If you’re one of the many people struggling to find romantic ideas for a Valentine's day at home this year, look no further.
If you’re not looking for anything too specific, here are the basics of how to “Valentine up” your house:
- Add some red. It’s the color of love.
- Flowers are a must. They’re easy to get, elegant, and never go out of style.
- Throw in some chocolate and candy.
- You can DIY decorate your house.
- Small things make the biggest difference — try adding a themed lantern to “lighten” the room.
Let’s look at some valentines day home decor in a little more detail now.
Valentine's Day Decoration Ideas At Home
Here are 7 ideas guaranteed to add that extra bit of pizzazz to your home decor this February:
1. Floral Arrangements
Flowers have become synonymous with Valentine’s day, as have chocolates. We’ll give you some thoughts on combining the two later on in this article.
Here’s an interesting tidbit for you:
The giving of a rose on Valentine's day is rooted in Greek mythology, when Aphrodite (the goddess of love) was said to have been scratched by the thorn of a white rose, causing it to turn red.
Moving on to the decor aspect of things, floral arrangements look good in every room of the house.
There’s zero doubt, roses are beautiful, but they’re so overdone these days, which is why you might want to swap the queen of flowers out for a bouquet of orchid flowers instead.
In our opinion, a rose is a classic, elegant beauty, but an orchid is nature’s work of art. They come in many more colors than a rose and have a stronger scent too.
With an increasing number of people beginning to prefer more permanent fixtures instead of temporary bouquets, a potted plant arrangement is also a good option.
You can either use live orchids (which tend to be rather high-maintenance) or use an artificial orchid arrangement, sometimes called silk orchids as a “get it and forget it” solution.
Other flowers that mesh well with valentine’s day themes are lilies, white daisies, pink tulips, hydrangea, gardenia, and hyacinths.
Places where floral arrangements look good (using a decorative vase helps enhance the look):
- In the middle of the dining table
- On a kitchen island
- On the bedroom nightstand
- In the center of coffee/ side/ peg tables
For an elegant look, use flowers of a single color and type, and this will match with most people’s existing decor.
2. Love Chocolates
Even the people who don’t pay much attention to Valentine’s day will find it terribly hard to miss the chocolate boxes in shop windows leading up to the 14th.
In fact, Forbes magazine even published a list of the best valentines day chocolates to get in 2022.
Heart-shaped chocolates are guaranteed to “romance up” the table that they are placed on.
It is pretty easy to get a Valentines day themed chocolate hamper, and these often come in decorative boxes — no extra work required.
Simply pop the lid open, and display.
For chocolate boxes that aren’t in a fancy case, place the lid on its short side, and put the bottom half of the box (with the chocolates) onto it, so that it stays upright.
Imagine an open oyster — that’s the look we’re going for.
3. Balloons
A small pack of $10 balloons can change the atmosphere of even the dullest rooms.
You can’t go wrong with the classic combination of red/ white, or pink/ white, but nothing’s stopping you from pairing the balloons with the room’s linen or wall color.
Try attaching them to a string and making a pillar of balloons and propping it up in the corner for a party look.
You can also get letter-shaped balloons to spell out the name of your guest, or to say “I heart you”.
Alternatively, if you’re reading this an hour before your date is due to arrive, just leave them scattered around the room for a festively messy look.
Note: Your house isn’t a ball pit — don’t overdo things. Just because a $10 balloon pack has 100 pieces in it doesn’t mean that you have to use them all.
4. Wreaths
That’s right — you can pop out a couple of wreaths even when it’s not Christmas season.
Three shapes dominate the valentine scene:
- “XO” wreaths: which stands for “hugs and kisses” in modern texting slang.
- Heart-shaped wreaths: for adding that festive touch.
- Standard circular wreaths: simple, classy, elegant.
You can hang wreaths on your front door, over entrances to rooms, from curtain pelmets, place them on the mantelpiece, or even just plop them in the middle of a dining table.
If going with the last option, some people may want to put their star dish in the center of the wreath (use faux wreaths if you do this, as ones made out of real plants tend to attract insects).
5. Table Runners
The best way to “valentine up” a dining table is to pair a nice, nude tablecloth with a gorgeous deep red table runner.
The floral arrangement we mentioned earlier would look fabulous when displayed alongside a couple of candles on either side of the runner.
You can even get candle stands to match the theme — all it takes is a five-minute browse through Amazon, Bestbuy, or Target.
6. Pillows, Teddy Bears, And Throw Cushions
These make for a quick and easy decoration solution, and can literally be thrown together.
Keeping with the valentine theme is easy: just use red and/or white throw pillows around the room to jazz up the place.
You can use throws on sofas, single-seater recliners/chairs, on swings, divans, and in the bedroom.
Heart-shaped pillows are another hot favorite among dating couples, particularly customized ones.
Place them in the corner of a sofa, or on a window seat for a nice romantic look.
You can get your and your partner’s initials stitched or embroidered on pillow covers within $15 in most cases.
A classic combination of valentines day gifts and decor was popularized by the well-loved “Archie” comics in the ’80s: a Teddie, a box of candy, and a balloon.
If someone is coming over, there’s no reason why you can’t have those things waiting for them as they enter the door.
Plus, if you get a teddy bear with a basket, it can serve as a catch-all on the coffee table or fireplace even after the festive season has passed.
7. Other Things You Can Try
Valentine’s day decoration ideas while at home (and you can't leave):
- A string of hearts: Cut out paper hearts and thread them on a string. Use like you would a streamer. Different colored hearts (red and white, of course) look pretty classy.
- Cards: Brightly colored cards can be placed around the house (look at the list of “where to place floral arrangements” section above), or be hung on a string.
- Printables: Quick, cheap, easy, and effective, just take an A4 printout of something valentin-ey like an “I love you” message and use a clipboard to display it. Or, paste it onto some cardboard, and do the same.
Happy Valentine’s!
You don’t actually need themed decorations to show that you’re in the festive mood, but they sure help.
Redoing the place doesn't have to be a strain on your wallets and purses either — all of the items on this list are actually quite affordable.
These were just some fun ideas for valentine's day that you could experiment with, without putting in too much effort (it’s only for a day, after all) and without breaking the bank.