You don’t have to be a Kardashian to make your house festive this Christmas. Hard as it is to admit, a double sweeping staircase with banisters wrapped in elaborate garlands may not be in our future. A forest of Christmas trees, two for every room, perfectly adorned with antique baubles, may not be a reality for most of us. No mansion, no problem; the beauty of decorating for Christmas is how easily it can bring joy, warmth and togetherness even in its simplest form. We will be looking at our favourite ways to bring some holiday cheer into your space, whatever the size.
Everyone loves a mantelpiece
If you have a mantelpiece, Christmas is the time of year to make it a real festive focal point. You can forage some greenery, buy from a florist or (my personal favourite) pop down to your local Christmas tree seller. Most of them will give you spruce, holly and berry branch offcuts for a small charity donation. Simply arrange them over the mantelpiece, throw in some fairy lights and seasonal decorations of your choice and voila! A cheering holiday arrangement that will last throughout the Christmas period. Use a shelf or sideboard if you don’t have a mantelpiece, it works just as well.
Images clockwise from top left: @athomewithesther and her beautiful, simple and elegant mantel; @jo_at_sixty_8 with her festive mid-century sideboard with paper decorations; bottom images are @Pigletinbed's own take on simple Christmas styling, including founder Jessica Hanley's seasonal red berry arrangement.
No room for a tree? This alternative solution featured by @wild-twine is a contemporary and space-saving solution to a Christmas tree and would look great on a mantelpiece.
Contemporary Christmas tree decoration from @wild-twine
Get fruity
Is it even Christmas if you haven’t dried some orange slices in the oven? Slice them, lie flat on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and bake in a low oven (120C or 250F) for four hours, flipping them every hour. They can be threaded into a garland, hung individually on the tree or used as napkin holders. Enjoy the positive side effect of your house smelling of citrussy deliciousness while they bake.
Left image from @byolive_co ; Top right image from @burnttoast . All images featuring Piglet In Bed's linen napkins in navy, oatmeal and dove grey.
Paper decorations
They’re relatively cheap to make, they can last for years and they look fantastic. Paper decorations is a trend that is here to stay. From paper snowflakes, to garlands and gold stars, here are a few ideas that we love.
Top image: paper houses from founder Jessica Hanley's home; bottom left from @the_brewhouse_home and her beautiful paper star displayed on our luna stripe linen bedding.
Make the table the focus
The dining table is usually at the heart of any festive celebration, because well, food. Not only are family meals an opportunity to eat an unreasonable amount of roast potatoes, they are also the time to gather together and try not to have any arguments. Decorate yours simply with some candles, eucalyptus and berries from the garden, as seen below.
Left image: courtesy of @byolive_co featuring our linen tablecloth in oatmeal. Right image from @noreenwasti with her simple take on a table centrepiece for the holidays.
We hope this post has provided you with some inspiration on how to add some simple, but effective, Christmas cheer to your home! If maximalism is more your style, why not draw inspiration from @jeffleatham, the Kardashian’s holiday room stylist himself, with this understated suspended-over-the-table arrangement? Please send us your pics if you do!
Main image from @heftiba.co.uk
