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.