Vanessa and Nick Lachey's HomeGoods Holiday Decór Is Next-Level Chic

When actress and television personality Vanessa Lachey wanted to deck her Los Angeles home's halls, she turned to a super affordable retailer: HomeGoods. "I love exploring every aisle, especially during the holidays," she says. "The store is a treasure trove of inspiration for creating your holiday vision."

Keep scrolling to take a virtual tour of Vanessa and Nick Lachey's L.A. home—completely decorated for the holidays—to fuel your holiday decorating inspiration. Below, Vanessa shares her holiday decorating tips, including a clever place card idea that doubles as a parting gift for guests (we're stealing this tip for ourselves).

Vanessa's number one piece of advice is to stay true to your personal style. "There are so many stylish decorating choices for the holidays; I recommend going with what speaks to you and gives you that aha feeling," she advises. "My style is a mix of traditional and contemporary, so when I found festive red-and-black buffalo plaid pillows at HomeGoods, I immediately decided to make the pattern a focus point in my favorite entertaining spaces."

"After I grabbed pillows for the living room, I found an adorable lumberjack nutcracker, a festive garland to hang from the mantel, and ornaments to layer on the tree—all with buffalo plaid to tie together the space effortlessly," she explains. "I love how the red makes the space pop!"

With holiday-themed accent pieces like pillows and throw blankets, aim for patterns or colors that can work year-round. That way, you can invest in pieces you really love rather than buying super festive accessories that will live in a closet for most of the year.

With this color palette in mind, the actress curated a collection of mixed-and-matched stockings to hang from the mantel. A faux-evergreen garland dotted with red berries ties the look together and brings the outside in, while lit candles in the fireplace lend a welcoming warmth to the space.

Although Vanessa walked into her local HomeGoods intending to shop exclusively for holiday décor, there was one big-ticket item that caught her eye. "We've been renovating our home and on the hunt for a new couch for our living room," she divulged.

"Since I do so much holiday entertaining, it's important to look for furniture that's kid-proof and made with high-quality, durable fabric," she explained. "I spotted a gorgeous tufted blue sofa that really served as an anchor piece in decorating my formal living room. It goes beautifully with the buffalo plaid and the rest of my classic red-and-green holiday color scheme."

To make the tablescape flow with the rest of the décor, Vanessa opted for buffalo plaid placements, red-trimmed napkins, and a faux-evergreen garland complete with red berries for the centerpiece. Then she cleverly attached a snowflake ornament to each napkin ring and wrote her guests' names on them for a unique spin on traditional place cards.

"Getting creative with an inviting tablescape is one of my favorite parts of hosting," Vanessa confesses. "I love that I can go to HomeGoods and find stunning serving pieces at prices so good that I can mix and match to create a formal or casual look depending on the event."