Radio stations are placing their favourite Christmas playlist on repeat, decorative wreaths are hugging lamp poles on Bay Street and shops around town are rolling out their window displays – it’s that time of year again and all around The Bahamas that means one thing – it’s time to spruce up your home for the holidays.
The holidays are about relaxing and spending time with loved ones. Oasis Furniture Sandyport offers tips on how to transform your space to make it as inviting and comfortable as possible this Christmas and beyond. Whether your taste is traditional holiday colours or modern metallics, it’s less about what’s trending than what brings out the joy in you, says Oasis creator Brooke Phillips.
For many figuring out how to start is a challenge. One suggestion from Brooke Phillips, proprietor of Sandyport’s home decor and accessories boutique, Oasis Furniture “Take one room at a time, have fun with it and think festive. It’s about infusing a bit of you into what you want your special space to look and feel like, and doing it within your budget.”
“There’s still plenty of time for a mini make-over or integrating simple touches designed to help your home feel more welcoming than ever this holiday season,” said the 33-year-old certified residential and commercial space stager who also manages Oasis east with outdoor furniture and Phillips Sailmakers & Awning Manufacturers.
As the living room tends to be the first space visitors see when they step inside a home Phillips suggests transforming the space by swapping out traditional sofas and love seats for a family-friendly sectional.
“A sectional is a great option for its versatility and can be arranged however you like. Sofas and love seats can’t be customized in the same way. Consider the space you’re working with since sectionals could consume more space,” said Phillips who travels the world to find the unusual.
To create a new look with existing seating Philips suggests exchanging basic throw pillows for festive, cozy, holiday-themed ones, or those in Christmas colours.
“A quick fix, this is an inexpensive, easy way to redecorate and change the entire look of your living room for the holiday season without huge expense or fuss,” she said. “The right throw pillows and a blanket add pops of colours and tie everything together beautifully.” Small touches – decorative candles, large sea grape leaves from your own garden or smaller leaf greenery, shells you collected and stored in a glass container can add to a dramatic centerpiece.
As Christmas is a time when trees are not only welcomed indoors but seasonal faux foliage such as holly, ivy and berry branches become focal points, Phillips suggests including more natural elements into your home’s year-round decor.
“It’s great when we can bring the outside look in using natural materials like stone or wood, incorporating them into your home’s interior with one of a kind pieces designed to make a lasting impression,” said the interior decorator who treks by foot, camel, horse, mule and more from Africa to the Far East, and across North America searching for exceptional finds to dot the Sandyport store downstairs from Club One Fitness Centre.
Furnishings from natural materials range from the functional like a teak branch coffee table or a majestic element like a casuarina root system mounted on glass and supported by steel displayed in Phillips’ store.
Before the holiday hustle and bustle begins, Philips suggested updating the dining room table – the hub for family.
Frosty the snowman may not make an appearance in The Bahamas but the frosted mint look will find its way to many a formal table, says Oasis Furniture Sandyport proprietor Brooke Phillips.
A shoppers’ wonderland, Oasis Furniture carries original items such as this piece, carved from native trees.
“The dining room table is the place to make beautiful memories of happy times spent laughing and talking together not just at Christmas but throughout the year,” she said. “Around this time of year we see persons swapping out their table for something a little bigger, fancier or more unique.”
For tiny, elegant touches which create a huge impact Phillips said embrace shades of red or a plaid tablecloth or add an eye-catching serving tray with a few well-placed accents on top of it.
Not interested in creating a personal winter wonderland, but want to update rooms that haven’t been touched in years? Phillips recommends original pieces carved from native trees and materials featured in her shoppers’ wonderland.
Most of the home furnishings and accessories in the stylish, contemporary store have an organic feel. Coffee tables, chairs, sofas, dining sets, one-of-a-kind hanging light fixtures, even hand-made sinks are created from bamboo, hard woods, natural stone, bronze, copper and metal with cushions, throws and pillows of fine cottons and natural fiber fabrics.
Think you don’t have space or money for holiday decorating? Think again. Add small bits of Christmas cheer with place mats, table runners, napkin rings, candles, stockings hangings, all with holiday theme from Oasis Furniture. You can also pick up a gift card or two to let your loved ones choose exactly what they want from the home décor emporium. It’s a gift that will last long past the season.
Phillips suggests evoking seasonal memories with high quality aromatic candles which are as attractive as they are fragrant.
“Who doesn’t love the scent of Christmas? Light up soft scents like balsam fir, pumpkin latte, or cinnamon spice around the home. It is great way to create ambiance and make the room feel more intimate,” she said. “Place them on a decorative tray in the center of your dinner table and enjoy being home for the holidays.”
A simple, elegant table with wooden legs and cement siding provides ample space for the entire family during the holidays. 
Scents of cinnamon, pumpkin and chestnut invoke the festive season, making Christmas candles a must-have for the holidays.
