GIVE YOUR HOME THE PERFECT HOLIDAY MAKEOVER.

Byline: Paul Sterman Correspondent

The holidays are the time to welcome friends and family into your home. But as you look around, you realize your house could use a little holiday cheer.

The situation presents a perennial challenge: What's the best way to quickly fix things up before company comes?

We put the question to the experts - Lee Snijders, host of ``Design on a Dime'' on HGTV, and Christi Proctor, a designer on the hit show ``Trading Spaces,'' which airs on the Learning Channel. After all, they are challenged weekly to turn around a project in less than an hour on their shows.

``The easier you make it as far as decor ... the more fun you'll have at your party,'' says Snijders, a Burbank resident. ``You won't be worrying so much about it and (it's) less work you'll have to do.''

Here are just a few of the tips they offered before the guests arrive:

-- Use paint to add color to a wall or an entire room. Though adding paint is one way to put a strong stamp of color on a room, there's also a downside, Snijders points out. It takes a good day or so to do the job, and then you should allow about a week to air out the room so that the smell of paint will be gone.

If you like the color you have but want a more vibrant look, try creating a faux finish by glazing a wall instead of repainting it. You can use use sponges, rags or cloths to do the job.

``Make sure you have a good coverage of base color (on the walls),'' Proctor explains. ``Buy a gallon of glazing medium - latex is fine if you have a latex base coat already - and mix in a quart of paint that is the tint color you want, to glaze on top of the walls. I prefer to use oil-based glazing medium, because if you get too much on, you can thin it down with mineral spirits.''

-- Change or add area rugs. They can be attention grabbers when you first walk into a room and can serve as a focal point for people to congregate. This time of year, you can find both rugs and pillows in holiday themes at specialty home stores. Some can be purchased for as little as $50. After the holidays, you can put them away to be used again next year.

-- Have fun with lighting and light fixtures. Use a dimmer switch (which you can install in less than a hour) to create a mood, or add some trim to a lamp shade (another quick project that just takes a glue gun and a ribbon with crystal beads).

Before you start your projects, ask yourself what atmosphere you want to create for your home.

``As you meet different people and are in different homes, you find that everyone is wanting that comfortable, welcoming environment,'' says Proctor, who has been traveling around the country to film episodes during her first season with the show. ``Especially since 9-11, everyone is more interested in family and friends and gathering and enjoying each other.''

To get started, you'll probably need to begin with the basics: cleaning and organizing. Maids Home Services offers these simple but time-honored tips:

-- Get rid of piles of ``stuff'' - magazines, newspapers and various trinkets that you haven't used in more than a year.

-- Clean out your coat closet (or guest room closet) to make room for your guests.

After your house is clean, you might want to think about your furniture. If you've borrowed or bought some extra chairs to accommodate a large number of guests, and those chairs clash with the interior of a room, you might want to get some slip covers to put over them, Snijders says.

Changing or adding curtains can also contribute a vivid element to a room. Velvet curtain panels evoke a coziness that fits a room perfectly during the winter, Proctor says, pointing to the differences between curtain textures.

``A sage green velvet will make a much heavier, warmer feel than a sage green linen curtain.''

If you really want to go to great lengths, find a way to reach your chandelier - then do some decorating up there. That's if you have a chandelier, of course. The HGTV Web site (www.hgtv.com) suggests festooning the fixture this way: String ribbons from the top of the chandelier to just below the candles, where you can tie the ribbons into bows.

Or make merry with molding. Shirley Brown, interior designer for Home Depot in Woodland Hills, says placing molding around windows, around door frames and in between the ceiling and walls, adds a dash of elegance to a space. ``It finishes off a room very nicely.''

Accessorize like the experts

When preparing to open your home to guests over the holidays, take a deep breath, think positive - and assess your accessories.

Designers say adorning your home with eye-pleasing accessories is a key to making it look attractive and inviting. Put out candles, collectibles, photographs, baskets, artwork, jars, vases or other simple but appealing items that can enliven a room. However, pick wisely - in other words, avoid overkill, warns Christi Proctor, a designer for ``Trading Spaces.''

``One of the most uncomfortable things for a guest is when you have so many things out,'' she says. ``The mind gets frazzled - there's a wreath on this door, there's five candles here, there's that over there.''

--Add small touches: Shirley Brown, the interior designer for Home Depot in Woodland Hills, advises taking a stroll through your house and looking for items that need brightening up. For example, she notes, if you see a basket in a room that's not being used much, you could roll up some brightly colored hand towels and stand them up in the basket, then place it in a guest bathroom or the kitchen.

--Bring in some fresh flowers or plants: They can add a touch of nature, give a room or walkway a bright, airy feel and provide a nice scent to boot, says Lee Snijders, one of the hosts of ``Design on a Dime.''

- P.S.

CAPTION(S):

drawing, 9 photos, box

Drawing:

(cover -- color) Sprucing up your home for the holidays

Make it festive with tips from decorating experts

Jorge Irribarren/Staff Artist

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color) Simple touches such as candles, below, or festive flowers (Hippeastrum amaryllidaceae `Susan,' right) can augment more-ambitious holiday decorations such as slipcovers on the dining room chairs, bottom.

Pottery Barn

(4 -- 7 -- color) Clockwise from left: Holiday- themed rugs can be a focus of attention and give guests a place to gather; velvet curtain panels add a warm, cozy feel; and fresh flowers (Muscari botryoides liliaceae `Casablanca,' top center, and Hyacinthus liliaceae `Blue Star,' top right) add a touch of nature and a pleasing scent.

Restoration Hardware

Crate and Barrel

Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center

(8 -- color) Christi Proctor

``Trading Spaces''

(9 -- color) Lee Snijders

``Design on a Dime''

Box:

Accessorize like the experts (see text)