Give Your Home A Makeover For The Holidays: Update Your Linens

A reader sent in a last minute somewhat panicked question:

Dear Rachel,

HELP! I finally cleaned up my house since guests are coming in a few days and I realize that everything, and I mean everything, looks old and shabby and sad. I don't have a lot of money to spend, but can you suggest a few quick ways to update the entire look of my house - or at least the guest rooms or bathrooms for about $100.00?

Signed, Panicking in Portland.

Dear PiP,

Oh, I'm guessing your home looks a lot better than you think, but I also think that a few updated soft furnishings or details can give your entire space the look of a quick HGTV-worthy makeover. Joan Turnbull Carl, The U.S. Owner and CEO, of posh linen brand D. Porthault, Paris, a brand favored by style icons Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy, weighed in with some tips. You can recreate some of her ideas with the most basic bedding or towels and definitely keep within your budget.

Have Fun: "Refreshing your home for the holidays can be an opportunity to have fun with color and design.  Whether just for yourself or for your family or guests, re-imagining spaces – simply by adding new, fresh linens – can provide a creative outlet and be exciting and welcoming for all."

Take Stock: Before you start though, she stresses that you really have to "be aware of what is already existing in your space.  Classics and items that reflect your personality are always in, and they can mingle well with seasonal colors or motifs." And while you're at it, consider pulling together what you do have "by grouping similar items together and by at times eliminating (or temporarily retiring) others for the holidays."

Throw in the Towels: "Even the slightest changes, thoughtfully made, can be enough to create that unanticipated sparkle.  This is the magic of linens.  Just by placing fresh, patterned guest towels in your powder room, for example, you will invite a smile. By building on the colors in your towels’ prints, adding cut flowers to match, and eliminating objects of a different color or scale, your powder room will be transformed."

Pay Attention to Trending Colors: Carl advises being aware of trending colors- even if you choose not to use them. "The trend for most of 2017 was green – all shades, but primarily bright, clear greens reflecting new beginnings, vitality and growth. The color trend for 2018 is broader, although green carries through as the constant.  The New Year adds a bold cherry red, bright citrus yellow, fuchsia, lime, azure blue, and the romantic tones of pink, mauve and violet.

Don't Be Afraid to Mix and Match: "Finally, I am proud that Porthault has always believed in the subtle power of mix and match – in colors, prints, textures and styles – still so much in vogue today. I like to separate projects by rooms – always choosing an element within that room to emphasize or to inspire me, whether in color or design."

Carl offered some examples.

"A Guest Room might have a lovely quilt, framed artwork, area rug, toss pillow or even a view from a window that you love.  Start by picking up a color within that piece or view and repeating it in your bed linens – if not in a complete set, just in pillow shams that can be fluffed and positioned in front of your headboard.  The fresh flowers that you can add next to the bed or on the dresser should also repeat your color choice.

"Table Linens can also transform the mood and ambiance of a dining room.  Choosing new place mats and napkins can inspire you to select china and crystal that you have not used for a while.  Fine linens do not have to translate into serious dining.  Have fun mixing elements from other rooms onto your table; and never worry that your wine and water glasses might not match, or that your dishes are not fine bone china. There is always a pleasing "tension" created when whimsy and the unexpected are paired with the classic."

Have fun with your table decor: "Holidays are about traditions, and therefore I would always incorporate certain elements you have used before.  But something new is always exciting – both for you and your family and for your guests.  Look around to see what might be an addition or substitution for one or two elements.  For example, you might want to add pine cones to your dining room table and keep the focus there on greens and browns, with a touch of shimmer with white linens and 'snow on the cones and greens, and gleam from your silver and added candles.  Perhaps save the other holiday colors for the mantle, the sideboard or for another space.  Think of novel ways to display your napkins – maybe wrapped with fresh ivy or within newly personalized napkin rings, and consider small gifts as place card holders."

If you're still looking for inspiration, check out the recently released book, D. Porthault - The Art of Luxury Linens, which gives you great ideas on how to mix and match color, pattern and more.

Rachel Weingarten is a beauty, smarter shopping and lifestyle expert and beauty historian and the award-winning author of three non-fiction books, including Ancient Prayer: Channeling Your Faith 365 Days of the Year. Get social with her on Facebook, or Twitter. Rachel regularly writes for many top media outlets. read some of her recent stories at readsomethingby.me