Stuff your drawers and hang your buckets

Affordable.

Attainable.

Two key words to remember when it comes time to decorate your space for the holidays — or any day, said Heather Chadduck, style editor of Cottage Living magazine.

"Focus on what's around you and what's inexpensive," she said. "You walk in your park or neighborhood every day, so slow down and look. You will find many beautiful things in nature to use for decorating.

"For example, an old branch with no foliage on it is stunning when you spray it white and hang silver balls on it."

Chadduck practices what she preaches. She lives in a 1930s cottage in a historic section of Birmingham, Ala. The 1,200-square-foot house is typical of its time — postage-stamp-size closets and teeny rooms.

"I have storage challenges in everyday life," she says.

To save sitting space for family and friends in her cramped living room, she puts the Christmas tree on her covered front porch. This year, lights and seashells will adorn the tree. She'll place a large fresh hemlock branch in a container of water in her living room and decorate it with seashells and silver balls.

In fact, she plans to use the seashell theme for all her decorating needs. Her style is to mix natural with store-bought, using twine or ribbons to hang the seashells. Her gifts will be wrapped with plain brown craft paper and splashed with fancy strands and bows from bright blue and aqua ribbons.

"I like to splurge on ribbons," she says.

If you're wondering about what colors to use for your holiday decor this year, Chadduck suggests you skew to the different. Think raspberry, pink or orangish-red instead of pure red, or lime green instead of the traditional hunter green. Silver goes with aqua, white and brown. Gold is perfect with brass, and copper works with earth tones.

"Coordinate with your interior," she says. "If you used burnt orange throughout your house, it makes sense to use that instead of red and green. And remember, white never goes out of style."

Here are some additional holiday decorating ideas Chadduck and other editors at Cottage Living magazine feature in their December issue:

Shelve 'em. Turn a decorative photo ledge or shelf into a holiday mantel. Hang metal buckets, filled with candy or other surprises, from the bottom of the mantel. First, stencil a name on a scrap of fabric for each bucket. Wrap the fabric around the buckets, and secure in the back with a safety pin.

Clear the drawers. Stuff an old chest of drawers with small, wrapped gift boxes instead of old junk — now's a good time to go through it and discard stuff. Assign each family member — or friend — a drawer, and overfill a few to pique everyone's curiosity. For an added touch, use a permanent marker to write initials on green apples, then hang them from red ribbon to guide each person to his or her holiday stash.

Recycle. Use old scraps of fabric or whatever you have on hand to create a fresh interpretation on the traditional stocking. Sew three sides of two pieces of colorful fabric together, leaving the top open; a sewing machine works best, but you could sew it tightly by hand. Cut a small hole at the top corners, insert leather twine and tie loops to hang the pouch. Add stick-on letters, if desired. These pouches can hang on the backs of chairs at the table where guests will eat, on doorknobs of family and guest bedrooms and even along the railing of your stairway.

Use multiples. Group dried wreaths for a bold, geometric display you can reuse year after year or leave up. Use florist wire (available at craft supply stores; one roll should do it) to hold them together, then hide the wire with about 12 yards of wide satin ribbon. Hang the grouping by popping it onto three (level) screws at the top.

Pick some pinecones. Adorn garlands by hanging pinecones vertically at the end of a ribbon, and tie with a bow. Twine or rope works, too.

Showcase holiday cards. Frame holiday cards by taking two pieces of glass and sealing them at the edges with book binding tape.

Hang several in even rows on the wall, or place them on small easels you set on shelves or your mantel.

Put ornaments together. Bunch tree ornaments together for visual impact on a large tree, or use them clustered on wreaths and swags. Your collected pieces will stand out in the greenery.