Tips on How to Decorate for the Holidays While Remaining Environmentally-Friendly From Hunter Douglas

"The holiday season is nearing and with it comes a time of joyful celebration with special friends and family. But with rising energy costs and a troubled economy, many consumers are actively seeking options for sprucing up their décor to create a festive and inviting ambiance without breaking the bank. Also important is the trend towards going green and reducing energy use and costs. Hunter Douglas, North America’s leading manufacturer and marketer of custom window fashions, offers the following tips on how to create an environmentally-friendly and festive environment for the holiday season.

• While wrapping presents to go under the tree, save any extra ribbon and use to “gift wrap” throw pillows like packages to give your sofa a festive feel. Adorn your walls with indoor wreaths made from scarves and a little boxwood to create a nice scent that brings you a taste of the outdoors while you stay warm inside.
• Use recyclable, colorful paper when wrapping presents to create an inviting atmosphere with a rich color palette for your living room. After the presents are opened, either save the paper and ribbon to re-use next year or take all used paper to your local recycling center.
• To keep warm air in and cold air out and your energy bills in check, consider replacing your current window coverings with Duette® Architella™ honeycomb shades from Hunter Douglas, which, with their highly energy-efficient honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb design, can reduce heat loss at the window by up to 50 percent. They also keep cool air in during summer months, making this a one-time investment in your home that delivers savings all year round.
• Use fewer lights when decorating the tree and instead use bright colored and reflective ornaments to light up the room. Plug in tree lights and nearby TVs, VCRs and appliances to a power strip that turns them all off with one easy click, therefore reducing energy costs for unused electronics.
• Although it might sound surprising, turn your heat down and your ceiling fan on. Lowering your thermostat by just one degree can reduce costs by about four percent, while a ceiling fan helps distribute the warm air across the room. Hang mistletoe from the ceiling fan to add a romantic and cheerful holiday touch to the room.
• For a soft holiday look, consider using Silhouette® window shadings featuring soft fabric vanes suspended between two sheer facings that gently diffuse incoming light to create a warm glow across the room. These shadings are the perfect backdrop for a tree surrounded by colorful presents on that special holiday morning.

With these tips, decorating for the holidays while going green is easier than you think.

“It is important to make the holiday season as stress-free and pleasant as possible,” said Donna Lobosco, Director of Brand Communications for Hunter Douglas. “By providing tips that are quick and simple, we hope to help consumers create a stylish setting for holiday entertaining while saving on energy costs and doing their part to protect the environment at the same time.”

Hunter Douglas Inc. is a national sponsor of Habitat for Humanity, covering windows in every Habitat home built in the U.S. and Canada. They are the leading manufacturer of custom window coverings in North America.

For more information visit: http://www.hunterdouglas.com/.