DECORATING How to make your home sparkle

Gregory Perry's holiday decorating tips:
Choose a color scheme or decorating theme for each room. Take inspiration from what's already there, such as artwork, furniture and wall colors.
Decorate one room at a time. Not only does that make the job more manageable, but it also helps you coordinate the decorations.
Think in terms of layers for trees, mantel decorations, banisters and the like. Start with a sturdy base, wired in place if necessary, then add items in layers until you achieve the desired effect. For trees, Perry starts with lights, beads and ribbons, then adds large decorations and finishes with smaller elements.
Pay attention to the location of electrical outlets when you're planning your decorating. Perry hid an electrical wire from a client's banister with a deftly placed poinsettia.
Repeat elements in various places around the room. For example, Perry used the same berries, grapes and gold bead roping on his dining room tree and on a mantel swag across the room.
Artificial trees and greenery are ideal for long-lasting decorations, but for fragrance, add some fresh greenery and flowers when you're having guests.
Don't limit yourself to decorating with Christmas items. Perry's decorations incorporate such nontraditional elements as cowbells, candlestick lamps, mirrors, feathers and lots of artificial flowers. Save money by using items you already own.
Use inexpensive items as filler materials for a tree, but find something unusual and special to add interest. Perry designated one tree in his house the "Queen of England tree" and decorated it with ceramic English houses, crowns, a Queen Elizabeth doll he made himself and a blown-glass queen ornament by Christopher Radko.
Display special tree ornaments on spinning holders to draw attention to them.
Elevate items for interest. Perry used a small table to raise a miniature tree on a living-room sideboard to make it more noticeable and to provide a better balance to the cluster of trees at the sideboard's other end.
Put your money and efforts where they'll be seen. "You don't have to have things in every nook and cranny," Perry said. "Make focal points."
Avoid prelighted trees. When a section of lights goes out, it's difficult to find and replace the offending bulb. If you can't fix it, you'll have to pitch the whole tree.
Don't be afraid to shake things up a little. Perry tossed aside convention by decorating a formal living room in primary colors instead of the expected muted tones.
At the same time, feel free to honor tradition or be playful. An elegant family room tree, for example, is circled by a childhood train.