By CAROL DONAYRE BUGG
Special to The Citizen

This year, when sprucing up your home for the holidays, plan on incorporating a few ideas that will continue to bring you pleasure, even after the celebrating is over.

What more compelling motivation could you have to complete overdue decorating projects than a Christmas deadline? The added incentive is realizing that this type of holiday decorating will bring you joy everyday year round.

If your home suffers from any of the following challenges, try my simple solutions for an instant and lasting reward:

C. Do you have an unsightly spot on your wall-to-wall carpet, but are not ready to replace it?

S. Cover the soiled area with an attractive patterned area rug. For extra panache, place the rug on the diagonal.

C. Are your dining room chairs marred with nicks and scratches?

S. If replacing them with upholstered chairs is not an option, invest in a lovely new textured fabric to slipcover the old chairs.

C. Do your rooms suffer from a lack of proper lighting?

S. Add a great-looking lamp or two, and in particular, one of the handsome new floor lamps that, in addition to brightening up the space, will also free up your tabletop.

C. Speaking of tables, are your guests always searching for a place to rest their drinks?

S. Small accent tables or a nest of tables will relieve that situation and make everyone feel more at ease.

C. Are you short on chairs when you are entertaining?

S. Be on the cutting edge of the trend toward unmatched furniture and introduce interesting odd chairs that can be used to expand a conversational grouping, or be pulled up to a dining table when additional seating is needed.

If you answered yes to any of the above challenges you still have time to solve the problem and have your home decorated in time for the holidays.

My wish for you this season is that your decorating endeavors, as well as the holiday message of “Peace on earth, good will toward men,” is not stored away with the Christmas ornaments, but instead becomes a permanent part of your daily life.

Carol Donayre Bugg, ASID, is the director of design for Decorating Den Interiors and author of “Smart & Simple Decorating.”

For more “Smart & Simple Decorating” ideas, log onto decoratingden.com.