christmas decorating 101Before you do a single thing for Christmas, follow these five top decorating tips from my home to yours and you are guaranteed to have a very stylish season. THEME Choose a unifying theme before you start decorating. A theme will harmonise the mood of your space, make the most of your holiday budget, and make shopping for decorations simple. I love Christmas, especially as your home gets to look like a party is going on all month! It is for this reason that when choosing a theme I also try to work it around my home's current décor. So as much as I would love an all white theme, it is a bit hard considering most of our furniture is black! But as our entrance is all white, I have carte blanche. STYLE Your decorating can be playful and light, traditional and formal, or modern and graphic. In our entrance just above the girl's shoe bench, I have a wire heart cardholder. It was fun decorating this every other week in a different theme. One week it was traditional red and white, the next pale pink and vintage gold to celebrate that it was my daughter Bailey's First Christmas. And then as we don't have a fireplace, it was perfect for hanging up our funky brightly coloured knitted stockings - which I am thrilled to say we were able to source for our IN GOOD COMPANY CHRISTMAS SHOP! COLOUR A cohesive colour scheme throughout your home will make your space seem larger and better planned. Choose the holiday colours to complement existing colours in your décor. As I mentioned our apartment is largely decorated in black, white and taupe, so at Christmas I like to add a colour to the mix! This year I am thinking of going green! And next year who knows? By having a neutral interior it is easy to change with the seasons, and have a different look instantly with a few cushions, vases, candles and other decorations. Like my daughter's room was instantly transformed with this Advent calendar stocking line, and she loved it too - or maybe just the chocolate mice inside! SPARKLE For every theme add an eye-catching metallic: with ivory and creams: brushed gold; blues, purples and greens: silver and reds and browns: copper and rust. Shimmering metallic colours bring glamour to your holiday celebration. I am more partial to silver than gold, and work my theme each year around silver. That way I have started to build up a collection of silverware, which continues to grow every season. My favourite is still my silver reindeer candelabras I bought back in 2004. But even a small silver tea tray is a sweet touch! REPEAT Repetition of hues and the theme will create flow from one room to the next. Buy basic, reusable items in quantity and intersperse them throughout your social spaces to achieve a cohesive look. Decorate all the rooms, even if it is just something small. In social areas have bowls of chocolates or nuts, in bedrooms hang fabric hearts on the door handles or bedposts and in bathrooms set out Christmas scented soaps and towels.
|
