How to Design Your Home for the Holidays Before October Is Over

By Kate Longley • Kate Longley Designs

Here’s something I’ve noticed after years of working on homes in Arizona.

The holidays arrive differently here. There’s no frost on the windows, no leaves turning outside here in Scottsdale. The shift from October to November to December is subtle, and it can catch you off guard. Then suddenly it’s the week before Thanksgiving, and the house doesn’t feel ready, and you’re not quite sure how to get there.

I’ve learned to get ahead of that feeling. And the secret, if there is one, is simpler than most people think.

Start before you’re in the mood.

I know that sounds counterintuitive. Most of us want to wait until we feel the holiday spirit before we start doing anything about it. But the homes that feel genuinely beautiful and ready during the holidays are rarely the ones that got pulled together at the last minute. They’re the ones where someone made a few thoughtful decisions in October, while there was still time to be intentional about it.

That’s the window we’re in right now. And it goes faster than it feels like it will.

The first thing I’d think about is light.

The days do get shorter here in November and December, earlier than most people expect. And when the sun goes down in Arizona in the winter, the evenings have a quality that’s worth designing around. Candles matter more than people realize this time of year. A few well-placed ones in the rooms you gather in most will do more for the feeling of your home than almost any decoration you could buy. Warm bulbs if you haven’t switched already. Dimmers if you have them. The goal is a home that feels like it’s glowing from the inside, and in Arizona’s mild evenings that’s something you can enjoy with the doors open and the desert air coming in.

The second thing is texture.

The holidays are the one time of year when it feels completely natural to layer. An extra throw on the sofa. A few more pillows in something rich and tactile. A table runner that makes the dining table feel set even when it isn’t. None of this requires a major investment or a complete overhaul. It’s just adding a little more warmth and weight to the rooms where people are going to gather.

In a desert home especially, that layering can feel genuinely transformative. We tend to live lighter the rest of the year. The holidays are permission to lean in a little.

The third thing, and honestly the most important, is editing before you add.

Before you bring anything new into the house, take a few things out. Clear the surfaces that have gotten cluttered over the year. Give the rooms a little room to breathe. Holiday decorating almost always looks better against a calmer backdrop, and the homes that feel most special during this time of year are rarely the most decorated ones. They’re the ones where everything that’s there feels chosen.

That editing step is the one most people skip, and it makes all the difference.

The holidays in Arizona have their own particular magic. The warm evenings. The way candlelight looks against adobe or plaster. The fact that you can be outside with your guests in December in a way that most of the country can’t. Designing for that, rather than trying to recreate a cozy northern winter that doesn’t quite fit the climate, is what makes a desert home feel genuinely festive rather than just decorated.

You have time to do this well. But October is the moment to start.

If you’re thinking about a bigger project and want it ready for the holidays or the new year, I’d love to talk. I work with a small number of clients at a time, and I’m thoughtful about fit.

KATE LONGLEY DESIGNS

Paradise Valley  ·  Scottsdale, Arizona