San Diego Designer Rebecca Robeson's Christmas Video House Tour

Jay Johnson - Irwin officially "passed" on doing this particular post. It's not that he's bah-humbug about holiday decorating, but he's very critical of being too kitsch and decorating everything. I'm just the opposite. Maybe it's my Midwestern upbringing, but I love turning a home into a magical wonderland that tells either a Christmas, Chanukkah, or Winter story. Rebecca Robeson, an interior designer in San Diego, CA, mentions in today's featured video that being in her perpetually warm and sunny part of the world requires special decorating to make it feel like a festive time of year.

But even if there's a foot of snow on the ground outside, one still can use some merry decking of the halls to make special family memories. Enjoy Rebecca's video (she shops at HomeGoods - don't we all!), and definitely check out her other holiday how-to videos for more decorating advice. (I love the way this interior designer has taken to the communication-friendly video medium; she's way ahead of the industry curve on that one!)

And speaking of a California Christmas, here's a video from sunny CA to put you into right spirit, with a rousing Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree from the artists performing in A Christmas Together.

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The Whats and Hows of Suspended Lighting

Janet Ramin - You walk into a room, any room, and one of the things you take for granted is that there’s going to be light. When there’s light, everything not only looks brighter - it also looks bigger. Plus, with the right well-positioned light bulbs, a room can be transformed into an inviting place. With this much interior design riding on lighting, you really can’t take it for granted.

One of the easiest ways to throw ambient light around the whole room is to suspend a light fixture in the center of the space. Recessed lighting or track lighting also works, but this requires more ceiling height, expert labor, and time to install; in short, more money. Hence the popularity of hanging light fixtures, which have become a great do-it-yourself project for homeowners (see the video below for how to install a suspended light). Besides its relative value, suspended lighting has the ability to become a focus, a point of interest - definitely another decorating advantage.

For centuries, the only source of artificial light was flames from oil or candles. To this day, we still have light fixtures that look like candles even if electricity is being used to power them. To hold these candles, chandeliers or candelabrums as they were originally called, were created during the medieval period. They were simply made with outstretched wooden arms and at the end of each arm a small dish with a candle was placed. As time went by, chandeliers became more elaborate with multiple arms, added crystals, and carved decorations. An example of this is the traditional Chateau Chandelier (above) from Murray Feiss available on CSN Lighting. 

If an elaborate chandelier is just too much for your space, but you need a light fixture for a traditionally-styled formal interior, the Savannah Chandelier from the Bethany collection is a pared-down version, more minimal but still an elegant piece (below, left). The arms and the intertwining vines have an Etruscan gold finish highlighted with hand-cut crystals. If you have a traditional interior with a rustic mood, you might try the Light Revolution Chandelier, a suspended light fixture from Forecast. The chandelier body is reminiscent of carriage wheels and evokes a country lodge atmosphere (below, right). 

For more contemporary interiors, sleeker chandeliers have been designed using geometric-shaped arms rather than the traditional curved lines. The Margo chandelier from AF Lighting (below, left) has pyramid-shaped arms with cut crystal hanging off its points. The Odyssey chandelier has rectilinear arms and cylinder candle holders wrapped in leather (below, right).

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