Vibrant & Colorful Diwali Décor
DIY décor ideas for your next Diwali celebration!
Diwali is my favorite holiday and if you've followed my DIY and décor journey for a while, you know it's a festival that I really get into. I want my kids to remember these celebrations and traditions and I do my best to make it a fun and magical experience for our family.
This year I wanted to incorporate more vibrant colors in my décor compared to last year and that rich marigold color was at the center of all my décor. I also added in porch décor this year and found some really easy ways to create a festive entryway. Let's dive into each area below and I'll show you how you can recreate these elements!
Diwali Porch Décor:
Last year I focused so much on the inside of my house and barely did anything on the outside that this year, I came up with a few different décor ideas for my front porch and really loved how it all came together at the end.
Diwali Wreath:
This was really more of an assembly project than creating anything from scratch. I started with a really inexpensive green wreath from my local craft store, wrapped around some fairy lights that are battery operated and even have a timer. Next I added a luxe velvet ribbon in a marigold color and hung a battery operated LED lantern from the center. I finished the wreath with some gold picks and had something for the door with some sparkle. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see that I actually created a few more wreath options with faux flower garlands wrapped around the wreath instead of the ribbon.
Diwali Porch Sign:
I saw fall themed porch signs all over my neighborhood and decided to create one for Diwali. I had some scrap plywood in the garage which was the perfect size for a sign so this project didn't even require any power tools. I then rounded up some leftover sample paints and had my kids help me with this project.
I had my youngest son (4) use a 2" paintbrush and paint the entire board a solid earthy pink color. He LOVED being able to help and that joy alone was worth doing this project. Once it was dry, I had my oldest (10) son pick out a font and had him print the letters to spell DIWALI in a large size on some printer paper. He then cut out each letter and placed it on the board and outlined the letters onto the painted plywood. I then filled in the outline with white paint for a high contrast sign. To add some more color and pattern, I used stencils I already had and stenciled on some birds, butterflies and leaves. Once my middle son (8) was satisfied with the design I outlined each of these shapes with a gold paint marker which added shine to the sign. For no cost, and a lot of kid involvement and excitement, I had a cute porch sign.
Rangoli Doormat:
Complimentary to the porch sign, I created an equally colorful doormat. This doormat was a regular high traffic grey doormat from a local store. I used the same leftover paints and dabbed on the color, alternating colors per the pattern. I wanted this doormat to represent a Rangoli that is typically drawn with colored powders at the entryway for Indian festivals. This DIY is functional, colorful and so versatile that you can customize for any holiday!
Diwali Door Décor:
To round out the rest of my porch decorations, I added faux marigold garlands coupled with faux wisteria garlands to adorn my front door. For some gold and sparkle, I attached the LED mini lanterns to the faux marigold garlands and hung them at varying heights for some interest. I used 3M outdoor light clips to make sure everything stayed in place. The colors of the flowers, with the ribbon on the wreath and all the colors on the porch sign and doormat totally transformed my entryway and was the perfect preview to the rest of my Diwali décor!
Diwali Entryway Console Décor:
While deciding on the color scheme for the entryway, I did consider the elements in that area of my house that I would not be swapping out. I had a rug and lamp that already had some blues and greys and even though I wasn't planning on using blue in my Diwali décor, adding a little bit of it helped tie all the different elements together in my entry hallway.
I used more of the faux marigold garlands and alternated between the orange and amber colors. I placed the ends of the garlands in a vase with handles and placed the vase on a pedestal stand that I turned upside down. The upside down pedestal helped secure the vase so it wouldn't shift or roll and it looked as though the flowers were pouring out of the vase. I then swirled the rest of the garlands around tealight candle holders and the table lamp and had the ends drape over the ends of the console table. I got some inexpensive bell Christmas ornaments and attached them to the ends of the marigold garlands for a festive look.
For the focal point in the center, I had my kids paint a large canvas that I had lying around the same color as the porch sign. I did the same technique and stenciled on some birds, butterflies and leaves and outlined all the shapes with that same gold paint pen. This DIY wasn't elaborate or complex but instead was a simple way to add more color, continue with the theme that I started with at the doorway and helped to unify all the separately decorated areas.
Diwali Party Favors:
For every Diwali gathering, I like to prepare fun favors for my guests. Usually it involves a decorative container of some sort and I fill it with smaller items. Typically I do chocolate, trail mix packs, small fruits like mini apples and oranges and sometimes include a decorative object as a gift. Sometimes, the container itself satisfies that intent. This year I found a leaf shaped plate, placed a lotus shaped tealight holder in the center and added some chocolate gold coins. I wrapped it all in clear cellophane wrap and tied a gold ribbon. I placed all the favors at the base of my console table which added to the grandeur of the entryway display. The favors this year were an ode to the Goddess Lakshmi and seemed perfect given that Lakshmi is worshipped during Diwali and is shown seated on a lotus or holding one and showering gold coins from Her palm.
Interior Diwali Décor:
For the rest of my home I used items I already had and sprinkled them throughout my spaces. I always buy some fresh flowers and use the petals to decorate in front of my idols and also use them in large brass or glass containers for color along with my floating candles. I bought many of the lotus tealight holders last year and used them on my dining table and other console tables.
When I have gatherings at my home, it's sometimes not possible to declutter the kitchen entirely. I love functional and pretty items and this year I impulsively bought a gold three tier fruit basket and let me tell you it was a hit with everyone. The kids kept helping themselves to fruit and it was such a perfect display.
I have a ton of fairy light strings that I put in tall glass cylinder vases and placed them in various areas on my main floor. I added a curtain of LED lights to our sunroom opening and even strung LED lights on my faux plants. Typically oil filled lamps are lit for festivals in India but as a modern twist, I wrapped fairy lights around the traditional lamps too and they turned out beautiful when lit at night time.
I hung the remainder of my faux jasmine garlands from the balusters, placed one string around the door of my arch cabinet and used a tension rod to hang the additional five marigold garlands as a colorful backdrop for my Lakshmi idol.
No festival is complete without all the Indian garb and this year I decided to reuse one of my wedding saris. You know I made sure the sari worked out with my overall color scheme :).
Hope you enjoyed the rundown of this year's Diwali DIYs and decorations. I hope this inspires you to create your own festive scene for your celebration next year. If you want to see how Diwali looked last year check out my previous post. Below is a recap in pictures and as always thank you for reading.
-Neeta
