Hello my decoristas! It’s a bit frightening to think Christmas is around the corner and will be here before we know it! Decorating our homes is a high priority for many of us and I have shared some ideas the past couple of weeks to help you get started. We want our homes to reflect this exciting and celebratory time of year yet be festive, welcoming and cozy. But with all of the shopping, baking, entertaining, card and letter writing and parties, it is easy to get overwhelmed and run short of time.
Christmas decor does not have to be elaborate or complicated to be beautiful. I believe simple decor is much more elegant and brings a peaceful calm to any space; busy, over done rooms have a frantic feel to them and do not provide a relaxed ambiance. To help you create a simple, festive home for the holidays, read on for quick and easy tips to bring a touch of Christmas to each of your rooms.
Bedrooms
A cozy blanket draped over the foot of your bed will add instant warmth and comfort to any bedroom and one that has texture will up the ante by adding depth to the bed. Festive throw pillows are another simple and easy way to add Christmas to the bedrooms and your guests will love this festive touch! Pillows are readily available in a variety of colours, styles, fabrics and patterns so you will easily find the perfect ones to coordinate the blanket as well as your decor and style.
Christmas ornaments are not just for the tree. Casually set on a shelf or gathered in a bowl or on a small plate on a dresser, ornaments bring colour, texture and a touch of sparkle to any room. This year look for ornaments in trending blush pink, gold metallic dark blue or green. Using all of one colour is very striking and luxe or consider a mixture of 2 or more colours for an interesting contrast and informal vibe.
Bathrooms
I love the festive scents of hand soaps and coordinating hand creams available during the Christmas season! Many come with their own stand or tray so this is truly one of the easiest ways to add Christmas decor to the bathroom. Can’t decide which scent to buy? Buy one for each bathroom so you can enjoy them all!
Want to go a step further? Your every day hand towels in the bathrooms can be easily swapped out for hand towels with festive scenes and decor on them. And I love that they are available in colours beyond the traditional red and green and include motifs such as pine trees, snowflakes and snowmen so they can be enjoyed well into the new year. (I do love decor accessories that do double duty!)
Kitchen
While you want to ‘keep the decks cleared’ in the kitchen for the cooking and baking that you do during the festive season, a few touches of Christmas add a homey, comfortable vibe to this central hub. A simple jam or mason jar with a festive ribbon and cinnamon sticks not only looks lovely but smells terrific too! Equally festive and easy is a basket or bowl filled with nuts, clementines or pomegranates. Of course, who could resist a delightful colourful cookie jar that not only adds charm to your kitchen but holds some of those treats you have prepared!
Dining Room
The dining room will be the centre of many a meal and celebration over the holidays. Keep things simple with a centrepiece that is a focal point at each sitting and does not have to be removed to make way for the place settings and dishes of food. Natural elements such as small pine cones, stones or nuts, candles (unscented) and Christmas ornaments all set in a tray or on a platter make a simple but elegant display. Use colours that coordinate with your table linens and dishes and you will have a beautiful, cohesive look every time with minimal effort.
Living Room/Family Room
Next to the kitchen, the living room and/or family room are spaces that typically see the most use in our homes and Christmas is no exception when family and friends gather to celebrate. Traditionally the Christmas tree is located in these spaces, but whether you have a tree or not, there are simple ways to add some festive touches to these spaces.
You want to make these rooms welcoming and comfortable but keep them low maintenance as well so you can enjoy the visits with your guests. A basket of throw blankets adds warmth and comfort as well as interesting texture and depth.
A simple display of candles of varying heights and sizes intermingled with greenery can be placed on a mantel, shelf or coffee table and works well into the new year too. Using faux greenery is a low maintenance approach and the range and quality has dramatically improved over the past few years!
Entrance Way
The entrance way to our homes is where we set the stage and make guests feel at once welcome and comfortable. If you have a table in the entrance way, a jar of seasonal greens or dogwood branches makes a simple display and a ribbon wrapped around the vase makes it even more festive!
And how about bringing a wreath indoors? Even the smallest of entrance ways can be made festive with a small wreath. Of course, Christmas cards provide a perfect decor accessory and clipping them to a brightly coloured ribbon is a simple way to add more colour to the display.
As we head into the busy Christmas season I hope these ideas prove helpful and provide the inspiration to make some beautiful but simple and easy additions to your home for the holidays. Cheers!
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