7 Easy Home Christmas Decorating Tips
7 Easy Home Christmas Decorating Tips
By Xenia Vitovych
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The smell of pine filling the air and the dream of a white Christmas warms our hearts with holiday cheer. This joyful time of year, however, can be hectic for some. With everyone scrambling to do some last minute shopping, or trying to decipher their grandmothers’ cookie recipes, the holidays can place more stress on us than needed during this celebratory season. When it comes to decorating your house, it could be a little intimidating to try and recreate that perfect Pinterest-inspired Christmas living room. With the help of Well Designed Living’s very own, Iryna Cohen, we are going to walk you through turning that vision into a real cozy and festive interior, while taking the stress out of trying to figure out where to start on your own.
Tip #1: Buying Your Decor
Before we can begin decorating anything, we need the ornaments and accessories to do so. Instead of scrambling every year in stores with hundreds of other shoppers, Iryna Cohen suggests, “[getting] good quality Christmas decorations all at once,” that way you can have it for years to come. You can store away the decorations, and that way, for next year’s holiday season, the only thing you’d have to worry about is finding the perfect tree. Some great places to shop for Christmas decorations are your local nurseries, Pottery Barn, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Pier 1 Imports, Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma and other quality home decor stores.
Tip #2: Indoor And Outdoor Wreaths
Nothing screams Christmas like a big beautiful wreath on your front door. Whether you want the wreath to be real or artificial, already decorated or you want to decorate it yourself, pick whatever option is most convenient for you. If you want lights on your wreath, however, Iryna Cohen recommends getting, “wireless battery powered string lights,” with a timer and an automatic on/off switch.
You can add a little more holiday cheer by adding a wreath inside of your home. To keep things a little more elegant, Cohen recommends getting a simple green wreath from your local nursery and hanging it on your mirror with a red or maroon ribbon, “if you have a big mirror in your living room, hang the wreath from the top of the mirror with the ribbon and have it rest against it.” Add lights and ornaments to the wreath as well.
Tip #3: A Big Wooden Bowl
Another great accent piece to add to your living room or dining room is a big wooden bowl. “You can fill it with regular pine cones or scented ones,” suggests Iryna, “mix it in with Christmas ornaments, and have the bowl overflowing with them.” You can leave this decorative creation on your coffee table and fill up your living room with the scent of pine, or you can use it as a centerpiece on your dining room table to impress your dinner guests.
Tip #4: Change Up Your Sofa
This is probably the most simple and effective way to change up the look of your living room. Changing up the color of your throw pillows can give your sofa a completely different look. Cohen suggests “[getting] a big, solid colored, back pillow, some smaller patterned pillows and one accent faux fur pillow.” She also suggests working with a red/maroon color palette in combination with mink and adding some plaid into the mix. Finish it off by hanging a Christmas throw blanket from the side of the sofa.
Tip #5: Basket And Logs
This Pinterest-perfect tip will serve as a beautiful accent piece in your living room, and it is very simple to achieve. Cohen recommends putting some birch logs in a wicker basket and putting it on the side of your fire place or mantle. This brings a cozy “cabin-like feeling” into your home without being “too loud” in color or appearance.
Tip #6: Light Up Your Fire Place
With today’s heating technology, a fire place is not necessary for warming up the house. This creates many decorative opportunities. Iryna Cohen recommends putting candles in your empty fire place to “light it up” in a more elegant and creative way. If you prefer to keep warm the old classic way, you can also “add candles to your mantle.” Electric candles can be used for a “safer” option.
Tip #7: The Garland
Another decorative element to add a festive ambiance to your fire place is to hang a garland on your mantle. “Decorate it with small Christmas balls or lights, says Cohen. This will add the cherry to the top of your already beautifully decorated home.