Staging Your Home for the Holidays, Part 2

Welcome to Staging Your Home for the Holidays, Part 2. (Part 1 can be found here.)Today we are focusing on projects with mid-range time constraints. If purchases are not necessary, these steps could be done the week before your guests arrive. However, you might not realize you are missing that one essential piece until you begin, so process of thinking about your furniture, space, and lighting should start now.

Make furniture groupings: Make visiting easy and convenient over the holidays by arranging your furniture in groupings. If you have a large space, consider multiple furniture arrangements in the same room, as seen here. Use rugs, side tables, coffee tables,  to anchor the groupings.

Norcross Architects & Designers Cynthia Karegeannes, Registered Architect

Grettworks

John B. Murray Architect

Victoria Hagan

Bridgehampton Kitchen & Bath Designers Hampton Design

Get creative with the seating arrangements to add more seating to your space. Look at these awesome ideas: bar stools and console table behind the couch ...

... or a bar table in the corner of living room.

Also, look beyond what is ordinary. Consider putting furniture in rooms that typically hold a different variety of furniture.A dining table in your living room ...

Elad Gonen & Zeev Beech

And be creative with the furniture you already have. Turn a bed into more seating -- a few pillows and a throw can turn a bed into a daybed or a chaise.

Period Homes, Inc.

Consider bringing your patio furniture inside ...

Innovative Designs

Lighting

Dark rooms are a turn off (pardon the pun!) so make sure you have adequate lighting for the holidays. It's any easy fix! Expert home stagers say there should be at least 100 watts for every square foot of space, and there should be a mix of ceiling lights, floor lamps, table lamps and task lighting. Here's on Better Homes and Gardens tip: "Wall sconces can uplight walls or ceilings making rooms look bigger." (Psst. We offer a variety of finishes on our sconces, so if you're interested in one of these, you can send us an email to get more information about your choices. Contact us at stylishbeachhome at gmail dot com.)

Don't pass up the chance to make these simple changes that will transform your dining room, living room, or any other room in which your guests will be celebrating the holidays with you! Here are some products from StylishBeachHome.com that will get your creative juices flowing ... See you tomorrow for Part 3 of Staging Your Home for the Holidays.

Inkblot Test: Coastal Ceiling Lights

Ceiling lighting is an interesting thing. Like art, one piece can be interpreted many different ways.

For instance, this light fixture could be classified as modern lighting. And it is a modern ceiling light, often found right at home in contemporary or modern decor.

Intergalactic Ceiling Lamp

But when I see it, I see a moon shell.

{via}

Here is another modern light, that often finds its way into beach homes.

Sapphire Ceiling Lamp

Alone, you might look at it and wonder how the "coastal" connection could be made, but I have a guess:

Sea Urchin

Now you try. Quick!

First thing that pops into your mind:

Proxima Ceiling Lamp

Did you think of an octupus' tentacles?

You're good! Try another one ...

Sea Sponge!

Sea Sponge : : Sea Sponge detail

One more.  This one is pretty easy ...

Vector Ceiling Lamp

Ocean bubbles, obviously.

 Now for some inspiration. Check out the cool ways that modern lighting was incorporated into coastal decor.

Beach Style Dining Room by Boston General Contractors Woodmeister Master Builders

If you like this light fixture, check out the Shooting Stars Ceiling Lamp and the Blast Ceiling Lamp.

Contemporary Dining Room by New York Interior Designers & Decorators Marie Burgos Design

Eclectic Home Office by Abbotsford Interior Designers & Decorators Your Designer

Nebula Ceiling Lamp and the Symmetry Ceiling Lamp would help you get this look.

Eclectic Dining Room by San Francisco Architects & Designers Mark English Architects, AIA

Vector Ceiling Lamp and the Inertia Ceiling Lamp create this "ocean bubbles" effect.

Contemporary Dining Room by San Francisco General Contractors S. A. Baxter, Inc.

For several versions of the "sea urchin" look, take a look at the Physics Ceiling Lamp, Propulsion Ceiling Lamp, Pulsar Ceiling Lamp, Sapphire Ceiling Lamp Small, and Sapphire Ceilign Lamp Large.

So what was the point of this little exercise?  Today we learned 2 things:
1) Don't judge a ceiling light without consulting your imagination.
2) Modern lighting can be used in coastal decor that isn't necessarily modern
Class dismissed!

~Natalee

Coastal Dining Room Inspiration

Remember when it seemed that all dining rooms looked like this?  Thank goodness we have all opened our minds to something other than china cabinets, cherry wood (not to pick on china cabinets or cherry wood) and matchy watchy dining room tables and chairs.

Dining rooms come in all shapes and sizes. Heck, they can be no dining room at all, but an eat-in kitchen instead.  Tables and chairs also come in all shapes and sizes, and the trend is for the chairs and the tables not to match but to complement each other.

New York Media and Bloggers Rizzoli New York

I love the high ceilings of this one!

Other Metro Photographers Elad Gonen & Zeev Beech

Driftwood ... you know how I love it.

http://www.alexanderwaterworthinteriors.com/

This one could be a table at a restaurant, but I could also see this style done in a beach house in the city.  (This does exist!)  I'm imagining a breakfast room in a swanky apartment overlooking the ocean, with the Titus Dining table (because its a small apartment, you know) and these chairs surrounded by a wall of windows, hanging plants, pendants that will knock your socks off.

This one makes me feel happy because its so bright.  Did you notice the glass on the table? I have the same thing on my own dining room table -- smartest thing I ever did besides having my kids. Smartest thing I ever did because I have my kids. Just contact your local glass company, ask then if they do glass for furniture (some only do auto glass), give them the dimensions and they will walk you through choosing thickness and corner shape.

CoastalLiving

The dining room isn't usually the place you see nautical decor, but they did it so well here!

S. A. Baxter, Inc.

This room is a perfect example of why we have so many choices available at StylishBeachHome.com.  This light fixture is not on you might associate with a nautical theme, but we don't want to limit you in your genius!  We carry a similar one that I think would look even better (no offense, Mr. Baxter).

Sapphire Ceiling Lamp

There are so many choices to do a dining area!  I've seen so many ways our pieces have been used, it just makes me so happy.  I will show you more sometime.

Hey, don't forget to head up to the top of the right side of our page and connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter!