It’s the time of year when holiday decorating ideas are on the minds of Wichita homeowners. As the holiday season approaches, rearranging and redecorating are on many to-do lists to make room for entertaining family and friends. Whether you’re just looking to add a touch of glamour to a certain spot or completely redo a room, holiday decorating ideas that make use of sentimental items will help you add a personal touch to every area.

How to Use Sentimental Items for Your Decor

It can be tempting to walk into a store and take an entire display as-is, but that can be a bit impersonal. By hand picking sentimental items and placing them in the most lived-in areas of your home, you can create a more inviting space. Try to add more sentimental pieces that are able to trigger memories about a certain time or event, connecting you with the happy memories associated with these pieces: Think about including pictures, or maybe a keepsake that you picked up while on vacation or while running errands with a friend. When you’re surrounded by pieces that make you smile, your space will feel more homey for you and your guests.

Keep these five key points in mind when decorating with sentimental items

1. Play with scale. Scale is important to remember when incorporating any pieces into your home. Try to use large objects, as well as the smaller knickknacks that are more easily found in your home. Some ways you can experiment with scale include enlarging your favorite photos or hanging a map of the Biltmore you visited last summer.
2. Refurbishing furniture to match your holiday color scheme. Consider refurbishing heirloom furniture that’s been in your family, an outside table that your grandfather built for the garage or a side table from your great-grandmother, for example. These pieces do not need to necessarily be antiques, but by placing them in your home, you are adding layers to the design.
3. Picking conversation starters. Concentrate on decorating with these sentimental pieces in rooms where you spend lots of time with guests — the dining room, for instance. These pieces double as conversation starters when your guests notice how unique your decor is.
4. De-clutter flat surfaces. On the other hand, if you overcrowd your home’s surfaces with too many sentimental items, you’ll overwhelm your decor and fail to highlight the individual pieces. So curate carefully. Strategic storage can help: By placing items in easily accessible storage containers, you can easily change your decor throughout the seasons, and highlight individual pieces.
5. Personalize it. If you’re just starting out as a homeowner, and haven’t built up a treasure trove of an attic or garage yet, you can always add a more personal touch by using an item that features your initials. Adding a personalized touch or a monogram to your pieces makes them more interesting and allows you to have more of a connection to the item.

Image Source: Flickr/Brad Wilson

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