Whether you decide to give your home the full festive treatment or strip it back this year with a minimalist look, Christmas is the time to embrace traditions and create magic.
If you’re struggling to decide how to attack your Christmas design the team at Stella Mannering & Company have put together a foolproof guide to a stylish Christmas look - just because Christmas is a time for sparkle and glitter doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice your interior design style!
Choosing your colour palette is an essential step when designing and executing the perfectly manicured Christmas look. From the traditional red, green and gold to the more modern monochrome look once you have chosen your colours you can build the rest of your design around it. A popular (and surprising) colour this year has been black - laying glossy black ornaments with candles and fairy lights can create a smart decadent Christmas look.
I am a big believer in bringing the outside in when it comes to Christmas decorations. I like to go foraging in my local woodlands, armed with sectors, a bag and an army of little helpers (grandchildren come in very useful for this) looking for the decorations nature has provided. Pinecones, foliage, holly, mistletoe, are all on my doorstep. From here I layer up my design using baubles in my chosen colour pallet, bows, lights and candles. My secret weapon is The White Company’sWinter Fragrance Oil, as the beautifully green fresh smell of the foliage starts to dull put a few drops of this on my display and ping the Christmassy scent has been revived!
You can quickly and easily transform your hallway by layering evergreen foliage and fresh flowers along staircases and on tables. Accessorise with baubles in your chosen colour palette, twinkling lights and ribbon. Not only does this create a beautifully festive welcome for your guests it also fills your home with the warm scents of Christmas.
Arguably the main attraction of any festive decor is the Christmas tree, once the inevitable family argument over which tree to choose has been resolved it is time to consider the decoration. I like to coordinate my decorations with the room my tree will be in, that way it immediately looks like it’s part of the home rather than a temporary addition, it also adds to a more polished look for the overall room.
If you opt for a real Christmas tree ideally unpack the tree and leave it for a couple of hours before decorating it to let the branches drop and settle, that way you will have a true picture of what your tree looks like in the room. My starting point is always the fairy lights, as we all know lighting is key and by putting them on first it gives me full visibility of where I need to carefully place my decorations to maximise sparkle! Then the fun begins, baubles. I tend to cluster my baubles into groups of 3-4, this creates a story with my decorations and makes the tree look orchestrated, rather than the ‘I threw every decoration I had at it’ look, I then layer on texture using ribbons or more natural materials like pine cones or feathers. The key I think to a beautifully decorated tree is finding a balance between decoration overload and just the right amount of twinkle!
I feel that the heart of Christmas can be found at the Christmas table, with all of your family and friends gathered for a gastronomic feast, which is why it’s so important to me that I make the table look like a festive winter wonderland. The starting point in my design is lighting, I like to add a festive glow with candles and glittering fairy lights to create a warm and intimate setting. From here I then layer on baubles, bows and ribbons in my chosen colour pallet. This year I plan to make a statement with greenery and faux flowers, starting with a crisp white table cloth running down the middle to create a blank canvas for my design, adding in candles for atmosphere, pine cones and bows in warm cinnamon & tobacco shades.
The natural look is very on-trend this year so throw away the rule book of a symmetrical design get creative and have some fun with it, the bolder the better, think messy chic!
However, you end up deciding to decorate your home this Christmas our greatest piece of advice is to get creative and have fun with your festive design.
From all of us at Stella Mannering and Company we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year.
Look out for more exciting interior Design blogs coming from the team in the new year, why not pop in and say hi to us at our studio.
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