How Design Guru Yasmin Quiles Decorates for the Holidays With Only $100
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Watching the first snowfall, shopping for the perfect gift and baking cookies are just a few of the magical moments we like to soak up in the weeks leading up to the holidays. But perhaps the most magical moment of all is when you decorate your home, turn on the twinkly lights and bask in that coziness that only comes around during the holidays. While you may assume that you need the budget of a celebrity to achieve that level of coziness, we guarantee you that is not the case. In fact, decorating guru and the founder of Pop! by Yaz, Yaz Quiles, recently proved that it’s possible to decorate your entire holiday table for under $100.
Yasmin Quiles is an experience curator with the unique ability to not just plan events but to transform them into unforgettable and authentic experiences that everyone in attendance will remember for a lifetime. There wasn’t one single moment when Yaz knew that this was the career path she wanted to take, but rather a collection of moments from her childhood and early adulthood that led her to where she is today. Quiles actually began her career when she was just a young child, learning the ins and outs of entertaining from her mother. “I was really inspired by my mother because of the way that she showcased her love for people through entertaining,” Quiles told SheKnows. “I didn’t know that my mom was an entrepreneur back then but I think intrinsically, I learned those skill sets from her and it evolved with me.”
Yaz founded the experiential event company Pop! by Yaz in 2016 and has since planned innovative and breathtaking events for clients like HBO, Instagram, Patrón Spirits, and the list goes on and on. Her incredible work was even featured in a 2019 Netflix documentary called She Did That.
We were lucky enough to meet with Yaz recently at her gorgeous New Jersey home that she shares with her family and watch her work her magic in real life. With just a $100 budget, we challenged Yaz to design a holiday tablescape and well, I think we’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
We also sat down to chat with Yaz to discuss how she worked her magic with only $100 and she shared five genius holiday decorating tips that will come in handy for any holiday.
Work With What You’ve Got
Yaz’s number one rule is to utilize the pieces you already own. “Most people don’t see the items that they have in their house beyond what they are,” Quiles explains. “If you have a pedestal, like for a cake or something like that, we can transform that into a multitude of ways. If you turn it upside down most of the time, there’s an opening there and you can actually use it to put food in and use it as a serving dish. Or if you cover it up with, let’s say a linen napkin or a couple of linen napkins, then you can add height on a buffet table.”
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You can see how Yaz used those popular clear storage containers that people use to organize their fridges and pantries to add height and dimension to the food table she created for our challenge.
Keep your shopping simple
When you are picking out things like dishes or even fine china, Quiles recommends steering clear of dinnerware with bold or seasonal prints. “One of the basic things that I always love in a kitchen space is white plates because white plates are so versatile. They’re also the perfect canvas for food,” Quiles says. This way, plates can be used for any holiday and you don’t need to spend extra money on multiple sets of dinnerware.
Refresh existing decor
Sometimes sprucing up your holiday decor just means using it in a different way than you have before. “People think that if they’ve done something one way before, that’s the only way you can do it. Take a Christmas tree, for example. Try arranging your ornaments differently,” Quiles advises. “Instead of placing them all over, place one color on top and one on the bottom. Or only use your green ornaments one year and then your red ones the next. Or maybe you put all of the big ornaments on the bottom and keep the smaller ones on top,” she says.
Don’t do too much
“I feel like most people don’t know how to edit,” Quiles says. “I think that a lot of people read an abundance of things on the table as rich when I think there is a beauty in simplicity as well. You don’t want a holiday table that’s filled with tall decor that blocks your view of people you may only get to see once a year.”
Too much decor can also be a conversation killer as Quiles explains, “Large floral arrangements and tall candles are beautiful, but then they cover your line of sight to the person who’s sitting across from you. So it ends up being that you can only talk to the person who’s sitting to the left or to the right of you”
Shop smart
Sometimes shopping for new items is necessary. But rather than heading to higher-end retailers, Quiles recommends hitting up places like Marshall’s, HomeGoods or Homesense to pick up any items you don’t have and can’t repurpose. Quiles’ best-kept secret? Head to your local dollar store. “My secret little hiding spot is the 99-cent store,” she explains. “They have definitely leveled up in the last couple of years and you’ll find an assortment of beautiful items you can use. So if you need to shop, it’s a great way to go.”
For more home decorating inspiration, check out these best spots to buy home decor online:
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