Angelo Surmelis' Best Holiday Decor Ideas

With the holidays never too far away, it's not too soon to envision what your holiday home will look like. As the pressure and rush of the season often get hectic, professional designer Angelo Surmelis knows how to plan while keeping the decoration process low-key. With nearly 25 years of experience, including his modestly designed rugs as well as his modern HOME collection, Surmelis has a few simple ideas to keep your holiday décor within limits. According to HGTV, the "24 Hour Design" star has determined some of the best holiday décor ideas, including new approaches to lighting, limiting an overabundance of décor, and keeping it both fun and magical.

Breathe, plan, and make it simple. Discover how to make your home shine and sparkle come winter, from exploring color schemes beyond the norm to repurposing items while staying within a budget. Keep reading for some of the best holiday décor inspiration!

What holiday home isn't complete without a welcoming wreath upon the door? Wherever you celebrate the season within your house, make it intimate and unique from room to room. Design star Angelo Surmelis would agree to decorate above and beyond the entryway. Garland is a simple way to dress up the house for the holidays. Place it over a fireplace mantel, archway, staircase railing, or a dining table centerpiece. You might also add white lights to enhance these spaces, including pinecones, ribbons, and ornaments, per One Kindesign. Additionally, display a nutcracker or winter or holiday-themed statues like a bird, deer, or mini-evergreen tree.

Don't shy away from treats, either. Whether homemade or not, pick your favorites and entice your family and guests with the sweet smell of cookies baking when they enter, then offer them up in various places around the house for the taking.

The holiday dining room setting is one to remember. Whether you're having a larger dinner party with several guests or an intimate family meal, the dining room table is where your loved ones and the light of the season meet. Who says the theme must always be classic red and green, from flickering candles to shining crystal? Angelo Surmelis would agree that you can explore other colors besides the traditional. Make it simple and cool with blue. While blue might represent various holiday traditions, mix it with brown, silver, white, or gold. You might embellish a cloth napkin with a sparkling snowflake ring or add a silver charger plate to the place setting to enhance the room's sparkle and shine, via swellspace.

Bring a touch of nature and elegance into your dining room with various color combinations. White, silver, and gold are neutral choices that can be mixed with the more recognized colors of red, green, and blue. Some pairings might include gold and silver; white and gold; black and white; blue and white; and blue, green, and copper, among others.

With each holiday, there are often leftover gift bags, bows, and wrapping paper that you might hold onto for next year. These can be used to decorate or wrap your gifts or decorations for the following season while saving money. Besides bags and paper, TV design star Angelo Surmelis suggests reusing items like magazines and newspapers to make the season brighter. You might tie a ribbon into a bow as a gift topper or accent on your front door or mantel. Get creative and draw a pattern on brown paper bags using pens and glitter. Or, you can cut out a holiday image or old greeting card and place it on the front of a package or other décor item.

Accessorize and reposition items you already have throughout your home. Cluster old glass ornaments of different shapes and sizes together in a dish or bowl to display with candles or tall tapers; dining tables are a great place to showcase these pieces. You might also make an ornament wreath or a bunched or dangling ball garland. According to Factory Direct Craft, all you need is some twine or string and scissors along with the ornaments of your choice.

While decorating for the holidays is a fun annual activity, it can be a big stressful job, especially unloading it from the attic or other storage space. From baking to gift wrapping, ornaments to lights and decorations, there's plenty to keep up with, although Angelo Surmelis might suggest that doing less will give you more. Quality or quantity? There are new colors and trends each year, but you might try picking a few stand-out pieces that truly make the season shine. Another way to decorate is to choose one color scheme like silver, red, or blue rather than one too many, per Woman's Day.

Don't try to do it all yourself. Trimming the tree and placing ornaments and lights around is a highly satisfying experience when everyone participates. Make it fun. If you have kids, give them each a decorating job, whether outdoors, in their bedrooms, or in some other area of their choice.

Set the mood. As the holiday season becomes aglow with outdoor lights and downtown scenes, you can also define the night with ambient lighting inside your home. Angelo Surmelis is on board with using plug-in dimmers switches to help create a faint light from your lamps and other lights. According to Connecticut Lifestyles, dimmer controls are easy to install, as there's no need to replace your existing light switches. Whether applied by an adapter or hooked up with a remote, a plug-in dimmer will display a quiet evening while reducing energy costs. They are generally inexpensive and can be installed anywhere.

Another way to establish low lighting during the holiday season is by using candles and string lights. Along with your dimmed options, add candles and lights to places like hallways, including other centered areas like the mantel, cabinets, or dining table. A wood-burning fireplace is also a key area to keep lit and glowing with no need for bright lighting. If you have a faux fireplace or pit, place orange, white, or red string lights on some logs to create a similar fire-burning look.