Holiday Decorating Ideas from Benita of Chez Larsson

I’m super excited to turn over the blog today to Benita of the inspiring blog Chez Larsson. Benita and I “met” via the blogosphere a couple of years ago and became fast friends as we share a lot of common interests. Last year Benita put together a bonus handout for my online workshop Get Organized for the Holidays (this workshop is now available in ebook format) and spent two weekends with us online answering questions, checking out photos from workshop participants, and basically just inspiring all of us with her ideas and suggestions. We all had so much fun that Benita has agreed to come back again this year. (Woohoo!) So, I thought it would be fun for you to get to know Benita a bit and get a peek into what she’s going to be sharing with us in the workshop. I hope you enjoy! Thanks Benita for blogging here today!

When do you start to think about decorating for the holidays? What’s the spark?

I think about the holidays all year around actually because it’s part of my job as visual merchandiser but I start thinking about the holidays for more private reasons around September when it gets chillier here in Sweden. Then right about now I’m craving holiday inspiration and am always super pleased that the stores bring out the decorations right about now.

Where do you find inspiration for holiday decorating?

I like to save some magazines’ holiday issues from the previous year and around September I start flipping through them. I also go to the archives of my favorite blogs and re-read their holiday posts. Oh, Martha is a huge inspiration too, online and the magazine!

Storage space is such a premium for so many of us, where do you store your decorations when they’re not on display?

I have a few boxes in the storage room of my basement where I keep decorations. I have one box marked “Advent” and it’s the one I start out with in late November and it contains the early decorations such as advent candle holder (Swedish tradition) some string lights and a few other bits and pieces. The other boxes get opened around mid December when the tree goes up.

Do you change the styles and colors of your holiday decorations over the years?

I do! I rarely repeat my decorations exactly as last year but I don’t go buying a lot of new stuff either. I just don’t use it all every year. One year I might skip the red and go all white and the next year I bring the red out again and the third year mix the red with aqua and so on.

What’s one decoration you display year after year?

I don’t think I have one of those I-have to-display-this-or-it’s-not-Christmas-things. I’m not a very sentimental person :). 

When it comes to decorating for the holiday, what tips do you have for keeping it simple yet festive?

Don’t spread it out in every nook and cranny of your house. It’s going to be a nightmare to put up, take forever to take down and be a chore to keep clean. Instead pick out a few places such as the mantelpiece, on and around the dining table, the stair railings, the kitchen window and sill. And keep it simple; don’t display everything you have just because you have it. Maybe Santa no.35 can take a well deserved rest this year and do a come-back next.

Can you give readers a sneak-peek into what you’ll be sharing in Get Organized for the Holidays?

I will share some of my simplest and easiest holiday décor ideas. I’ll also share a few tricks of my trade such as how to group items in an eye-pleasing way which may come in handy when you decorate you mantelpiece or your side table for the holidays.

Thank you, Benita! I look forward to seeing you online soon. 🙂