HGTV Magazine December 2014

Porch light Progress Lighting Roman Coach Collection 15 ½"-tall lantern in brushed nickel finish, $124, homedepot.com We customized a store-bought wreath with DIY snowflakes. For the how-to, see page 135. Outdoor pillow Embrace 16" × 16" polyester pillow in bay green, $17.50, landofpillows.com Bench Safavieh Indaka 60"W × 25"D × 39"H acacia wood bench in ash grey, $293, wayfair.com House numbers Deltana 4"-tall brass numbers in satin nickel finish, $9 each, thehardwarehut.com Door 2039 (SG) primed MDF and poplar entry door, $470, roguevalleydoor.com for stores; Kwikset Shelburne SmartKey handleset in satin nickel finish, $139, lowes.com Doorbell 3 ¼"-tall lighted doorbell button in satin nickel finish, $20, lampsplus.com Welcome mat Threshold Be Merry coir doormat, $13, target.com Firewood basket Pop-Up 18 ¼"W × 13 ¼"D × 14"H steel basket in red,…

Gravel or wet sand helps the tree stand upright in the container. Garland 5'-long wool felt ball garland in ivory and red, $15, jamaligarden.com Ornaments Kate Spade New York Deck the Halls 2 1/2"-diameter porcelain ornament, $30, bloomingdales.com 2 ¾"-diameter glass ornaments in pale turquoise, $7 for a set of 8, bronners.com 2 ¾"-diameter glass ornaments in flame red, $7 for a set of 8, bronners.com Sea Glass Colored 5"-diameter glass ornaments, $49.50 for a mixed set of 12, frontgate.com Vickerman Red Snow Cap 3"-diameter plastic ornaments, $16.50 for a set of 4, hayneedle.com Wrapping paper We wrapped our presents in solid red, solid blue, and graphic black-and-white patterned gift wrap ($15 per roll, spoonflower.com). Container Worlds Away Pea 12"H x 9 ½"-diameter metal wastebasket, $160, zincdoor.com…

Deck the halls (but how much?) A lot of people (you know who you are) are going into holiday decorating overdrive right now: hanging ornaments on not one but three Christmas trees, putting wreaths on all the doors, wrapping garland around every railing, and maybe even inflating a giant Santa—and his reindeer—on the front lawn. Other folks are happy with less: pretty pots of poinsettias and fun felt stockings hung from the mantel. Wherever you fall on the decorate-o-meter, we want to help. There's an idea on just about every page of this issue—try just a few, or have a field day.      • For starters, take a peek at "Holiday Up Your House" (page 69), where we walk you through holiday decorating ideas, room by room. You'll find plenty of…

—Terre Morgan, Sterling, VA I enjoy using wallpaper for DIY projects but never thought about adding it to the sides of dresser drawers (October's "8 Things to Do With Wallpaper"). I plan to try this idea ASAP. —Julianne Weibel Foltz, Erie, PA It was a true treat to see photographs of Genevieve Gorder's inspiring home (October's "Welcome to Genevieve's"). I love her apartment's eclectic style. —Susan Tremblay, Portland, ME Normally my eyes go straight for the most expensive thing on a page, but I preferred the more affordable choices in October's "The High/Low List"—including the yellow chair from Target and the floral pillow from Home Decorators Collection. I'm impressed! —Pat Stuckey, Brazil, IN Tiffany Brooks' pick for window treatments in October's "Where to Shop for the Good Stuff" led me…

*Estimate is for a handyman working for two hours on multiple windows, courtesy of Angie's List How to weather-strip a drafty window BEFORE YOU START GET TO KNOW YOUR WINDOW (for double-hung windows) 1 clean inside the window frame Using a rag dampened with water and a little soap, wipe inside the window jamb and along the bottom of the lower sash and the top of the upper sash. Let dry. TIP FROM A PRO "I advise avoiding foam weather stripping. Yes, it's cheap, but it'll only last a year or two, compared with three or more years for vinyl or silicone." —Chip Wade, host of Elbow Room 2 seal the sides Cut four strips of self-stick vinyl V-channel an inch longer than the height of the lower sash. Raise…

…to not warm upyour car before driving? A: Despite what your dad may have told you, warming up your car in the morning isn't the best way to get going. In fact, the idea that you need to let your car sit idle before driving off on cold days is outdated, says Donny Seyfer, the chairman-elect of the Automotive Service Association and a mechanic with 35 years of experience. Older cars used oils that took a long time to circulate through the engine, especially when it was cold, which is why they needed a warm-up period. But new oils and engines work a lot more efficiently. "Most cars built from the late '90s on can be driven right away, as long as the temperature is above zero degrees Fahrenheit," says…