Ask the Expert Handy Holiday Decorating Tips from a Big Red Designer Stories You May Like The Healing Power of Music Meet the Overtons—A Big Red Family for Six Generations Cornellian Crossword: ‘Fall Festivities’ As you’re readying your home for the festive season, keep these simple—and sustainable—ideas in mind Editor's note: When we first ran this story in 2022, we received multiple requests to illustrate the tips with photos—so we have updated it for the current holiday season! By Beth Saulnier Senior lecturer Rhonda Gilmore, MA ’95, is a longtime teacher of design in the College of Human Ecology—and as her neighbors in the nearby Village of Cayuga Heights know, she’s an ace at decorating her home for the holidays. Cornellians tapped her for some simple tips on how to make the festive season fabulous. Embrace sustainable décor “If possible, try not to buy anything; incorporate natural materials—things like pine cones, evergreen boughs, and holly branches—as much as you can. Not only are they sustainable, they bring the outside in—at a time of year when many of us are stuck inside.” Gilmore has taught human-centered design at Cornell for nearly three decades. (Provided) Get out your glass “Take natural materials like cranberries or dried orange slices and put them in apothecary jars or canning jars. When you put something in glass, there’s an immediate signal: ‘that must be something special that deserves my attention.’” Candles set the mood “Candlelight is soft, and it’s not static. As humans, when we came out of the caves, we were used to walking under trees, or having the sun go behind clouds. But in the built environment, lighting doesn’t change much. So it’s important to provide a light source that has some variability. Of course, if you use natural elements like pine cones and tree boughs, you would not want to use candles close to them.” Add lights to a scene with vintage toys for that warm glow. Light up with luminaria “Candlelight within a paper bag—that glow that happens when the light through the bag reflects off the snow—can be a great way to line a driveway or sidewalk when you’re having an event. People are safely led to your front door, and it’s festive. It signals, ‘we’re having a party; this is a special event.’” Add small seasonal elements to existing family décor. Look for ‘softer’ LED lights “Almost every string of lights these days is an LED. And it’s fabulous for energy savings, but it’s pretty harsh. So if you can, look on the package for a high CRI, or ‘color rendering index’; 100 means it looks as close to natural sunlight as possible. With a higher CRI, the lights on your tree will have a warmer look and be less piercing to the eye.” Try some tree lighting hacks “Wrap a string of lights around the trunk; you can then put ornaments closer in, and they’ll be illuminated on all sides. Also, rather than taking the string and walking around the tree, put an extension cord a third of the way up the trunk; all the light strings can be plugged in there. Then, take each string and pull it out to the exterior of the tree and run it up and down, almost like a condensed sound wave.” A mini-creche collection and a few added natural touches can bring décor to any room in the house. Give your tree the squint test “When you stand back and squint, you’re able to see if all those little lights are evenly distributed. Where do you have a hole? Where is it not illuminated? Where do you need to add more lights or move them around?” Stories You May Like The Healing Power of Music Meet the Overtons—A Big Red Family for Six Generations Incorporate natural materials—things like pine cones, evergreen boughs, and holly branches—as much as you can. Use solar ‘up lighting’ “It’s one of the most dramatic and effective ways you can light a house—because when you put a light source below eye level, it’s immediately eye catching. You can use these to light a wreath on your front door, roping along a railing, or conifer trees in your yard.” Incorporate antique or repurposed objects “I use Christmas books and vintage toys—like fire trucks and small stuffed animals—in my decorations. It not only brings in a historical element, but it’s a great talking point. I’ve also seen people decorate with old musical instruments, like a distressed tuba or a violin with no strings.” Add faux snow and lights under an antique toy and a pinecone tree for a classic look on a shelf or mantle. Put (electric) candles in the windows “When you’re inside the house, it doubles the light; you can see the reflection of the candles on the glass. And if you have storm windows, you see two lights reflected.” Inhale nature’s aromatherapy “If you decorate with pine boughs, it brings the scent of pine into the house. Another of my favorites is to take oranges and insert whole cloves into them in a spiral or grid pattern. Seasonal spheres: popcorn balls, plus oranges with added cloves. Not only is it a natural decoration, but it provides wonderful aromatherapy. They can go on a mantle, a windowsill, a table—really anywhere—and last for two to three weeks. You can also bake them in the oven at 350 for about half an hour, then put them in your punchbowl to keep hot cider warm.” Get creative (and green) with wrapping “I’ve used recycled maps or newspaper as gift wrap. Or I’ve used plain brown craft paper and decorated it with stamped designs; I make my own stamps carved out of potatoes, but you could also use a rubber stamp. If I do buy gift wrap, I make sure it’s made in the U.S., which has standards for the safety of ink used in printing.” Natural elements like leaves and berries add seasonal color to centerpieces. Make simple centerpieces “I use natural elements—often branches of some kind—with votive candles mixed between them. I also put votives in cut glass. It has all those facets, so it changes the light and looks continually different.” Top: Illustration by Cornell University; photos by Joe Wilensky / Cornell University (unless indicated). Published December 7, 2022; updated December 13, 2023 Comments Pam Hanna, Class of 1975 13 Dec, 2022 Great tips from an amazing human! Thank you, Rhonda! Reply Michaline Bruyninckx, Class of 1979 13 Dec, 2022 I would love to see pictures. They would have enhanced this article. Reply Sharon, Class of 1985 13 Dec, 2022 Agree. Want pics. Reply neva frank, Class of 1988 13 Dec, 2022 Love the repurposing and using natural/found objects. I re-mix my berry sprigs, ribbons, pinecones, greenery every year for centerpieces, wreaths and indoor swags – so always something new (but cheap and sustainable)! Reply Beth McKinney, Class of 1982 14 Dec, 2022 Great ideas Rhonda – you missed one. Put a toy train down the middle of your dining table. I heard you did that recently, and it sounds so fun! Reply Erica Dawson, Class of 2003 14 Dec, 2022 What a fun and useful article! Thanks for the ideas, and I second the call for pictures for inspiration! I’m off now in search of an antique baby rocker that I’ve had for years and never found any use for. 🙂 Reply Judy Wood 14 Dec, 2022 These are great tips! Thank you so much for publishing this article. Reply Annette Marquis 14 Dec, 2022 I enjoy wrapping gifts with homemade cloth gift bags that are easy to sew and enhanced with beautiful string, chord, twine. They are reusable and machine washable if made from a retired shirt, jeans, sheet, etc. Reply Mary Grainger, Class of 1979 16 Dec, 2022 One year I bought holiday pillowcases to use instead of wrapping paper or bags, and I know those family members have used them as pillowcases, for holiday decorating, and for gift giving. I’m sure Rhonda was my inspiration for that as well as many other things in life! Thanks to her neighbor Beth for shining a light on her creativity! Reply Renee Dake Wilson, Class of 1992 9 Nov, 2023 OK! I’m on it – especially the wrapping paper of old drawing sets. Thank you for so many great ideas. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Campus & Beyond In the Hill’s Natural Dye Garden, A Rainbow of Color Is in Bloom Storytime with Corey The Most Iconic Cornell Tradition: Cheering Big Red Hockey in Lynah! Campus & Beyond The Notable Lives Behind (Seven More) Big Red Buildings