James Rowan

Outdoor & Seasonal WriterPatios, Balconies & Holiday Decor

James Rowan covers outdoor living, seasonal decorating, and home ideas for Room Almanac. His work focuses on choosing ideas that suit the space, season, and practical demands of the setting rather than treating every trend as universally useful.

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Latest from James

A 7 foot Christmas tree lit with warm white lights in the evening, hung evenly from top to bottom with frosted silver, clear glass, and pale blue ornaments, beside a charcoal sofa.

Christmas Decor

Counting Ornaments for a Christmas Tree by Its Height

About 10 to 15 ornaments per foot of tree, adjusted for the tree's fullness, the ornaments' size, and…

November 5, 2026 3 min read

A lit Christmas tree standing in a woven rattan collar against a deep ink navy wall, the pale oak floor around the collar clear.

Christmas Decor

Tree Collar or Tree Skirt for the Base of the Tree

A collar hides the stand in a tight ring, a skirt spreads under the branches. How to choose,…

November 4, 2026 3 min read

A staircase in a hall with soft pink plaster walls, a fir garland tied along the white balusters below a bare walnut handrail, and a small wreath on the newel post.

Christmas Decor

Christmas Staircase Ideas From the Newel Post Up

The stairs get used every day of the holidays. Ten ways to decorate them that keep the handrail…

November 3, 2026 7 min read

A view from the pillow across a white bed with a scarlet wool blanket at its foot, toward a small lit fir tree on a pale oak chest of drawers beside a window in early morning light.

Christmas Decor

Christmas Bedroom Decor Ideas to Wake Up To

A bedroom is seen at night and first thing in the morning, mostly from the pillow. Eleven ways…

November 2, 2026 8 min read

A living room at dusk in January with caramel brown limewashed walls, a cream wool sofa, bare branches in a stoneware jug on the mantel, a bowl of blood oranges, and snow outside the window.

Seasonal

Decorating for Winter Once Christmas Is Over

Thirteen winter decorating ideas for January and February, built on warmth, light, and living things, with nothing left…

October 22, 2026 7 min read

A sunroom with glass on three sides, a saffron yellow limewashed back wall, a terracotta hexagonal tile floor, a cream and blue striped sofa, and an oval teak coffee table.

Living Rooms

The Sunroom in Summer Light and Winter Dark

Seventeen sunroom ideas that start from the light: shade for the roof, floors and fabric that hold their…

October 21, 2026 12 min read

A buff limestone house with a slate roof at dusk, outlined with warm white Christmas bulbs along the eaves and up both sloped edges of its front gable.

Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor Christmas Lights Measured Before the Ladder Comes Out

Measure every edge in feet, slopes included, add 10 percent, and at 12 inch spacing that is about…

October 20, 2026 5 min read

A long dining table set for eight under a brass pendant in a bottle green room at dusk, with lit cream tapers and low bowls of clementines down the white linen cloth.

Christmas Decor

What Goes on the Christmas Table Besides Dinner

Fifteen ways to decorate a Christmas table that still has to hold dinner, from a low cedar garland…

October 20, 2026 10 min read

A walnut dining table covered with a plain white linen cloth hanging evenly at the sides and end, laid with white plates, in a room with ochre limewashed walls.

Dining Rooms

Tablecloth Drop and Size, With the Leaves In or Out

How to size a tablecloth from the drop you want, for long and round tables, and for a…

October 19, 2026 4 min read

Fresh fir and cedar garland tied along the dark oak banister of a staircase and hanging down at the newel post, with cream plaster walls.

Christmas Decor

How Much Garland a Mantel, a Staircase, and a Door Need

The arithmetic for garland on a mantel, along a banister, and around a front door, and how to…

October 15, 2026 5 min read

A coral front door on a white clapboard house, with a plain coir doormat about as wide as the door lying on a gray stone step.

Outdoor Decor

Doormat Sizes for Single Doors, Double Doors, and Sidelights

How wide and deep a doormat should be for a single door, a door with sidelights, or double…

October 14, 2026 4 min read

A rusted steel fire bowl burning at dusk on a circle of gray gravel, with four wooden chairs set around it.

Backyards

The Fire Pit and Everything Around It

Where a fire pit goes, what it stands on, which kind suits the yard, and what to sit…

October 13, 2026 11 min read