David recommends coordinating color schemes indoors and out, but with a different twist for the inside and outside. As an example, he suggested, amber and red outside and amber and clear inside. Regardless of the palette, David generally incorporates clear lights into a design with colored lights to enhance the effect. “It makes the colors pop more,’’ he said.

•  Red and green — or turquoise and tangerine: The hot trends in fashion and home décor often seep into holiday-theme merchandise and styles — especially in items such as ornaments and tabletop pieces.

Frances Herrera, of Frances Herrera Interior Design in Fort Lauderdale, said hot, trendy hues that translate nicely into a holiday theme include shades of turquoise and blues, possibly paired with tangerine or crisp lemon yellow hues. “I love it,” she said. “I think the combination is beautiful. It’s very fashion forward.”

With two hues selected from those families, she suggests layering in a neutral tone or animal print, and definitely metallic sparkle. Gold and bronze are hot, she says.

The staff at Kirkland’s stores report that blues, teals and other peacock hues are grabbing some of the holiday spotlight.

For another way to add untraditional color, the selection of artificial trees at Target.com, South Miami Ace Home Center and various other merchants includes offbeat hues. Examples: turquoise, electric blue, lime green. Mark David from Sugar Plums and Fancy said red trees with red lights are a spectacular look. Prices of artificial trees in various colors and heights range from about $10 to $300.

•  Styles and trends: Decorating around a theme is popular this year in holiday spruce-ups, said Catherine Pliess, program coordinator of Interior Design and Industrial Design at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Folks seem to be putting more attention into the design aspects of their holiday makeovers. Among the popular themes, she said, is an old-school, hand-crafted look. Another trendy look, she said, features a blend of burlap and silver glass.

•  This and that: For a twist on typical holiday figures, a 120-light Sparkle Peacock blinks in a 59-inch-wide display piece, at select Home Depot stores for about $90.

AceHardware.com and some Ace stores offer an 8-inch USB-powered red wreath with red LED bulbs that light up when plugged into a computer, about $4.50.

Monogram ornaments are a hot item at Kirkland’s, the staff reports, and include an assortment of glass balls with initials featured on background patterns such as red leopard, pink zebra and green argyle. The indoor ornaments are about $7 at Kirklands.com and some Kirkland’s stores. A 12-inch outdoor monogram ornament is about $30 at kirklands.com

Gingerbread figures and houses are hot at South Miami Ace Home Center. Gingerbread houses in pastel hues provide a variation on the usual look. Gingerbread ornaments range from about $4 to $15. Display pieces are $25 to $100.