No matter what style of home you live in, holiday decorating can bring it to life. It doesn't really take that much: a garland here, a few candles there, touches of evergreens, a few spangly baubles. Whether you go for glam or for more homespun, dialed-down expressions, it's all about creating a little coziness -- something that makes it all magical for you, your family and guests.

Sounds like the jingling of bells or strains of "Silent Night" or "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas," plus aromas of pine, balsam or fir, or freshly baked cookies trigger that warm and wonderful sensation for many people.

However you light it up -- with thousands of LED sparklers, holiday cheer throughout every room of the house or with minimal punctuation -- there are plenty of places to go for direction. Some like to take cues from public spaces, such as hotels, restaurants and shops, or even city or town streets and squares -- with some scaling down for home applications.

Whether you're looking to add to your traditional decor repertoire or start fresh, there's more design advice than ever before, not only from shelter magazines but retailers with catalogs or online blogs. For those who stare at the front of their homes and don't know where to start, Pottery Barn invites: "Call us today and we can help. Free design services." Its website offers online how-to articles and videos. Wisteria has a storyboard holiday blog with suggestions, including four different ways to design a mantel. Neiman Marcus (and Pottery Barn) breaks down its decorations according to theme (like luxe lodge, classic, elegant or coastal), which makes it easier to identify the looks and colors you like.

CB2 dishes personal decorating advice from the hip design duo of Robert and Cortney Novogratz. "Every Christmas we hang a giant peace wreath on the front door to welcome our friends and family. While the design is rustic and understated, the message speaks volumes." (A lighted vine peace wreath from their collection was sold out well before Thanksgiving). And WE (West Elm) riffs on the song "Have Yourself (a Merry Little Christmas)" by inserting its own sentiment: "a holiday that's carefully crafted just for you."

Craft and curated are key buzzwords these days -- in the sense of creating a personalized look, one that at least appears to be one of a kind, something done by hand.

Flipping through a stack of holiday catalogs that could be a record weight this year, we found a number of interesting themes.

Outdoor decorating has ramped up. We've always seen the wreaths and garlands, lit and unlit. But this year, there are more options for treetops glistening. Restoration Hardware is selling what it calls starlit trees or winter wonderland trees in snow and bark or wrapped with birch. A cool alternative to green, these minimal twig-like forms, battery-lit with LEDs, are absolutely enchanting en masse. They can be used indoors or out. Grandin Road's outdoor lights include large shooting stars with light trails.

In addition, there are a surprising number of outdoor accoutrements -- kind of prop-y objects that you might see in retail displays, such as stacks of colorful presents. Grandin Road's range up to 20 1/2 inches square by 24 inches tall and these "artisan gift packages" are crafted from hand-painted, stressed wood with aged tin bows. At Neiman Marcus, there's a big sleigh that looks like molded iron, with is actually a synthetic mix. There are reindeer, and nearly life-sized figures, including a bronze-like Santa (58 1/2 inches) and a 3-foot-tall angel and nutcracker. The idea is to decorate the front stoop, veranda or steps as you might with pumpkins for Halloween, creating ambience before you step inside.

Artisan-made decorations in felt, needlepoint or fabrics that are appliqued, stenciled or beaded seem to be even more plentiful this year. They add warmth and a soft touch.

Perhaps drawing on that softness, you'll see plenty of critters -- owls and other fuzzy animals as ornaments or motifs on pillows. And reindeer are having a bigger moment than usual. The silhouette can be part of mantel or table decor; and antlered deer heads create a nice anchor for wreaths. The most over-the-top example is one 7-inch-tall reindeer studded with thousands of bronze, silver and gold Swarovski crystals; it's available at Frontgate for $4,695.

If you're taking the time and making the effort to decorate, you'd best be entertaining. One of the most fun ideas is West Elm's party in a box, offered in white with silver and gold or in bold colors. Included are statement decorations, champagne coupes, a cocktail shaker and even confetti.

Happy New Year signs may not be the only messages you see. The trend of vintage illuminated marquee letters has been translated for the season. Restoration Hardware jumped on it with PEACE, JOY and LOVE words that stand just over 13 inches tall (they start at $149). There also are green topiary style letters that spell out NOEL. At Pottery Barn, there's 3-foot scale wall art in iron with bronze finish that spells LOVE in the style of the first LOVE postage stamp in 1973. Also, your choice of real moss letters, available for $79 each. Just spritz to keep fresh.

Script also is popular on pillows, with sentiments such as "All is bright" (that looks like it has been written on a blackboard). Or "jingle," in Old English style message in red on jute, with a few bells attached for fun (both at Pottery Barn).

If your wall space is limited (or if you're looking for a more intriguing way to display decor), consider hanging something from the ceiling. The most dramatic suspension: a tree from Grandin Road (it also can be placed upside down in a stand). At CB2, a wreath converts to chandelier, with lights, ornaments and greenery laced through.

Of course, garlands on mantels, doorways and stairs in a range of decorated greens are a standard, but how about changing it up with glittery ball or felt garlands?

Dress-ups like festooning the backs of chairs have graduated from DIY fare to magnificent ready-made fabric wraps and adornments at Grandin Road. The idea of adding a bit of holiday spirit to chairs is especially appealing for kids. PB Kids has slip-on chair covers in the form of Santa hats, heads or letter holders for Mr. Claus. Wreaths of any kind also are an easy spruce-up, either on bare or slipcovered chairs.

Seasonal themes like poinsettias, winter berries, snowflakes, snowmen and trees are favorite motifs for pillows and bedding -- and changing them out for the holidays spreads the cheer throughout the house. Don't forget powder rooms and bathrooms; embroidered hand towels with traditional or whimsical motifs such as the offbeat elf or fanciful reindeers of Patience Brewster might even be teamed with a few decorations -- garlands or small ornaments hanging from a mirror.

Anything reflective adds welcome sheen to the decor. That's why metallic accents in gold, silver and copper are huge, as well as mercury glass (votive holders, bowls) and anything glittery, such as sequins and beads. One of the most mesmerizing objects of the season is what's described as a 1920s French glass cloche, available in several sizes (up to 30 inches tall) at Restoration Hardware. They're shown in the catalog and online filled with "starry string lights," teeny lights in amber on copper wire or diamond with silver wire, bundled up in a tangled web, looking as if thousands of miniature fireflies were captured within. Utterly beguiling.

Beyond the glittery, the bright and nontraditional hues are here to stay. Shuffling the deck with orange, hot pink, violet, turquoise and cobalt adds a jolt of fun, and the expansion of color palettes suits a variety of home styles. One of the more unusual wreaths is crafted with iridescent peacock feathers, glittery cedar twigs and ornaments in apple green and turquoise on a bed of leaves, cedar and myrtle. It's available at Gump's, which also sells a set of similarly hued, small, feathered trees dusted with glitter.

If you have DIY skills, a feathered wreath is the kind you might tackle yourself. Of course, Martha Stewart still is the reigning diva of stylish DIY holiday decorating. (Check out www.marthastewart.com and nose around for Christmas crafts for everything from paper snowflakes to star projects, pine cone crafts to gingerbread houses, even snow globes!) Another excellent source is Real Simple (www.realsimple.com), where you'll find, for example, details on fashioning a wreath out of kumquats, clementines and limes, colorful and sweetly aromatic. Some ideas are really simple -- filling apothecary jars, for example, with small colorful ornaments or red or green and white mints, foil-colored candies, cranberries or colored glass marbles.

When all is said and done and you're delighted with your efforts, you may want to boast about them on Pinterest or Instagram. Most of all, sit back and soak in every moment of this enchanting season.

Sources

-- Ballard Designs, 800-536-7551 www.ballarddesigns.com

-- CB2, 800-606-6252, www.cb2.com

-- Crate and Barrel, 800-967-6696, www.crateandbarrel.com

-- Garnet Hill, 800-870-3513, www.garnethill.com

-- Grandin Road, 866-668-5962, www.grandinroad.com

-- Frontgate, 888-263-9850, www.frontgate.com

-- Gump's, 800-284-8677, www.gumps.com

-- Olive & Cocoa, 800-538-5404, www.oliveandcocoa.com

-- Pottery Barn, 888-779-5176, www.potterybarn.com

-- Pottery Barn Kids, 800-993-4923, www.potterybarnkids.com

-- Restoration Hardware, 800-910-9836, www.restorationhardware.com

-- West Elm, 888-922-4119, www.westelm.com

-- Williams Sonoma, 877-812-6235, www.williamssonoma.com

-- Wisteria, 800-320-9757, www.wisteria.com

Sidebar

HOMESPUN FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Handcrafted objects have gained traction in home design in the last few years, so it's not at all surprising that they are showing up more and more in holiday decor. From elegant hand-beaded tree skirts to rustic patchwork to whimsically appliqued stockings, some are so beautiful that they can become family heirlooms. At the high end, there's the magnificent 64-inch rust-colored beaded tree skirt by Kim Seybert at Neiman Marcus ($545). Or richly embroidered and beaded Jay Strongwater stockings ($450; www.jaystrongwater.com).

As antiques can be a buffer in ubermodern spaces, well-chosen crafted pieces can shine, especially in minimal interiors where decorations are moredialed down. That's where a bit of color, glitter and something soft can be fun.

CAPTIONS AND CREDIT

(NOTE: These photos are for ONE-TIME use ONLY. At Home photos, with the proper credits, are to be run ONLY with At Home stories. Conversion to black and white is OK.)

(For editorial questions, please contact Clint Hooker at chooker@amuniversal.com or the Universal Uclick Editorial Department at -uueditorial@amuniversal.com)

If you're stressed out about holiday entertaining, relax. Styles in home design are trending to simpler, more casual, more modern -- and that applies to the table as well.

How you entertain, of course, may be a matter of your personal style. There's a camp that's locked in to tradition, say, for decorating the Christmas tree or setting the Thanksgiving table. Year after year, there are some who just won't deviate: same menu, same dinnerware, perhaps something passed down in the family, same kind of centerpiece.

Yet there are others who prefer to shake things up, who can't resist introducing something new: a tureen, a platter, napkin rings, linens -- just like tweaking an outfit with a fabulous new scarf.

Still another group may opt to totally refresh, like purchasing a whole new wardrobe, doing a 180, perhaps lightening up from tight formality and traditional plate patterns and going rogue with edgy or modern dinnerware punctuated by playful, whimsical touches.

While dress-up luxe looks are ever-present, especially toward Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations, there's also a less-buttoned-up approach with an emphasis on cozy and comfortable, reflected in many shelter publication features and the on the pages of retail catalogs.

In the October issue of Southern Living magazine, photographer Helen Norman showed off her own autumn table in a barn in the rolling countryside of Maryland.

"This particular table setting is a good example of where consumers are now," says Southern Living's editor in chief, Lindsay Bierman. "They're much more into the mix of high and low than older generations. There's an interest in casual entertaining, but still a desire to have a table that reflects family tradition, (while at the same time) making it their own."

So Norman brings an unexpected palette of blue and white (her late mother's china) to her lovely fall table," a mix of rustic and refined. It's still really pretty, rooted in tradition, but it reflects her home, not just her mother's."

Vintage plates shine on a country table as well as with stark, modern dinnerware in white or the popular taupey shades of today. Some of the painterly seasonal motifs that almost appear watercolored can be striking as accent pieces. Inspiration derives from a myriad of sources, including English lodge style, with porcelain plates decoratively rimmed by a border of curving antlers at Pottery Barn. At Crate and Barrel, a snowflake motif is fired with a reactive or "living" glaze, which also promotes a crackling in the pattern. There are also the quirky doodlings on porcelain "Oliver" appetizer plates: childlike black and white "sketches" that show a frenzied figure juggling holiday gifts or one holding a string of jelly bean lights with strategic hues that look like pages from coloring books.

An especially fresh treatment, also on Norman's table, is allowing the wood of the table to be exposed, save for a runner. Table runners nicely set off centerpieces, and these days, it's popular to do multiples or an uninterrupted display scattered seemingly randomly down the center of the table rather than a single, central arrangement.

Lots of bare wood "is an intentional choice meant to convey that casual feel," says Bierman. "And I love combining fruit and flowers. Fruit is a really nice way to add instant color."

Consider the kind of "props" that layer in texture and color, such as colorful turkeys, pumpkins or ornaments in a wide range of materials from feathers to metal to glass or woven rattan. And even if bling's not your thing, a little sparkle can add magic. Some of this year's pumpkin crop is glittery, in a variety of expressions. Consider beaded placemats or napkin rings, even trees crafted from crystal beads, or beaded garlands threaded through a chandelier. Along with candles, they'll light up a room.

By all means, use lots of candles. They add immeasurable glow and a romantic ambience to the table. Votives, pillars and tapers cohabit nicely, as well as vintage with modern. Some of the metal finishes, especially warm golds, are emerging as new favorites in home design, and mercury glass has practically become a staple. Try unusual shapes, such as gourd luminaries from Pottery Barn that look like carved pumpkins with lacey cutouts.

Strategic shots of coordinated color are a tabletop fashion statement. A red tablecloth may compete with your interior, but imagine pristine white, with napkins bordered in red, red glass vases filled with red and white flowers and white candlesticks with red tapers. Never boring. Ditto with almost any hue played this way -- tapped as a bold accent in a neutral vignette, just as stylists draw out key colors in punching up interiors for photography.

Look to nature for unexpected palette pairings: Orange and aubergine, inspired by ornamental cabbages, are rich together. In fact, you might include some of those cabbages on the table, along with branches of bittersweet or Chinese lanterns.

Linens, of course, can be snowy white or natural. Some have subtle patterns, such as an overlay of snowflakes on natural linen cloth that also has a silvery sheen, at Crate and Barrel. There are some fabulous prints as well as embellished solids. Beading and embroidery can dress up runners, placemats and napkins. One option at Williams-Sonoma features harvest themes crewel-stitched on vivid burnt orange cotton; even the napkins sport a single leaf. At Pottery Barn, there are linens with dimensional pumpkin embroidery as well as chocolate cotton decorated with delicate crewel stitches in a rich palampore print -- a nod to hand-painted Indian motifs from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Add your own signature by tying napkins with ribbon, yarn, woven tape, and perhaps tucking in a sprig of greenery or a leaf. You might even decorate linens with your own borders. Or just for fun, add small jingly bells to the corners of napkins or runners.

The idea of place cards might seem old-fashioned, but not if you're creative. Combine the marking with a takeaway for guests. Helen Norman simply gathers leaves from her yard and writes guest names with a gold pen. A gift box, an ornament, a pretty cellophane-wrapped container with homemade goodies -- are not only nice gestures, but they can be key to the table tableau.

Dressing the table may well reflect how you dress for the occasion.

"And that might not necessarily be Sunday best," says Bierman. "But in a way, that shows your guests -- friends and family -- that you've made an extra effort. That makes the whole thing more memorable."

After all, that special hospitality and good cheer, expressed as part of the decorating ambience, as well as the warmth that comes from hosting, are what make holiday entertaining a standout -- an occasion to remember.

Sources

-- Crate and Barrel, 800-967-6696, www.crateandbarrel.com

-- Pier 1 Imports, 800-245-4595, www.pier1.com

-- Pottery Barn, 888-779-5176, www.potterybarn.com

-- West Elm, 888-922-4119, www.westelm.com

-- Williams Sonoma, 877-812-6235, www.williamssonoma.com

-- Wisteria, 800-320-9757, www.wisteria.com

SIDEBAR

EXTEND TABLETOP DECOR TO OTHER SURFACES

Setting a beautiful table for the holidays is just one ingredient of the decor recipe. Creating an equally captivating tablescape at a sideboard or on a fireplace mantel is as simple as weaving in elements of the season, including autumn leaves, fresh cut hydrangeas or cuttings of evergreens from the garden. Don't forget the icons of the moment: turkeys, pumpkins, trees, angels, reindeer, Santas and sleighs.

-- Beads and bling can lend a glamorous vibe, but they're especially intriguing when teamed with more rustic or homespun elements.

-- Novelties such as special plates to mark an occasion can handsomely complement existing dinnerware. Choose on-trend graphic designs such as scripts that spell out a warm message or playful images of reindeers or architecture.

-- Painterly images or scenes distinguish dinnerware and serving pieces for the holidays. Turkeys, botanical pumpkins, snowbirds on branches with pine cones are favorite motifs.

-- Symbols of the season abound, including small pumpkins, gourds, bowls full of pine cones, trays of Christmas or Hanukkah cookies, tiered plates packed with greenery and pretty wrapped gifts for guests.

CAPTIONS AND CREDIT

(NOTE: These photos are for ONE-TIME use ONLY. At Home photos, with the proper credits, are to be run ONLY with At Home stories. Conversion to black and white is OK.)

(For editorial questions, please contact Clint Hooker at chooker@amuniversal.com or the Universal Uclick Editorial Department at -uueditorial@amuniversal.com)

Stairs, like hallways, are pass-throughs, a means of getting from one space to another -- more specifically, from one level to another. Not that they can't be handsome -- even drop-dead -- architecturally. Think about those magazine beauty shots that show elegant circular stairs shot from the top looking down or from the ground looking up, often to fanciful skylights or chandeliers.

But most stairs are, well, pretty generic: wood in natural stains or painted, dressed perhaps by fancier rails, newel posts or spindles.

For those who dare, however, stairs are superb candidates for decorating. The kind of decorating that pops. Engages. Makes all the design difference in a space.

"One thing we like to do as designers is to take spaces that are overlooked and make them marvelous," says Jason Oliver Nixon, partner with John Loecke in the firm Madcap Cottage. "Why should a stairway just be a means to an end? Why not make it a journey?"

Nixon and Loecke have painted, stenciled and installed runners that convert stairs from "mundane to wow."

"Some clever design tricks actually make some houses appear to be much larger," says Nixon. "When a stairway becomes a room, there's a sense of progression and the pace of a home changes."

There are plenty of ways to step up the look of stairs. One of the easiest is with runners, often a dress-up, finishing touch, not to mention a way to acoustically soften and cozy the surface underfoot. The safest route is with traditional applications -- Oriental, small-scale floral or quiet geometric styles, more often than not in subdued hues. Or solid neutrals with borders, either tone-on-tone or contrasting.

When Wilmington, Del.-based designer Renee deVignier Biery took on a spacious foyer she opted for a cohesive strategy -- one that involved custom designs for a pair of area rugs anchored by bold medallions with fretwork borders and a running mate on the stairs echoing those bands. A happy shade of high-gloss coral walls is set off with white moldings and vibrant cobalt blue accent in a collection of vintage Chinese-export porcelain displayed in a built-in cupboard. So for the wool-tipped sheared carpets, all the key hues are brought into play. The fretwork was sparked by the Chinese Chippendale design, often used in needlepoint.

But consider for your stairs a stroke of edginess. A kicky stripe. A flamboyant megawatt floral. Dazzling color! Instantly, the plain staircase morphs into a spectacular focal point.

More of the less-buttoned-up looks tend to be less formal. A blue-and-white awning stripe, for example, has a beachy, cottagey vibe. A loomed flat-cotton weave, such as one available from the Dash & Albert rug company, lends a casual, sporty look. On the other hand, a microhooked wool runner splashed with larger-than-life blooms brings in the garden, in a totally unpredictable way.

Painting a staircase can dramatically alter its personality. When wood isn't necessarily distinguishing enough in grain or color to spotlight, designers often opt for painting stairs out in black, matte or lacquer finish. It's a simple, elegant look, often contrasted with white risers and spindles. Off-white or a color brightens a space, especially with a robust divergence in wall color.

Try an ombre effect -- yes, like the hair-color trend that gradates from dark roots to lighter ends, using the several shades of the same color on a paint chip. Or you can create the effect of a runner with paint, even with a bit of pattern, such as a stripe. Paint companies such as Pratt & Lambert and Benjamin Moore, among others, like to show the kinds of options possible and offer pointers on finishes designed for durability.

These days, some homeowners are getting a bigger rise out of the risers themselves. This is not unusual in the Southwest or in countries such as Mexico, Morocco, Greece and Turkey, where decorative tiles often are installed on the non-tread parts of stairs. No matter what the background -- terra cotta or white stucco -- ebullient patterns, usually strong geometrics or stylized florals, positively pop and add to the architecture even in the plainest of applications.

Tile in sizes close to the height of the risers effectively frames its entire pattern. But smaller scale, even mosaics can work. We've seen mosaics in iridescent hues, such as watery blue greens, that add unexpected luster. Mirrored mosaics lend a glam vibe, in the same way silver and gold leaf do on ceilings.

Patterns on risers are especially dramatic when the backdrop is simple, clean and modern. One of the most striking catalog covers in recent years is from Serena & Lily, a home decor site with a retail store in the Hamptons. The company is known especially for its fabrics and bedding. In an all-white setting -- stairs, railings, wainscoting and walls -- designers cut from lengths of eight different graphically patterned fabrics in a palette of deep blue and white, one with vivid accents of coral, and adhered them to risers. Effect: totally original and artistic.

So the DIY quotient, not surprisingly, has ramped up and an amazing range of creativity, often with results posted on Pinterest or websites like Houzz (www.houzz.com) or Apartment Therapy (www.apartmenttherapy.com). One posting of a creative spruce-up featured four different modern patterned wallcoverings left over from projects. The homeowner, Vancouver designer Jennifer Scott, took it a step further: She added vintage address numbers as a whimsical way for her daughter to interact with the space while learning to count. One tip: Scott used double-stick tape instead of glue.

Or check out removable wallcoverings, which some call "slipcovers for walls." Libby Langdon's Chic Chevron pattern for Casart Coverings (www.casartcoverings.com) is an attention grabber. It comes in sailor blue, totally teal, orange fire and silver gray. Brewster's WallPops (www.wallpops.com), especially the "happy chic, groovy graphic " designs from Jonathan Adler, also would rock the risers.

Clever installs include using leftover patterned linoleum, chalkboard paint, house numbers, decals, text (from inspirational quotes to Bible passages to just funny stuff), and even metal grates. Years ago, some magazines featured the use of anaglypta as a riser cover. The embossed patterns, which come in a range of motifs, mimic tin ceiling tiles often employed at the dawn of the 20th century. Come to think of it, you could actually cut vintage tins to fit.

Nailheads could be another cool, fashion-inspired idea, one replicating the studs so prevalent on handbags, shoes and leather jackets. Several years back, one imaginative woman took a bottle cap collection in a rainbow of colors and painstakingly applied them in perfect rows to risers, a look that well suited her eclectic Arts and Crafts-style Chicago home.

One craft gaining a lot of attention is stenciling, mostly because companies such as Royal Design Studio are providing stunning patterns, and dishing plenty of how-to advice. Whether it's simply black on white or complex combinations of colors that really resemble those multicolored ethnic ceramic or concrete tiles, the possibilities are pretty much limitless when you factor in your fave color schemes.

Pretty much the sky's the limit, from smart tailored motifs to bling-y to pop and from op-art graphics to rustic, country or elegant traditional. Heck, you could even go a little romantic with an old-fashioned hydrangea floral or even a toile.

Put on a happy stair face. As long as the colors and patterns complement spaces in the same ZIP code, it should be a stairway to style.

Sources

-- Benjamin Moore, 855-724-6802, www.benjaminmoore.com

-- Dash & Albert Rug Co., 800-658-5035, www.dashandalbert.com

-- deVignier Design, 302-652-3490, www.devignierdesign.com

-- Farrow & Ball, 888-511-1121, us.farrow-ball.com

-- Madcap Cottage, 917-513-9143, www.madcapcottage.com

-- Royal Design Studio Stencils, 800-747-9767, www.royaldesignstudio.com

-- Vives Ceramica: for the very latest information, visit Tile of Spain USA, 305-446-4387, www.tileofspainusa.com

CAPTIONS AND CREDIT

(NOTE: These photos are for ONE-TIME use ONLY. At Home photos, with the proper credits, are to be run ONLY with At Home stories. Conversion to black and white is OK.)

(For editorial questions, please contact Clint Hooker at chooker@amuniversal.com or the Universal Uclick Editorial Department at -uueditorial@amuniversal.com)