With the festival of lights only a week away, its time to start decorating the home for all the ensuing fun and frolic. To ensure you’re not caught up in decor doom trying to set things up, we’re sharing some simple and easy tips for you to experiment with.

1. Ditch the drab everyday curtains for sheer, glossy dupattas

If you have a pretty dupatta that you are tired of wearing but not yet ready to part with, just hang it up as a curtain to instantly brighten up the room. Also, if you’re looking for that perfect Powder blue or Chartreuse yellow and just can’t find it in the curtain section, head for the dupatta rack! Just pick a color scheme that goes with your existing decor and let a glossy dupatta transform the room for the special festival night. Easy to wash and hang, these make for a colorful statement.

Make sure there’s a source of light behind the curtains to bring out its pattern and texture.

2. Make your own tea-lights with colorful bangles

While there are countless ready-made tea-light holders to choose from, you could get a little creative by making one of your own with bangles. The best part, you can either buy the bangles of your choice or even recycle old/broken ones. Glue them together and let the light shine through!

3. Use flowers to create happy corners

Nothing beats fresh flowers as decoration! Fresh petals can brighten up the entrance or a special corner in the room in a wide-base bowl. With lotus and rose being the flowers of the day, graciously use them in decorations around the house. Add floating candles for the Diwali flavour or use marigolds and roses in a colorful rangoli.

4. Time for the Toran, at the door and elsewhere.

The Toran is a must-have feature at the entrance door during Diwali. Considered to an auspicious element in welcoming Goddess Lakshmi into the home, these decorations can range from mirror-embellished colorful pieces from Kutch/Rajasthan, to marigold and mango leaf varieties available at flower shops. These can be placed above paintings/mirrors, in front of curtains, as part of a rangoli or as decoration around the puja thali or earthen pot.

5. Use lights in interesting ways around the house

String lights needn’t be pushed outside the house. Hang them behind sheer curtains, around the table or inside a glass bowl/vase/old glass bottles for glittering notes within the house.

Have fun decorating with these simple ideas. Share some of your own and have a rollicking Diwali!