When it comes to seasonal decorating, a focus on five key areas is all you need for a festive flourish at home
A Top Table
The big Christmas lunch is an opportunity to hone our tablescaping skills – not to mention all the spirited get-togethers with friends and family both before and after the big day. We’ll want to show off our expert layering as much as possible over the festive period. Rebecca Udall’s nature-inspired Christmas table offering features linen tablecloths with matching ruffled napkins; waxed Italian linen placemats in wintery hues of burgundy and emerald; scalloped crockery and serveware designed to be layered up for maximum effect; and tall tapered candles in tonal, earthy shades that will add sparkle without taking up precious table space. Leave that to the impressive centrepiece of glittering baubles and fresh botanicals.
Hellebore ruffle linen tablecloth, from £189 (rebeccaudall.com)
Hearth of the Home
A welcoming Christmas fireplace is a must for period property dwellers, especially if you’re hoping a certain visitor in a red suit and big black boots will drop in. Showing us how it’s done, luxury floral designer Ronny Colbie teams up with Owen Pacey, founder of leading fireplace specialist Renaissance London. “Styling your home with gorgeous mantelpiece garlands should complement your interiors yet remain in keeping with festive tradition,” says Colbie. “If a traditional red and gold theme resonates, wintery red hydrangea adds both opulence and warmth, and pairs perfectly with burnt beech and fresh pine, which can be sourced locally or foraged in the garden. To complete a perfect garland, use a mixture of everlasting fillers such as pampas grass and pine cones amongst the fresh foliage, they will dry gorgeously by the fire to be enjoyed throughout the Christmas season.”
(ronnycolbie.com; renaissancelondon.com)
Window Dressing
One way to counter the gloom of the shortest days of the year is to illuminate our homes with Christmas lights. While it’s tempting to go all out with a sparkling display, this year we’re also painfully aware of conserving electricity, being conscious of both our monthly bill and our environmental impact. Thankfully, less is more when it comes to festive lights, as Cox & Cox’s delicate starburst-tipped light-up curtain proves. As is tradition, lit candles – and more recently, LED operated lights – in a window show warmth and hospitality, and importantly, an invitation to step inside and out of the chilly darkness. These ditsy festive lights feature barely there silver wiring, the effect of which is a window filled with stars suspended in the dark.
£35 (coxandcox.co.uk)
O Christmas Tree!
Some homes offer a natural spot for a magnificent Christmas tree display, an ornate period bay window being the obvious choice. (Go large to make the most of those high ceilings). It’s also worth thinking about where you’ll be spending the majority of the day, and where the heart of the action will be on the 25th – kids, of course, will want to be where the pressies are. That said, a Christmas tree in a wide hallway can turn this functional walk-through space into a magical winter wonderland, whilst giving your beautifully decorated Scots Pine its own dedicated room for the greatest impact. Evoking feelings of warmth and homeliness, traditional colours of crimson, emerald and gold are getting a fresh look-in for Christmas 2022, as in Amara’s imposing tree that makes the best use of this grand, double-height entrance hall.
Christmas tree decorations start from £15 (amara.com)
Door J’Adore
A beautifully crafted wreath hung on the front door not only adds seasonal cheer but offers a symbol of hospitality to neighbours and passers-by. Whether you go glitzy and contemporary with a synthetic wreath, or you favour the more traditional festive foliage of real pine, eucalyptus and dried citrus fruits, you’ll be announcing to the world that you and your home are well and truly in the Christmas spirit. West London’s Real Flower Company offers traditionally handcrafted Christmassy creations made from only natural materials, including its citrus and spice eco-friendly moss door wreath. Featuring dried oranges, pink pepper berries, and packed with long-lasting winter foliage sourced from climate-positive, carbon-negative farms, you’ll be the envy of your street with a wreath that’s both spicy and sustainable.
From £98 (realflowers.co.uk)
