(ARA) – As the holidays approach, many people begin to think about welcoming friends and family into their home to celebrate the season. Whether your cousin is flying from across the country or your in-laws are spending a day to exchange gifts, you want your house to look its best for your guests, especially the ones you only see a couple times a year. Minor home improvements can make holiday visitors think you’ve remodeled.

“Everyone is busy, especially during the holidays. With limited time, extensive home improvements are not an option,” says Anne Horst, customer service manager at Wooster Brush, a company dedicated to producing quality painting products. “To add a seasonal glow to your home, think of small updates that give clean visual appeal. These are the ones your guests are sure to notice.”

* A Welcoming Entrance
The first thing guests see when visiting your home is the front entrance, so make sure it is friendly and warm. It’s best to remove any clutter. This would be a good time to put away patio furniture or planters that are no longer being used and swap them with festive decorations. Replace light bulbs so your walkway and address are properly lighted. Finally, consider painting the front door so it looks brand new. The Big Green mini-roller from Wooster has fine hairs that make door painting fast and controlled, with results that look like paint has been sprayed on. Remember, the entranceway is your guest’s first impression of the rest of the home, so freshening it up has a lot of impact.

* Sparkling Bathrooms
No doubt, holiday guests will use the bathroom. The good thing is that bathrooms can be transformed without a lot of hassle. First, look around at all the items that fill the counters and floors. Take the shampoo, lotion and makeup bottles and put them in cabinets or other storage areas. Without the disarray, your bathroom will look newer instantly.

Along with a fresh soap bottle, holiday guests will enjoy soft new towels for washing hands. Even consider investing in a new mirror for the bathroom. The update looks great and you can enjoy it long after the holidays. If you don’t want to buy a mirror, paint the outside frame for a fresh look.

* Small Painting Projects
Forget about a complete painting overhaul and focus on the areas that visitors will notice. For example, how about painting the inside of the coat closet? Guests will be frequenting it as they come and go, and new paint will cover the dirt and scratches that accumulate.

Hallways are another common area for guest traffic. Because they often get nicked or scuffed, a fresh coat of paint will make them look new again. A pop of color in a hallway can improve every room it connects. Plus, painting a hallway is simple because there is no heavy furniture to move!

Thinking small can often make a big difference in decorating your home for the holidays. “Even repainting spaces like the inside of your cabinets and drawers will impress guests when they help prepare for the holiday dinner,” Horst points out. Trim is another area that can be easily repainted. Look for tools that help in small places like the Jumbo-Koter mini-roller from Wooster. It is lightweight and easy to control to make painting small areas a breeze.

* Decorative Details
No need to purchase furniture and other major items for the holidays, simply spruce up the details. For example, in the living room, buy a new throw to put on the sofa along with several new pillows. An old couch is now transformed into something that looks updated and stylish. In the kitchen consider getting new dishcloths and towels. A few current accessories will make your kitchen sparkle.

Other details that modernize the look of a home include artwork and photos. Replace family photos in frames with new ones from the past year’s activities. It’s a simple change that will also inspire conversation. Children’s artwork and other pieces on the refrigerator, bulletin boards, or walls can easily be replaced with newer options as well.

With these simple changes, you’ll impress your holiday guests and still have time to enjoy the season. For more information on home improvement products that make painting easy, visit www.woosterbrush.com.