Monday, November 25, 2013

Ethan Allen's Holiday Workshop- {What I learned}

Welcome to Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend and are getting ready for this holiday week. We are actually staying home this year and celebrating Thanksgiving with my family. I can't wait to relax and spend some quality time with family.



I am sure some of you have already started decorating for Christmas. Some of you are probably against the thought of decorating before Thanksgiving. I have always been until this year. Because Thanksgiving is so late and we are going to be busy the next couple of weeks, we decided to start the decorating this past weekend. I will be sure to share some pictures and updates after thanksgiving.

Two weeks ago I was invited to attend the holiday workshop at Ethan Allen. Have you ever been to one of the decorating workshops either at Ethan Allen or Pottery barn? I had never been before, but thought it would be fun to get some new ideas and learn a little too!

They had a lovely spread to start the workshop off....



The first designer talked about all the new items that Ethan Allen has to offer. Below are some of my favorites:
Sunburst Mirror, Hand-blown Vase, Faux Fur Throw, Brass End Table, Footed Glass Bowl, Pearl Box


The second designer talked about decorating chandelier's for the holidays. It brings interest to a room when there is something higher than your eye level to look at. I pulled together a few examples below to get your wheels turning:






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A few designers also shared their secrets for decorating certain places in their home.

1. Choose a color scheme and use it throughout your spaces.


2. Use nature from your own yard to cut down on cost.



3. Group an odd number of objects together to create interest.

4. If you don't have a chandelier, create a tall center piece for the middle of your table using candelabras. 

I loved the idea of adding a sunburst mirror to the base of the candelabra to add a little texture and interest to your table centerpiece. 



My favorite part of the workshop was learning about decorating shelves, china cabinets and/or built-ins. I find that styling these items is a bit hard and I can never quite figure out where to place what. I absolutely love the idea of getting foam board and covering it in wall paper or wrapping paper for the holidays. It gives a little pop to your shelves and a glam look for a lot less!



If you choose to add some color to the background of your shelves, then the items you place on the shelves should be monochromatic. Using different textures and metals keeps your eye moving from one object to another.



If you aren't in to the large graphics on the back of your shelves, then your items on the shelves should have little pops of color. I love how they wrapped books in wrapping paper for the holidays and added a few colorful bulbs.






So did you gather a little inspiration from Ethan Allen's designs? I am definitely going to back my china cabinet in some kind of paper for the holidays. I think it will make my dishes pop! I also love the idea of adding a little something to my chandelier. Stay tuned...

Have a Marvelous Monday my friends!


P.S. I was not sponsored by Ethan Allen to write this post. All opinions are mine...I just love sharing them with all of you!! xoxo




2 comments:

  1. Great point about adding embellishments to chandeliers ... I have a "chandy-fan" {I DIY'ed a large drum shade attachment to an out-dated ceiling fan and call it my chandy-fan} that's above my dining table. Really didn't think I could add to the shade for the holidays but the image of the red ribbon / bow from the bottom of the chandelier has my thinking that could work. I'm gonna give it a try. Thanks.

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    1. Yes! I think that could be fabulous! Send me a pictures if you try it!

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