Prepare your home for the holidays

Avoid a packed to-do list in December by getting your space organised early. Rethink what’s essential and keep stress at bay by focusing on key areas. We’ll show you how with our seven easy tips!

Three storage bags in a mix of greens, whites, purple and yellow hanging from the wall near a staircase.

Black IDOLF chairs hanging from a pink wall in a dining room with a black table. The chairs are being used as temporary shelves.

Close-up of a black IDOLF chair hanging from a mini chair hook on a wall.

1. Simplify socialising and be ready for both big family dinners and spontaneous guests. Hang chairs on the wall next to your dining area (we used ‘chair hooks’). Then you can easily grab them when you need extra seating (plus cleaning the floor will be a breeze).

Five multi-coloured storage bags arranged on a wall near a staircase.

Close-up of green bag handles hung over a black hook with a hand-written name tag.

2. Simplify de-cluttering by starting early instead of a week before Santa arrives. Hang easy to keep clean storage bags on hooks with labels for stuff you want to get rid of, or things you want to store away. Then sort on the go!

A GIF animation showing how stools, cushions and tables can be added to a living space to create additional seating.

3. Create an on/off spot for socialising with a mix of lightweight, stackable and easy-to-move furniture that you can quickly get out when you need extra seating. That space you free up when they’re not in use will give your home an airy, less cluttered feel.

ALGOT basket storage at a door entrance, along with a short ladder and stool, slung with lights and used as hallway storage.

4. Welcome your guests in style with smart storage that makes the most of your wall space. This shelf is small enough to use in ‘deadspaces’ and can be added to by clicking in extra brackets. Add a bathroom towel stand, pimp it with a lighting chain and boom! — your hall is super cosy and tidy.

VÅGSJÖN towels in pale pink stacked and rolled on an open shelving unit, near a table with candles and pink face towels.

5. Your guests will scrutinise your bathroom, that’s for sure! Give it a fresh and cosy atmosphere with a mix of scented candles (we used ‘linen scent’ – think sheets drying on a summer day). Keep piles of neatly folded hand towels on a shelving unit ready to put out for your visitors.

A brass-coloured tray carrying brass-coloured cutlery in jars and white napkins in a brass-coloured napkin holder.

6. Create a help-yourself-station in sparkling style with napkins and cutlery on a tray. Keep it out on the dining table as a centrepiece and let your guests serve themselves at dinner time. Bon Appétit!

A black IKEA YPPERLIG magazine stand used to hold board games on a black and grey rug.

A black IKEA YPPERLIG magazine stand next to a cream sofa, stacked with board games.

7. Gather all your games and puzzles together on a practical and lightweight shelf that’s easy to take out when it’s games night. Here we used a magazine stand in steel. Keep cards and dice easy to find and ordered in different boxes with lids. Up for a game of chess, anyone?

We love to see our customers get creative with our products. Go for it! But please note that altering or modifying IKEA products so they can no longer be re-sold or used for their original purpose, means the IKEA commercial guarantees and your right to return the products will be lost.

Made by
Interior designer: Mia Gustafsson
Photographer: Micke Persson
Writer: Anna Blom

Prepare your home for the holidays

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