Lowe's Teams Up With Top Designers To Inspire Holiday Projects

Home improvement experts share simple and affordable ideas to prep for your guests this season

To help kick off the holiday season, Lowe's teamed up with
today's top do-it-yourselfers and designers to create holiday-inspired rooms that are guaranteed to welcome any guest in style. From simple improvement projects to eye-catching decor that instantly spreads good cheer, these budget-friendly DIY ideas from leading designers will have your home prepped for the holidays in the nick of time.

Consider these designer tips your holiday home improvement wish list. Just make sure to check it twice!

• Make a Lasting First Impression – Entryway tips from Design Mom To add a pop of color, paint your front door in a holiday red. We used the color Art District from Valspar Signature's paint and primer in one. Paint is a simple, economical update that really makes a statement about your entire house. Add bright white lights nestled in bright white garlands to create an instant snowy holiday feel inexpensively. Customizing holiday decor to fit your family's style can be easy. Start by taking a simple item, like a store-bought pine wreath and tuck metallic paper leaves into the branches for texture. If you don't have a fireplace, show off your holiday stockings by hanging them along stair railings, or attach them with ribbon to a pretty branch, and hang the branch on a wall over a sofa. View Design Mom's entryway here

• Welcome Guests in Style – Foyer tips from Little Green Notebook Gold and silver hues are so pretty around the holidays. Buy a small tree and do something fun, such as creating an ombre pattern on your tree with glass ornaments painted in matte finish to create a gradient. Other people love looking at your Christmas cards, so decorate tables in your center hall with platters and antiques to display cards you've received. You can also string cards with clothespins. View Little Green Notebook's foyer here

• Create a Buzzworthy Kitchen – Tips from Brit + Co. Infuse a dose of holiday into the kitchen, with pops of red accent pieces or stripe the legs of a red kitchen stool with white painter's tape for a candy cane theme. Install a new backsplash with glass mosaic, subway or even ceiling tiles or wallpaper to give the kitchen a personalized look. One of our favorite projects is creating a "DIY Light Marquee." Take cardboard letters, spray paint them gold and poke small holes in for the lights, then weave a strand of bulbs behind the sign to connect all the letters. Display on your countertop or above your cabinets. View Brit + Co.'s kitchen here

• Design a Deliciously Decorated Dining Room – Tips from Curbly  Set the mood for your holiday feast with a neutral color pallet and invite the warmth of fall into the space by painting accent pieces with fall colors such as Valspar's Desert Travels and Bear Claw hues. A stylish rug, curtain panels, pillows and items from nature can make a room feel cozy and comfortable for holiday gatherings. Create fun, stackable DIY plywood boxes by building wood boxes in a variety of sizes and painting the exterior white and the interior in fall or winter tones for a pop of color.   View Curbly's dining room here

• Embrace your Wild Side – Showstopping ideas from P.S. – I made this... Introduce a new warm and inviting paint color on your walls like Valspar's Perfect Storm to add lasting decor and style long into the New Year. For a fashionable look, add decorative accessories spray painted in metallic colors such as gold and silver. Use wallpaper in different ways to make a statement. Instead of wrapping an entire room, try creating frames made of wallpaper and molding. Don't be afraid to take risks and do things you don't normally do. Create a story with the items in your space and personalize for family and friends. View P.S. – I made this... living room here

• Restore Relaxation during the Holidays – Guest suite ideas from Oh Happy Day In your guest bedroom, add touches of greenery and lighting fixtures to the wall for reading, simple DIY artwork to help ensure guests feel right at home. Show your creative side with chalkboard-painted walls to greet overnight guests with a personal "Happy Holidays!" message. For an extra dose of cheer, drape decorative red-beaded strands around a mirror or lighting fixtures for a touch of holiday. New light fixtures can give an ordinary bathroom an instant update. For graphic visual interest, install white tile with dark grout. View Oh Happy Day's guest suite here

For more tips on how to prep your home for the holidays, check out images of each designer's room by visiting the Deck The Halls and Walls and All photo gallery.

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Holiday Remodeling Challenge

The Remodeling Challenge

Brace yourself: relatives are coming in for Christmas.  You’d like to welcome them with a comfortable place to stay. But the guest bedroom and attached bathroom are ugly, dark, and unwelcoming: sheet vinyl and laminate counters in the bathroom; worn carpet, dingy paint, and little light in the bedroom. You’ve always meant to remodel this area, and now is a great time. But you’ve only got a budget of $1,500 and two weeks for spiff up this 225 square foot space. What to do?

The Solution to Holiday Remodeling Blues: Planning

The key to a quick and well-designed remodel is planning and preparation. These two things will help you get a fabulous space and keep you on budget. When you save time, you save money. Do most of your interior design planning online, shop for the best prices for product and supplies. I have researched at least three store options for pricing on each of the items listed below, from home improvement and hardware stores, to decorating stores.  I am very confident that with good planning you can accomplish a fabulous, timely remodel that will “wow” your guests and leave you with a great sense of accomplishment.

Tip: Habitat For Humanity Reuse Stores are slowly popping up all over the country. Expect to find jaw-dropping bargains on sinks, counters, flooring, windows, and all the good things that make up a home remodeling project. Learn more about this and other architectural salvage stores.

Saving Money, One Piece at a Time

Finally, the rooms you’ve been waiting to tackle are finished! For the bathroom, get the key pieces (i.e. countertop and floor tiles) first. This will determine the color pallete and your design style. A remnant counter found at a reuse center or building materials outlet is a great way to save money. You can find one made from almost any type of material – including marble, granite and solid surface – for a fraction of the cost of having one fabricated.

Keep in mind that you may need to be flexible on style choices for tiles and fixtures when you are on a short timeline, and therefore must pick materials that are in stock. See if your local tile shop has an outlet center or clearance area. Those are the perfect places to find deals on discontinued tiles for a small area like a bathroom.

Want an Easy Tile to Install?

Mosaic tile (such as a hexagon in 3/4-inches) on 12-inch by 12-inch mesh sheets can cover a small area in a short amount of time. Because the tiles are small, there is often no need for a wet tile saw. Tile snips and a utility knife to cut the mesh should be sufficient.

If the bathroom is small, keeping fixtures on a small scale will help to make the space feel larger. Replacing an outdated faucet and old lighting with new fixtures gives the space instant appeal and is easy to do. You don’t have to be a plumber or electrician to update these simple pieces.
Of course, no bathroom remodel is complete without some finishing touches such as new, plush towels to make your guests feel pampered in their own spa retreat!

Painting the Bathroom

Paint the bedroom and the bathroom before either of the new floors go in. It’s much easier and faster as there is less preparation. I always use blue painter's tape from 3M for my paint jobs. They make it easy to achieve sharp paint lines and are designed for different surface applications, so you can choose the tape best suited to your painting project. As with any part of a remodel, you want your finish to look as if a professional did the job. That’s when your ‘sweat equity’ really pays off.

Choose calm and serene paint colors for the bedroom and bathroom. You want the spaces to blend, as if your guests have their own personal oasis. Use your decorating motif to set the warm tone for the holidays. Plush white bedding in a mix of textures and creamy tones instantly brightens the space and makes it inviting.

To finish off the spaces, don’t forget the lighting! Good lighting can enhance the mood of any room. In addition to overhead lighting, add task lighting, such as a reading light, and ambient lighting, such as a floor lamp. And don’t forget fresh seasonal flowers for both rooms!

The Budget

Bathroom

• Countertop (remnant/reused counter): $120
• Flooring (floor tile and supplies): $250
• Faucet/sink: $110
• Lighting: $45
• Towels/accessories: $75

Bathroom total = $600 Bedroom

• Flooring (new carpet or laminate flooring): $600
• Lighting: $90

Bedroom Total = $690 Paint & supplies for both rooms: $190
Grand Total = $1480

For more great remodeling tips, order your copy of Remodeling Hell today!  

*article from DIY Network's Amy Matthews