With Christmas just around the corner, ‘tis the season to bring the holidays to every square inch of the house.
Glowing string lights, sparking ornaments, and colourful candles are a must if you’re looking to transform your home into a winter wonderland.
Decking out your pad with festive decor is essential to set the mood of Christmas, but it can be difficult to create a ‘stylish not scrambled’ aesthetic.
Expert florist Wendy Rea from Direct2Florist has shared her top tips for spreading festive cheer to each and every corner of your home.
Avoid the urge to fill all blank spaces
The Christmas decorations only make an appearance once a year, so it can be tempting to fill every space with a festive display.
But Wendy warns that this can make cleaning harder and your rooms will feel empty when January swings around.
She said: “Decorating your home for Christmas should be thought of in the same way you’d add decor to it generally.
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“It’s easy to get carried away and fill all of the blank spaces with festive decor, because it brings us warmth and we know it’s only there for a couple of months, but this will make homes look scrambled, instead of stylish.
“Too much decor can be overwhelming, rather than peaceful, especially for those with less space. It can also make cleaning harder and more time-consuming, and make rooms feel too bare come January when all of it is removed.
She added: “You still need a functional space over the Christmas period that’s easy to keep looking presentable."
Use less decor if you have a Christmas tree
The Christmas tree and presents are a big part of the aesthetic, so less decor is advised in the room if you have a tree brimming with decorations.
“If you choose to have a single tree, put it in the room you use the most so you can fully enjoy it,” Wendy explained.
“Your tree should complement the room so if you don’t have a suitable space for it, I’d recommend moving an item or piece of furniture out of the room and putting the tree in its place.
“This is something a lot of people don’t think about doing, but it shouldn’t be squeezed in anywhere, nor should a tree be too big for the room.
“Your decor in that room should be set up around the tree, and to match it. If it’s big and brimming with decor, filling the rest of the room with too many items will look messy.”
Wrapping paper can also be used for display purposes, so “choose wrapping paper and accessories that match your decor”.
The expert warned: “Lots of presents under the tree wrapped in different papers, with different patterns and colours, can look cluttered.”
When it comes to decorating the tree, Wendy recommends adding your lights to the tree first and then decorating around them.
“Stand back and check the tree from all angles as you add your extras, to check you’re not overcrowding it. Add larger baubles and items like ribbon before the smaller decorations," she says.
Stick to a colour theme
If you find it hard to stick to a theme because your decor is made up of lots of colours and patterns, use less decor.
The florist explained: “While I do recommend choosing a set of colours to stick to when decorating the home for Christmas, this can be hard because most of us have built up a collection of much-loved decor over the years that are bursting with different colours.
“My top tip is if you do have a mix of colours and patterns, use less decor. If you have a theme, for example blue, silver and gold, you can afford to have a little more decor without things looking jumbled.
“But remember, you don’t have to use all of your decor every year, you can create different looks each year rather than scattering all of it everywhere, for that minimal, elegant look, which is less busy."
Use the ‘replace, not add’ rule
Wendy claims that the ‘replace, not add’ rule should be applied 80 percent of the time.
This involves removing current decor, like ornaments, and replacing them with festive decorations, to avoid getting carried away and “creating a look that appears to be thrown together”.
Focus attention on key rooms
When decorating, focus on those you’re hosting in or spending the most time in rather than every room – and choose your larger, focal pieces of decor first.
“Whether or not you want to add decor to every room is a personal choice, my professional advice would be to focus attention on key rooms you will either be hosting in, or spend the most time in,” Wendy says.
“A top tip is to pick out your focal pieces of decor for each area of the home, before adding anything else. These can be for example wreaths, large ornaments, flower displays and any other centrepieces for tables, mantle pieces and shelves.
“Decor should be evenly spaced rather than huddled together in one area, and remember that not every empty space in your home needs to be filled with decor, festive or general.”
Consider using festive floral displays
Add a touch of elegance to your home by including festive floral arrangements.
Wendy commented: “Placing a wreath on your front door is warm and welcoming and sets the tone for your internal decor. The use of festive floral displays at Christmas can bring vibrance and energy to a room in the most elegant way, and you can match your vase to the aesthetic of the room.
“Once you have these staple pieces decided on, you’ll be able to consider any extra, smaller decorative pieces to place around them.”
She also suggests decorating areas that aren’t rooms to help create that magical home this Christmas.
“For example the bannister on your stairs – a simple but impactful way to do this is to use fairy lights, their power to make a space look festive without too much clutter shouldn’t be forgotten,” Wendy added.
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