Christmas is just around the corner, and if you haven’t already started decorating, here are some easy ways to add a luscious festive look as well as a stylish feel to your entire home. Whether you feel Christmas ‘should be white’ or the warm and sunnier Australian kind, three rules apply to either, to easily make your decorating the type that people will certainly take note of.
Rule number 1: Select only one, maybe two colours to decorate with, and stick to that. This is a trick that will add to your décor an elegance that will not go unnoticed.
Rule number 2: Keep your décor cohesive throughout the home, using the same one or two colours, from the front door right through and to the backyard.
Rule number 3: To maintain the spirit, bring the cheer also to those rooms you wouldn’t necessarily think as ‘décor-able’ because not on display, like the bedrooms, the bathrooms and why not, the laundry too.
Where do we start from? Well, let’s consider the front door as a greeting card, as it makes a statement for all that enter or just walk past. A hand-made wreath looks wonderful but if you’re not the handy type you can use one ready-made, of course, but add to it your personal touch with shining baubles, maybe some flowers or decorative fruit, to suggest a feeling of welcome and abundance.
You don’t need to wait for the Christmas meal to enjoy a decorated table. A centrepiece made from scented candles will smell wonderful every day and look warm and cosy at night. Add some greenery around the base, or your colour of choice decorations, and a battery operated string of tiny lights to quickly create a festive masterpiece.
Different size and heights candles, when grouped together on a mantel piece or sideboard add instant mood and a wonderful light effect on walls and ceiling. But to avoid any worries I have no qualm suggesting the battery driven and flameless option. These you can easily leave on all night also on the bathroom’s benchtop, in the children’s rooms and in window sills, to also look amazing from outside.
The most obvious of Christmas symbols of course is the tree, whether a real one or a fold-away version, and to be effective it should overwhelm with glimmer and shine. In fact, even though I suggested minimising the number of colours used, I also suggest exceeding with the quantity of décor. Christmas indeed, must be luscious. An old tradition, which is remerging, is to bake biscuits and ginger bread in different shapes and hang them on a tree with coloured ribbon. They look great and taste good, and might even last ‘til Christmas.
James Treble is an ambassador for Planet Ark and firmly believes in sensible purchasing, recycling and creative re-purposing. James has three decades of accumulated experience in the Building Industry, Real Estate and Interior Design and regularly shares his knowledge and experience in adding value to properties through effective design & styling. Watch his free videos on YouTube, and follow him on Facebook and Instagram for more free information. More of James' knowledge is now accessible via Practical Design Online Course.