Thom Filicia's 5 Tips to Get Your Home Holiday Ready

You know him. You love him. You wish you had half his stylish genius.

He's Thom Filicia. And when it comes to home-decor know how, he's full of super helpful tips.

I recently started thinking about decorating for the holidays, and so I figured why not ask my favorite design guru (and favorite "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" expert) for his tips on getting the home holiday ready. Here's what he had to say:



1. Mix Old and New
There's no need to go out and buy a whole new set of holiday decor each year. "I definitely deck my halls with my favorite pieces from previous years," Thom says. But get creative so it feels fresh this year. Hang old metallic balls once used for the tree from ribbon in a windowsill to catch the light. (Attach to the window frame with thumbtacks, or tie from a curtain rod.) And when you purchase new items, find ones that complement, but enliven, your old decor. That way you won't have random boxes of contrasting holiday sets gathering dust.


2. Repurpose
Using what you have around the house for holiday decor is important in these tight economic times, Thom says. For example, use champagne glasses as bud vases on your dinner table. Or recycle pieces of broken glass and mix them with an assortment of garden rocks painted white -- place them in existing candleholders for a sparkly winter wonderland on a tabletop. Also integrate your existing decor in unexpected ways, he adds. Thom (a spokesman for Amana appliances, so of course I wanted to help him get a plug in), always has a holiday beverage ready in his Quick Tap refrigerator for unexpected guests. Little touches like this make the holidays so much more personal. (Side note: The Quick Tap is actually a super-cool design; if you're in the market for a new refrigerator, check it out.)

3. Go Au Naturel
"Most of my holiday decor is natural," Thom says. Get inspired by your surroundings. If you're near the coast, go on a beach stroll and find a bleached-out driftwood branch. Anchor it in a tin pail and drape with white Christmas lights. Landlocked? Trek through the woods and gather tree clippings and bare branches to fill an over-sized vase – decorate with some tinsel and small holiday balls.

4. Don't Throw Away, Give Away
Inevitably you're going to have too much stuff: Boxes and boxes of holiday decor crammed into the nooks and crannies of your attic. To prevent this, take a cue from Thom. "The pieces that are very decorative I often giveaway with a bottle of wine as a host or hostess gift," he says. "That way I'm subtracting items as I add new ones."

5. The Anti-Theme Theme
Finally, forget the ordinary themes. "Themes are not my favorite," Thom says. They come across as too forced and fake. Instead, he offers, create your own fresh take on the season and go with that – don't let any cookie-cutter styles or looks determine what suits you. If you're at a loss, find inspiration in your existing décor.

Looking for decorating inspiration, read about a $50,000 Christmas tree.