With just a month until Christmas, I’m starting to look at ideas for how I would like to decorate my little apartment. There are so many different styles that you can use to transform your home for the holidays – traditional red and green, glamourous silver & gold, neutrals, Scandinavian, colourful, minimalist – the choices are endless. My eye seems to be drifting towards using natural elements with traditional designs. We’ll see what happens when I open the Christmas boxes this week and see all the goodies that I have to decorate with. I may not be able to resist those plump little Santas.
Jingle Bell Vase Filler, Pottery Barn, $19
Using jingle bells as a vase filler is a great way to bring in some traditional elements. The metallic surface will reflect the light, and make an interesting piece. Although Pottery Barn is selling this for $19 this year, you can easily find jingle bells at much more reasonable prices at dollar stores and craft stores. Mix it up with whatever colours you are using this year, as these bells often come in silver, gold, red and green.
This cranberry-tone bead garland looks striking against the white mantlepiece, and I love the idea of pairing it with silver toned and clear red votives on top.
BetterHomeandGarden.com
My favorite Christmas tree style is a traditional family tree. Year after year carefully unpacking the same ornaments that have been passed down over the years. I keep an eye out for old ornaments when I visit antique stores and yardsales, because there is just something about those mercury glass shapes and pipecleaner figures that gets me every time.
Photo: Bjorn Wallander, CountryLiving.com
This beautiful simple dining room setting looks so light and airy. Can’t you just picture sitting down to a beautiful Christmas morning brunch?
photo credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo, GoodHousekeeping.com
What a great way to bring the outdoors inside! The contrast of the rustic pinecones with the subtle glitter, atop silver pieces on a red runner, is an easy, classic look.
Lenox “Holiday” 12 piece set, Macy’s, $230
I know that you only use it for one month of the year, but I love holiday-themed dinnerware. Thankfully I do not have the storage (or the budget) to justify such a luxury, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t admire the cheerful patterns. And dream of eating a Christmas dinner on them after slaving away in the kitchen all day. Totally worth it.
Photo Credit: Charles Schiller, CountryLiving.com
Another great way to use that Christmas-themed servingware is to display ornaments! You can also fill them with small wrapped gifts, pinecones, or even fragrant citric fruits.
Engravable Frames, Pottery Barn $29-49
These engraved metal frames from Pottery Barn are a great way to show your family through the ages, just be careful what you put in them…no one wants to see awkward pictures of themselves as sleepy teenagers in obnoxious reindeer pajamas with horrible bedhead. (My mother insists on a photo of all of us on the steps every Christmas morning…I try to wake up early enough to shower and do hair and makeup, but the turkey and wine the night before always wins out, and I sleep until the last possible minute. We now have annual photographic evidence of my laziness.)
Reindeer Knit Pillow, Eddie Bauer, $50
A few years ago my mother gave me a beautiful quilted holiday throw for my couch, and I have been on the hunt for some seasonal pillows to accompany it, but have yet to find anything that matches. Although it doesn’t fit the colours, I love this adorable Fair Isle-inspired knit reindeer pillow from Eddie Bauer, and it would look just as nice in your home during the holidays, as it would in a cozy ski chalet.
Sleigh Bell Lumbar Pillow, Pottery Barn
This whimsical red silhouette of Santa’s sleigh and his reindeer on a crewel pillow would look great in a living room, or even on a child’s bed. And those pom-poms on the corners are actually red jungle bells. It would be a great way of telling when the dogs sneak up on the couch!
Snowglobes are just too magical and romantic not to include them in a post about holiday decor. There are so many styles, that you are sure to find something that fits in with your decor, and kids still get mesmerized by the flurries in the globe.
Mt. Snow Quilt, The Company Store, $100-130
Holiday bedding is sure to make you have sugar plums dancing over your head, and this quilt really hits the spot. Paired with a nice set of flannelette sheets, I don’t know that you’d be able to resist snuggling in for hibernation.
Vintage Christmas ornaments evoke so many great memories of the trinkets that of my grandparents had, and these snowmen fit the bill. Combined with the wire-brush Christmas trees (classic!), this would make an adorable little display for the top a bookcase or mantle.
CountryLiving.com
The little guy on the lower right side really reminds me of Frosty…complete with corncob pipe.
From Home for the Holidays by Heidi Tyline King
Nothing is as inviting as a beautiful wreath on the front door. Natural materials like the one above really catch my eye….
Ruby Reception Holiday, FTD $80
…but something has to be said for having festive vibrant wreaths too. We can only get away with using so much glitter and sparkle once a year, so we should enjoy it, right?
What are your plans for holiday decorating? Have you already started, or do you wait until December?
Hi there what a lovely christmas post. I just absolutlely love christmas. I am planning to make a lot of my own decorations this year and I am going to go with a vintage theme. You can take a look at some of my latest christmas creations on my blog, I’d love to know what you think…
xx
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