Christmas decorating means different things to different people. While some don’t feel it is Christmas unless the yard is covered in inflatable snowmen and Santa’s that look a bit like a murder scene during the day when they lie limply on the ground, I prefer a more elegant approach to Christmas decor.
A home in Atlanta with an abundance of Christmas inflatables, Image via Mixed Up Mommy blog
We used a plain fir wreath and added variety by wiring in golden cedar and juniper sprigs and adding pinecones and special faux berries that are made to withstand freezing temps without bursting and that the birds won’t steal! We added a custom bow crafted of 3 varieties of ribbon for a lavish finish to this front door wreath that says “welcome to the inn” with elegance and style! #christmaswreath #customchristmasdecor
Elegance can be simple or lavish, but is easy to achieve by keeping in mind these 3 things:
Use natural elements
Nothing says Christmas like the smell of fresh cut evergreens! But if your patience for watering or misting to keep them looking good is limited, stick to great looking faux versions. The key to lavish looking arrangements of greenery is to mix in a variety of types. Start with fir or cedar (which drapes so nicely), and tuck or wire in boxwood, juniper, pine, cypress…magnolia leaves make a stunning and full bi-color display too with their shiny green tops and brown back sides. Holly is tough to keep looking good. I’ve found it usually dries out quickly and the leaves turn over in shame (?!), at least indoors, so unless you can keep it in water, faux is probably the way to go with that one.
A variety of fresh cut greens mix with mercury glass and fabric musical leaf branches and birds in the music-themed living room by JRL Interiors for the Concord Holiday House Tour
Other natural elements that add to an elegant arrangement, wreath, tablescape, or mantel are pine cones, potted cypress trees, fruit, berries, branches, feathers, and cut or potted flowers. Again, these can be real or fabulously real-looking faux. PLEASE do not use plastic poinsettias in colors not found in nature and covered with glitter. And please don’t put even your great faux poinsettias out on your snow and ice covered front steps - the live versions are tropical plants that are very temperamental about temperature and would never survive freezing temps….much like me?!
Fresh mixed greens and potted cypress trees mix with pheasant feathers, carved wooden mushrooms, and a pair of ceramic pheasant candleholders on this library mantel by JRL Interiors for the Concord Holiday House Tour
Hydrangea blossoms, dried or real, make wonderful decorations. Narcissus, if you can stand the smell, are lovely - just don’t put them anywhere you are serving food. Amaryllis are another seasonal flower that work beautifully to add to your decor. And masses of roses are appropriate additions pretty much any time of year!
Use colors that compliment the room
One of the keys to elegant holiday decor is to stick to a limited color palette and one that compliments the existing decor. Christmas decor can be found in nearly every color combination. We have used peacock ribbon and teal ornaments in a room decorated in shades of blue-green, royal blue in a dining room dominated by blue and white porcelain, and even orange and teal in an installation with a room featuring those colors.
This trio of wreaths in the windows of a library painted a lovely shade of aqua, spell out J-O-Y
Teal, white, gold, and silver ribbons and ornaments were selected to blend with the aqua and teal fabrics and furnishings in this parlor room at an updated Victorian Inn
Snowflakes and bird ornaments, bird nests, and berry and ivy sprigs adorn this blue, silver, gold, and white woodland tree for the dining room by JRL Interiors for the Concord Holiday House Tour
Fresh mixed green garland and faux berry sprigs combine to make an elegant addition to this foyer staircase. The red berries and ribbons echo the red fabric of the bench cushion. Decor by JRL Interiors for the Concord Holiday House Tour
Gold and silver with white or cream is always an elegant combination that works well in ANY color scheme. Even traditional red and green can be elegant if you take care to choose the right shades and the right proportions. We have a mostly silver, gold and white tree planned for one of our upcoming installations, but we will add some red touches with faux apples, snow crusted red berries, and a pair of fat red cardinals, and for another gold and white tree, we will add some sage green ornaments to compliment the fabrics and furnishings in the room.
Use white lights
I know, I know, this is very controversial and some people cannot have Christmas without multicolored lights. But for the most elegant look, your lights should mimic candlelight - that is the original Christmas tree light, after all! I insist on white and on incandescent because even the warm LED’s are not quite right for the candlelight effect and the cool LED’s are SO wrong! Why would you want KMart lighting with an unnatural blue glow on your tree?? But y’all probably know by now that I am passionate about my lights! You do you! Children notoriously love colored lights and I get that. When my kids were young, I had 4 ft trees in each of their rooms that they could decorate with whatever they wanted and both had multicolored lights with settings that allowed them to be blinking, twinkling, or steady. But in my public rooms and my own bedroom I always had white! The same goes for window candles, I do not understand colored bulbs in window candles. In what universe does a candle flame burn green??
A gold, silver and white Christmas tree by JRL Interiors for a commercial installation
Some resources for elegant holiday decor - many are on sale for Cyber Monday! (click on images for more information):
*Please note that this page contains affiliate links meaning that if you make a purchase, I might make a small commission at no extra charge to you.
Balsam Hill makes the most beautiful, lifelike artificial trees. And they even come with fluffing gloves to protect your hands while you are shaping the branches!
Ultimately, all that matters is that you find joy in your Christmas decor and that it celebrates the beauty of the season!
