dec2015

HOLIDAY
By Candice Russell
Christmas Decorating
It’s the season for lights and baubles, wreaths and garlands.
If you are crazy for Christmas, you probably have
boxes and boxes of heirloom tree ornaments, precious
decorations crafted by your children or grandchildren, and
enough pretty things to practically open a store with your
treasures.
So where to start this year? Maybe you want to break free
from the holiday look you achieve year after year. Maybe you
want to go minimal rather than all out. Or you want to capitalize
on this year’s trends. Follow these simple fixes to spiff
up your home this season:
Use one color throughout your rooms,
from your tree to your holiday table.
Try silver for a winter wonderland theme. Get a faux tree with
snow-flocked branches, then dress it sparingly with oldfashioned
silver tinsel, white lights, and silver mercury glass
decorations of graduated sizes. Silver candles on the table
and a silver garland on a table in the foyer look majestic.
Or try gold for a regal look. If you don’t have gold plates, get
a set of chargers and gold linens to unify the look.
Some people may opt for a mixture of silver and gold together
for a dramatic effect. The idea is to banish mismatched
decorations in every color of the rainbow for a theme that is
unified and elegant.
Try traditional, but the uncomplicated way,
with just two colors – red and green.
Use a real balsam wreath with a red bow at the front door
and buy a Douglas fir Christmas tree and only decorate it
with red baubles.
Real or fake garlands illuminated with plug-in or battery-operated
lights can doll up a mantel, bookshelf, kitchen countertop,
or holiday table. Of course, garlands from branches from
a tree that grew on farms a few weeks ago emit a heavenly
pine scent that screams old-fashioned Christmas. Add red
aluminum standing and sitting miniature deer by your front
door or next to your tree to complete the look (www.grandinroad.com).
Opt for trendy.
The woodland theme in home décor expanded this year over
last year, when owls were ubiquitous. Owls are back, along
with foxes and raccoons in different materials from feathers
and fur to raffia and other natural materials. Go woodland
with natural branches arranged in a tall glass vase or laying
on a sideboard and strung with lights.
Arctic animals are also hot for Christmas of 2015. Small
versions of polar bears and penguins appear in catalogs and
stores. They can be dressed up with colorful scarves and
hats or left as they are.
A third trend this year, perfect for the urban sophisticate, is
black and white harlequin style tablecloths and runners with
pops of color, like red decorations in a glass snifter. Use
white candlesticks with chunky red candles.
Can’t give up on color?
Use the colors of carnival for Christmas. Take inspiration
from a Pier I wreath made of bells in red, amber, lime green,
a grapey purple, and teal blue. Oddly enough, it’s a pretty
combination that proves an artful arrangement of disparate
elements can produce outstanding results. Take your cues
from one or more colors to complete the scheme with table
linens and tree decorations.
For more ideas, see Pinterest online or watch holiday decorating
shows on the HGTV channel. P
44
DECEMBER 2015