Believe it or not, it is not too early to start thinking about the holidays, especially when it comes to decorating.  Now, I am not recommending that you pull out the tree and start stringing the lights.  But if you are planning on hosting out of town guests or a large holiday party and the house needs a bit of sprucing up (no pun intended) now is the time to start making plans.

A decorating plan

Before you order new furniture, paint the walls or replace the carpet you need to have an overall decorating plan.  This will save you time and money and help you avoid costly mistakes.  It is fairly easy to create a plan:

• Decide which room(s) you want to redecorate
• Choose a color scheme.  You can use a piece of artwork, fabric or a picture from a magazine as inspiration.  If you are redoing just one room be sure that the room “flows” with the rest of your home’s decor when it comes to color.
• Determine just what you need when it comes to furniture, artwork, floor coverings and accessories.
• Find fabric and paint for your project.

Being organized will make it easy for you to shop for your new items.

Furniture

If your decorating plans include new furniture now is the time to start looking and place an order.  Most upholstered pieces can take anywhere from 8-12 weeks for delivery.  Fabric for reupholstery may be backordered which will result in a delivery delay.  How disappointed will you be when Thanksgiving is right around the corner and you have a beautiful table but no chairs?  How uncomfortable will your out of town guests be when they have to sleep on an aero bed because the new sofa sleeper did not arrive in time? 

Paint, upholstery and installation

You are not the only one looking to redecorate for the holidays.  This means your paint contractor, upholsterer, plumber and handyman may be very busy and unavailable to work on your project.  Starting early will insure that you get the job done. 

• Paint the walls while you are waiting for new furniture to arrive.
• Schedule your reupholstery projects and have the upholsterer pick up the pieces while you are waiting for fabric to arrive.
• Use this time to have your handyman make small repairs, hang new lighting fixtures etc.

Shop, shop, shop

While you are in the malls, antique stores and discount stores you can begin to look for those small items that will complete the room.  Stores are trying to make room for new inventory for the upcoming season and there are sales on accessories, bedding, carpet and furniture.  Now that you have a decorating plan you know exactly what you are looking for and you will not have to “settle” for something that is less than perfect.

We all know how stressful the holidays are in the best of circumstances.  If you are organized and prepared you can avoid the last minute panic that so often accompanies holiday plans.  Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!