The last 30 days of the year seem to sneak up on most everyone, especially if they're trying to squeeze in a home remodeling project before the holidays – and maybe guests – arrive.

Make your New Year's resolution early this year by resolving to get a jump start on a project that is sure to imbue your home with added holiday spirit. Just as there are 12 days of Christmas, there are 12 projects in particular that Experts in Your Home knows can wrap up a home for the holidays better than a festive red bow and ribbon. By category, they include:

Home Projects that Will Make a Grand First Impression

1. Make your entryway a focal point. We can enlarge small, confined spaces and add seating and lighting to larger spaces. We know how to pair function – paying particular attention to flooring – with a signature look that conveys your personality.
2. Replace (or install) carpet on the main staircase. A winning look: custom runners with wide borders. They are taking the decorating world by storm because they accentuate an area that automatically draws great visual interest.
3. Add custom shelving or inserts on tall walls leading up the stairs. From photos to tapestries, our experts can show you how that huge expanse of wall can serve as a canvas for your creativity. A fresh coat of paint can add the finishing touch.

Projects for the Kitchen, the Heart of the Home

4. Update a “contractor-grade” kitchen, replacing staid cabinets and dull counters with stylish new ones. This might seem like a six-mile-high project, but let our home experts show you how many affordable options await you.
5. Refinish cabinets with high-gloss paint and new hardware – a project that we're undertaking with greater frequency. The reason: an upscale look can be accomplished at a fraction of the cost of new cabinets. (It helps if you prefer solid-color vs. wood grain cabinets.)
6. Create a nook with bench seating. This is one of our favorite projects, partly because we always find a custom solution that is both practical and clever for families of all sizes.
7. Install a new backsplash. Like paint, a new backsplash can provide a “facelift” that can make a tired looking kitchen rebound with energy. Tile is a natural, go-to choice, but copper, aluminum, pewter and cork are intriguing alternatives.

Projects to Make Your Guests Feel Right at Home

8. Update a guest bathroom. Homeowners tend to postpone bathroom updates for the same reason they delay updating their kitchens. But this update, too, can be accomplished with ease – and it's one you'll enjoy long after your guests leave.
9. Give your guests a room to write home about. Our home experts have seen – and done – it all, from finishing space in an otherwise unfinished basement to installing a Murphy bed in a home office. If your family teems with little ones, consider converting a closet into a sleeping nook to create a cozy and playful hideaway.

Projects to Add Warmth to Your Home

10. Put the “great” in a great room. Show us an under-used room in your home and we can show you how to make full use of it, even if it means creating separate great rooms for children and adults.
11. Transform a fireplace. Our experts have shown plenty of homeowners how to convert electric, gas and wood-burning fireplaces – and provide much-needed facelifts to dated brick or stone facades.
12. Install a floating mantel. It is, after all, the holidays. And after Santa has come and gone, you'll appreciate the decorative space this nifty addition adds to your home.

If Experts in Your Home had 12 more days, we could offer 12 more ideas. But these should get your wish list off to a good start. Contact us for a consultation and we'll make sure that your wishes are filled before the holidays sneak up on you.