Start early in the season, adding new decorations gradually, allowing your home to transform little by little. Remove them the same way, taking down the obvious holiday themes, leaving the winter themes up until spring. You’ll be surprised at how much more you appreciate your existing decor once it's updated and refreshed. Try some of these ideas to get your home in the spirit for the holidays.

Indoors:

Add a small cedar garland under existing photos or mantel decorations. For a more dramatic change, remove the existing vases or floral displays and replace them with a holiday floral display, a basket of pinecones or a garland with red bows. Remove that mirror from over the mantel and replace it with a cedar wreath with a red bow.

If you have vases of silk or dried flowers, keep the vases and replace the flowers with poinsettias or bright red dogwood branches.

Put your candles away and replace with red, green or gold versions. Transform your everyday candlesticks into Christmas candles by wrapping vines of holly or red berries around the bases.

Replace your table runner with a glittering holiday version. Put your white paper napkins and paper towels in the cupboard and opt for the holiday versions.

Place gold and silver accent pillows on the furniture or drape a bright red afghan on the sofa.

Maybe it’s time to give some of your pictures a rest for the cooler months by replacing them with winter scenes.

In the kitchen I have a set of holiday glasses and mugs that replace my everyday glassware until the New Year. I also have holiday place mats, tee-towels and guest towels.

Start now and force some bulbs for fresh hyacinths or daffodils during the winter months. If you start one every 2 or 3 weeks, you’ll have fresh flowers all winter.

Outdoors:

Keep your hanging planters out, just remove the dead plants, and replace with cedar, silk poinsettias and large pine cones. Add a holiday wreath to your door, railings or porch columns. Add some red bows to your bird feeders, shrubs or evergreen trees.

Replace your doormat with a holiday mat.

Replace your outdoor lights with red and green bulbs.

A few simple changes not only refresh the look of your home, but improve your attitude when facing the long winter ahead.