Stockings HUNG WITH CARE

Don’t have a mantel in your home to hang stockings from? Try these other places, so Santa can still fill them with goodies.

• TV CONSOLE. If you don’t have a fireplace as the center of your living area, it’s likely you have a TV there instead. Hang your stockings there, and they’ll still be at the center of your living spaces.

• STAIRS. This is arguably as classic as hanging them from the mantel. Wrap some tinsel and garland around the banister to complete the timeless look.

• LADDER. If you don’t have stairs, a ladder is the next best thing. In fact, not only can you hang your stockings from it at Christmastime, but you can also use it the rest of the year for blankets and other décor.

• WALL. If you’re staring at an empty space and wondering what to do with it, wonder no further. Stockings can take the place of paintings around the holidays, and if you use command hooks, there’s no need to put extra holes into the wall.

• WINDOW. Sometimes you want to show off your décor to the whole neighborhood. A window is the perfect place to do that. Hang your stockings in your front window to put them on display for visitors inside and passersby.

SEAMLESS TRANSITION

Tara is strategic when it comes to where and how she incorporates Christmas décor into her year-round design. Her approach to designing the entryway is to give guests a little taste of what’s to come as they make their way through the rest of the home. “I choose nice, clean, sleek pieces that will give my guests an idea of what they’re going to experience,”she says. The shelving and hooks on the foyer bench are a perfect canvas for the couple’s seasonal artistic expression, which means flowers in the spring and flocked trees in the winter.

The bathroom can be a trickier place to decorate for the holidays, but Tara makes it look like a breeze.

“It’s hard for people to incorporate things that aren’t functional in a place that needs to be functional,” she says. But she takes advantage of the open shelving to display subtle pieces and then focuses on keeping the rest clean and simple.

In the living room, Christmas flair comes from the presents as well as the ornaments on the tree. “Sometimes people don’t realize your wrapping paper can really be another décor element when you’re styling your home,” Tara says. She likes to pick out a solid wrapping paper or two and a couple of patterns.

The center of your guests’ dinner plates is the perfect place to display décor that doubles as party favors your loved ones can take home at the end of the night.

(bottom, right) Tara uses her bookshelves as an opportunity to showcase cute Christmas décor pieces, from trees made of different materials to houses and word art.

(opposite and above) Tara approaches her tablescape in the same way she does her tree: with layers. First comes the runner and next the greenery. “Then I go in with the taller pieces,” she says. “It draws your eyes up and gives it the elevation you always want.”