your space and provides links for you to buy it online. How nice is that!

Using the design service is easy and fun. During the initial signup, you specify your budget, the room that you want to decorate and provide at least six photos of the space, and provide links to inspirational rooms that you like. It’s all fun after that! Laurel & Wolf then assigns a designer to your room. The designer will send an initial concept board for you to look at and give feedback on. The more feedback the better, then the designer can narrow down your style. You can thumbs up or thumbs down and leave comments on any of the products or overall styles.

My concept board started off quite broad with a variety of styles. I let my designer know what I liked and didn’t like about the inspiration photos and she worked her magic and came back with ideas according to my likes.

My designer, Nadia, pinpointed my style, even if I didn’t know what my style was! I really love the natural elements of red berries and pine cones with silver and gold accents. She found some beautiful holiday decorations available online at Home Depot, that fit right into that theme.

Christmas Tree

Materials

• Red Shatter Proof Ornaments
• Silver Shatter Proof Ornaments
• Silver Ornament Set
• Gold Ornament Set
• Red Ornament Set
• Pepper Berry Lane Ornaments
• Holiday Classics Silver Jewel Tree Topper
• Gold Trim-A-Tree Gift Box
• Assorted Decorative Spray

I love oversized ornaments on Christmas trees and Home Depot has some beautiful choices in red, gold and silver. We added small ornaments and sprays (red berries, pinecones, gold leaf’s) to add variation and interest to the Christmas tree.

It turned out pretty and all the glitter helps it glow at night.

Mantel

Materials

• Snowy Silver Pine Artificial Wreath
• Snowy Silver Pine Artificial Garland
• Plush Red and White Stocking
• Silver Mercury Glass Candle Holders
• Snowman
• Silver Sitting Reindeer with Bow
• 3-Piece Gift Box Assortment
• Shatterproof Ornament Cone Tree
• White LED Flameless Candle

For the mantle, my designer found the most beautiful wreath and garland, but they were missing the red theme color. I added some red berry sprays to tie it into the tree colors. The classic red stockings really make the red accents pop.

Entertainment Center

Materials

• Dunhill Fir Sleigh
• Antique Milk Bottles Set
• Santa in Sleigh
• Lighted Winter Decor Piece
• Poinsettias

The neighboring entertainment center received a quick makeover by adding two luscious real poinsettias to the top and some fun figurines, that my kids love, to the shelves.

The holiday milk bottles are so pretty and festive.

The kids can’t get enough of this darling snowman.

Coffee Table

Materials

• Geometric Holiday Pillow
• Holiday Deer Pillow
• Holiday Snow Pillow
• Decorative Wooden Tray
• Sitting Reindeer Matte Brown

For the coffee table, my designer found this neat round wood tray and I filled it with sprays of pines, extra gold sprays from the tree, a few candles and a reindeer that sits proudly in the center.

The couch is adorned with three cute and festive pillows.

I love how my living room turned out with the help of Laurel & Wolf and all the beautiful holiday decorations from Home Depot. Attempting to decorate a space always stresses me out, with the endless discussion in my head of whether this or that will go and look good. Laurel & Wolf made the design and decorating process so easy by providing a list of what to buy, how many, and linking to the products. I can’t wait to use the service again to tackle the next room!

For more DIY holiday ideas, see other articles in our Holiday Style Challenge series, and follow our Holiday Style Challenge board on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Holiday Decor Department for more Christmas decor.

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