How Best to Decorate Your Home at Christmas
Mariah has been thawed, and the Christmas adverts are in full swing, so we must get stuck into the festivities with our blog on bringing good tidings into your home!
You might have boxes full of decorations gathered over the years, or you might be starting from scratch. Either way, it’s always a good idea to step back and think about how you want your home to look this festive season.
So, we’re sharing our top tips for getting the most out of your home at Christmas.
1) Invest in your tree
The main event: the tree. Your tree is the core of your decorations, so we recommend you choose carefully and ensure you pick a quality fir-ry friend. It doesn’t have to be a real tree, as you can get some very realistic artificial trees; just make sure it looks ‘full’. The better your tree looks bare, the better it will look once you’ve added some Christmas magic.
Now, onto the decorations.
2) Colour schemes
Firstly, we always start by considering a colour scheme. You might like to keep things traditional with red and green, but maybe you’re feeling adventurous this year. There is so much room to be creative!
We recommend choosing 2-3 colours to stick with for most of your decorations. You might need to buy some pre-made packs of baubles or create your own set using similar colours. We also suggest sticking with 1-3 shapes of baubles. This leaves room for those more special decorations and room to build a collection of more unique decorations.
Your theme and colour scheme will already be covered, so you can afford to be more creative with the rest of your baubles. For us, we collect baubles when we travel or for special occasions. They help to make your tree more personal and interesting.
To get you started on your colour scheme, here are some examples to consider:
- White, silver and green: Think “winter wonderland”, modern and sophisticated.
- Green, purple and pink: There is always room for pink! This scheme is a brighter option and is excellent if you have other pink and purple accessories.
- Green, red and white: There is nothing wrong with classic Christmas colours; you can go as bright as you like with this one!
- Black and white: Monochromatic and daring.
- Green and gold minimalist: Think more ‘bare leaves’ on your tree with beautifully fragile gold decorations (not for a household with kids or pets!)
- Multi-coloured madness: This one is very 90’s, but so much fun! If you love a bit of colour, then maybe you want to pick all the colours of the rainbow rather than 2-3!
Lighting
Now that you have your main colour scheme, it’s time to think about lighting!
You’ll notice that all lighting comes with different coloured bulbs, so it’s important to consider whether the colour of your bulbs complements the colour scheme you’ve chosen. Usually, you can choose from blue, white, warm white/yellow or multi-coloured.
If you’ve chosen a warmer colour scheme, then your warm white or yellow bulb is best. Blue or white are your best bet if you’re after that winter wonderland look.
Decorating the tree
Your decorations are ready, your lights are in place, and it’s time to get stuck into decorating!
- If you are working with an artificial tree, preparation is essential. Make sure to fluff the branches properly. Get them looking as evenly spread across the layers as possible before hanging a single decoration. It will be hard to adjust the branches later without risking any breakages.
- Add your lights before any decorations. Use the plug end of your lights as a starting point, beginning at the bottom of the tree, working up to the top, and back down again. On the way up, keep those lights close to the trunk. On the way down, weave the lights between the branches further away from the trunk.
- When hanging baubles, start with the bulk of your decorations. That tends to be your larger baubles and those that you have the most of. Your daintier and ‘showpiece’ decorations will go on last.With bulking decorations, ensure they are spread evenly across the whole tree. You don’t want to have a top or bottom-heavy-looking tree! You can group baubles in sets of 3, which can look lovely, but just be sure to spread these groups out.To achieve the best effect, use larger baubles at the base of your tree and smaller baubles towards the top.
- If you are using any garlands, then add those next. Again, keep them evenly spread throughout the tree to maintain a balanced look.
- Finally, it’s time to add the showpieces. Your extra unique decorations should be in front and centre. Adding them last ensures they are at the front of the tree and as visible as possible. Use these to fill any remaining gaps, keeping your favourites at eye level.
The rest of your home
With your tree planned and decorated, you can now easily spread the Christmas cheer across the rest of your home. Take the same colour scheme and decorate with ornaments or foliage around the rest of the house.
I love a garland here and there; with smaller decorations and lights, some candles (either small candles or candle sticks) and Christmassy ornaments, you can transform any space.
With any ornaments, the rule of 3 is a great one to use. Choose 3 ornaments to group together, 2 at the back and one at the front. This could be 3 of the same ornaments or 3 different. You can’t go wrong if you carry your colour scheme through to these decorations, too.
Don’t forget your lights; you can use smaller sets of Christmas lights on shelves, windows, and garlands. Try to stick with the same colour as your Christmas tree. These are great for creating a lovely feel in your home!
If you are struggling for space, don’t be afraid to remove some of your usual décor; the last thing you want is your home to look cluttered. We pack ours away in the same box as the Christmas decorations, so they come straight back out again once the tree is down in the new year.
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There you have it! We’d love to hear how you get on with decorating your home, so please send us some photos when everything is in place!