The holiday season is often filled with fun and excitement. With gifts in tow, people travel thousands of miles just to be with their family. There’s also an abundance of delicious meals and tasty treats. However, nothing says Christmas than a beautifully decorated home.

Use these holiday decorating ideas and turn your home into a festive gathering place for family and friends.

Mix It Up

‘Tis the season to create and decorate the most festive tree for the holidays. To offer a refreshing change from the traditional holiday schemes, consider mixing things up with a new color palette. Also feel free to decorate it with colourful garlands, elegant ornaments, silver balls and more.

Festive Tableware

Think seasonal when dressing up the holiday table so you don’t have to worry about taking it down once Christmas is over. Now is the perfect time to get that red and white china and glassware that has been sitting on the cupboard all year. You can also decorate a serving tray with silver ornaments for a simple yet elegant centrepiece.

Festive Foraging

Pinecones are free and plentiful during the winter, making them a holiday decorating favorite. Tucking some pinecones here and there can easily vamp up yourColorado  home and make it feel warm and cozy.

You don’t have to limit your pinecone decorating to winter displays. You can use them to decorate your dinner table or the fireplace. If you’re feeling crafty, you can create wreaths, vibrant basket arrangement of pine cones or candle stick holders.

Warm Welcome

The weather outside is frightful, but nothing beats the warm and comforting glow of a blazing fireplace. Make your fireplace an eye-catching addition to your living room.

Create the perfect Christmas scene by hanging some festive stockings off the mantle. You can also drape real evergreens and pinecones across the mantle for an earthy look.

Front Door Flair

Hang a wreath on your front door to create a festive impression to your guests before they even knock on your door. You can either buy a wreath or just make it on your own.

While the dream of owning a house has been set aside during the recession, most Americans say that buying a house is still in their life plan. But before you finally decide to make an offer, you might want to ask yourself a handful of questions. While the answers to these questions might make you rethink your bid or scare you off, you can be sure that you are making the right decision.

Why do you want to buy a house?

Determining the reason why you want to buy a Denver house is important before you go out and start looking at options. What purpose shall it serve? Are you planning to live in it or rent it out? This is important as it will help you determine the house size and the type of loan structure you’ll need based on your plans.

How confident are you about your future income?

Before you start dreaming about white picket fences and granite countertops, make sure that you have a steady source of income. If you are thinking about quitting your job or there are murmurs of layoffs in your company, where will you get your monthly mortgage payment?

How confident are you that you will want to stay?

One of the most important factors that you have to consider when deciding between buying versus renting is how long you are planning to stay in that Colorado house. Mind you, it takes about 5 to 7 years just to break even the cost of buying, owning and selling a Colorado house. So, if you’re not confident that you can stay put for that long, you might want to re-consider your plans.

How is your credit score?

Your credit score is one of the most important things you should consider if you are planning to buy a Denver house. If you have a low credit score, you might have a tough time getting a loan. And if you do, there’s a great chance that you’ll be required to pay a higher interest rate and a higher down payment.

So, if you are planning to buy a Colorado house in the near future, now is the right time to pay off some of your debt and raise your credit score.

Home renovations provide several advantages. Whether you’re looking to enhance your home’s aesthetics and living environment or transforming it before putting it on the market, updating your dwelling is one of the most profitable decisions you can make.

Here are 4 tips for working out your home renovation budget.

What is your purpose for renovating? 

Before renovating, you first need to identify your reason. Renovating for lifestyle reasons requires a different approach for selling purposes. If you are renovating to enhance your Colorado home’s comfort or livability, you need to consider your family’s needs. An outdoor kitchen would be beneficial for entertaining guests. An additional bathroom may also be in order for your growing family.

If renovating for sale, you need to properly asses your house and focus on changes that will make it more attractive to prospective buyers. The backyard may need revamping. A lick of paint throughout the house will help freshen up your Colorado home.

Set your renovation budget 

Home renovation projects can be quite expensive. Before you start choosing paint colors or floor tiles, you first need to determine how much you can afford.

Renovation costs can quickly get out of control. Sometimes, people decide that they want this and that, and then realize later on that it’s out of their budget. To prevent this from happening, it is best to set a budget early on. This is important so as to prevent disappointment and financial distress later on.

Get quotes from contractors 

Now that you have an idea about what you want to achieve and how much you are willing to spend, it’s time to look for contractors.

If you don’t know any contractor, you can ask referral from your family and friends. Or better yet, go online and search for contractors in your area. Narrow down your list to 3 – 5 contractors, and ask for a quote from each of them. This way, you can compare the prices and find the one that offers the best deal.

Account for hidden costs

Just because the contractor gave you a quote for $30,000, it doesn’t necessarily mean that will be the final cost. During the renovation process, some contractors find some issues that need to be dealt with. This is one of the major reasons why renovation projects end up costing more than anticipated.

Make sure that you prepare at least 10% to 20% for unforeseen experiences, so you won’t be scrambling to come up with extra money.