Do you ever see homes decorated for the holidays so much that almost everything is in holiday colors? Many homes show Christmas decorations, but very few include furniture and accessories as part of the decorations. Would you like to do that, without really having two of everything? Or maybe you'd like to decorate more for another season? Well here are some ideas and secrets, so that you can do this in YOUR home without completely redecorating all the time!

The secret is to make small items in your home interchangeable or alterable for different seasons. That way you'll have several variations of the same decorating theme. You'd be surprised what a difference can be made by little things here and there!

The first thing to do is to decide how far you want to go. Do you just want to have a holiday variation, and use the other for January through November? Or would you like to have a different variation for Christmas, Winter after Christmas, Spring/Summer, 4th of July, and Fall? You choose how many variations you want to develop, and follow the same procedure for each.

Now consider your decorating color scheme. Which colors can be used and emphasized in your new alternate decorating theme? Floral colors are usually used for Spring and Summer, darker colors for winter, and red, green, blue, mauve, burgundy, gold, and silver for the holidays. But feel free to use whatever you want in your variations. Also consider darker or lighter shades of color.

Write down a list of each color used in your decorating scheme. Don't forget to include all your accent colors. Make a column to the left for each variation you want to create. Now figure out which colors should dominate your decorating variation(s). Put a "1" in the proper column for any colors that would work well as a major color for that variation. Put a "2" for any colors that would work well as accent colors for that variation. Now you've got a clear list of ideas to work with.

For example... I have decorated my living room in beige, tan, sage, and mauve focal colors, but there are also small accents of darker greens, burgundies, and golds. I want to create a holiday variation right now. The darker green and burgundy will work great as my Christmas colors, so I put a "1" beside them in the Christmas column. I don't like the gold as much, so I'll use that only as a Christmas accent color. So I put a "2" beside it.

Now that you've figured out what your alternate color scheme(s) will be, and you've got your thoughts written down in an easy-to-read chart, it's time to get to work incorporating them! Let's go around the house room by room, and look at ways that your alternate colors can be brought out. Since Christmas is coming, and we need examples, let's assume that we're decorating for the holidays, and we're going to use burgundy, hunter green, and gold as our alternate color scheme, for Christmas.

Let's start in the living room and/or family room:

• Look at the pictures you have on the wall. Are any of them matted? How would burgundy or hunter mats look instead? You could even double mat the picture with both burgundy and gold! How about those that aren't matted? Do you have some that aren't winter-looking at all? Why don't you see if you can find a different picture to put in that same frame over the holidays? Maybe a calendar picture would work.
   
• How about your furniture... let's add a touch of Christmas color to it. Do you have throw pillows on your sofa? How about putting temporary zippered or pocket pillow covers over them in holiday colors? Many fabric and craft stores have no-sew 'pocket' or 'envelope' pillow covers that are easy to make.
   
• Do you live in the Northern Hemisphere? It conveniently gets cold at Christmas-time, so let's get some throw blankets in our Christmas colors! Drape them over the back of your sofa and love seat, or hang them on a quilt rack.
   
• What about your knick-knacks and decorative accents? Perhaps it would work well to put some of them away and replace them with Christmas figurines, dolls, bears, or Santas for the holidays.
   
• Do you enjoy scented candles? Get new candles in Christmas colors and styles.

Next, the dining room:

• Get some holiday place mats and/or a tablecloth to dress up the table.
   
• Holiday napkins and napkin rings are always festive.
   
• Do you have a glass-front china cabinet? Get another set of holiday napkins and have fun decorating with them in the china cabinet. Drape one over a shelf, tuck another in a teacup, and fold another so it's resting in a bowl or adorning a plate.

On to the kitchen... you spend most of your time in here, right? So why not make it cheery for the holidays?

• See if you can find some holiday drawer pulls and/or cabinet handles to use during the holidays! They're generally inexpensive and easy to replace.
   
• Get some cheery holiday dishtowels to use, and hang a few around your kitchen for display.
   
• Tie some bows around your canisters, utensil holders, or anything else you like. Or use a small length of ribbon to tie on a cinnamon stick and a sprig of artificial greenery.
   
• Maybe an extra flirty gold ruffle peaking out from under your kitchen valance would add some holiday cheer.
   
• Holiday light switch covers are fun and easy to replace, too. You can get the clear kind and insert any wrapping paper or fabric you want, too!

How about your bathroom?

• Wouldn't a holiday shower curtain be fun?
   
• Switch your soaps so they're holiday colors.
   
• You can switch out pictures and mats in here, too.
   
• Don't forget decorative holiday towels!

Want to drift off to sleep to dreams of Christmas?

• Add a few Christmas throw pillows to your bed! Extra pillows will visually 'warm' the room and are an easy way to add color.
   
• Want to go a little farther? Get a holiday duvet cover for your current comforter. Want to go all out? Get a whole new bedding set!
   
• Add some Christmas cheer to your windows... replace those boring tiebacks with big bows in your Christmas colors!
   
• Can you do anything with your pictures?
   
• Perhaps a table scarf or holiday runner on your dresser would add a nice touch.

Go through any other rooms in your house, and see if any of these ideas will work there, too! If you're decorating for a different occasion, such as spring, or Thanksgiving, the same ideas will work, just use the alternate color scheme you chose for that occasion, and adjust the ideas accordingly.