More Holiday Decor Tips

December 7, 2020 Janet Lorusso

Bringing you MORE Christmas decorating…as we have been decking the halls at various places all week long (and weekends too!) Sorry for the delay in this post - I’m finally writing from borrowed internet. Our internet is down for a few days until Verizon can send someone to replace equipment and a phone hotspot is just not fast enough to be useful for all the cloud based programs I use. Not great timing for a #forcedvacation!

St Nicholas and a sleigh full of gifts greets guests in an elegant gold and white foyer table display

So far we have have spent 30+ hours of hands-on physical labor fluffing and decorating 12 Christmas trees, 18 oversize wreaths, 200 feet of railing garland, 7 display tables/ledges, and 2 fireplace mantels. And untold more hours shopping and schlepping. And that doesn’t even include my own house where we’ve done 2 trees and the outdoor swags, wreaths, window boxes, and planters for both the front AND the rear deck this year - where we are employing Percy (the patio heater) to extend our entertaining season on any not bitterly cold days!

Deck planters filled with mixed greens and miniature evergreen trees for the winter season

A pair of urns filled with mixed greens

Lavish bows embellish our front door wreath and lamp post swags in classic style. Check this post for easy tips for creating a beautiful holiday wreath.

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Here are some peeks at the installations we’ve done this week!

Tree Decor

A winter wonderland in silver, white, and gold prevails in the library Christmas decor

A pair of cardinals, shiny red apples, and snow crusted red berries add a touch of brilliant color to this white, gold, and red sitting room tree

Giant candy cane ornaments and polka dot ribbon are playful additions to this “candy fun” themed tree in the lower lobby

An unusual color scheme of orange and aqua was used so that the Christmas decor would play nicely with the orange chairs and aqua walls in this community space. Always pay attention to how the colors you choose for your holiday decor will look with the decor of the room! Traditional red and green would have clashed here.

Pro Tips for Tree Decor

Scale is everything! For trees, vary the sizes of ornaments and be sure to include some larger scale ones for impact. A tree full of smallish ornaments is not nearly as visually exciting as one with a variety of sizes and shapes. When decorating, start with ribbons/bows (please don’t use those anemic velvet bows with gold twist-ties from the local drug store…). Most of the time, the scale of a tree requires at least 2” wide ribbon or wider. The larger the tree, the wider the ribbon. Add sprigs of leaves and berries, then add the largest statement ornaments using 2 or 3 different shapes, sizes, and colors/finishes. Use colors for these elements that compliment your room decor. Once you have this base decor established, you can add any sentimental and smaller ornaments you like and your tree will still have a cohesive feel.

Garland

Fresh greens and faux berries in this stair garland we did for last years Concord Holiday House Tour

3 flights of simple stair garland with swags, wreaths, lights and bows

Garland Pro Tips:

For lit railing garland, use green zip ties to attach the garland, then fluff it (if faux) in a direction it would go if it were made of real greens (wearing inexpensive cotton gloves like THESE will protect your hands from scratches). Next add the lights using a zigzag pattern back and forth across the top, tucking them in rather than wrapping it around - this way no lights are wasted on the underside where they aren’t seen and it is WAY easier to apply and remove the lights. Finally, add embellishments - generous bows (you know now NOT to use anemic pre-made bows!), ribbons tucked in loosely, fruit, pine cones, berry sprigs, gilded leaves…whatever appeals and ties into your room decor and holiday themes. Clustering the embellishments rather than spreading them out will have more impact.

Mantel and Tabletop Decor

Winter houses and mercury glass trees nestle among garland on a library mantel

Nutcracker display greets dining room guests

A three foot tall St Nicholas on a large window ledge in the main dining room

Mixed greens and gold and white nutcrackers on a library mantel

Mantel and Tabletop Pro Tips:

For mantel decor a base of greens, good faux OR real cut greens, is the first step. Using a variety of types of greens will give more texture and interest than a single type. Add embellishments that compliment the decor of the room. Tuck berries, pine cones, ribbons, or fruit into the greens for added color. Add remaining decor at varying heights (candlesticks are a great way to achieve this and I love THESE candles for a great looking flameless option). We also often use lucite risers like these to change the height of objects easily. A balance of odd numbers of items is more dynamic and less formal than symmetry. Use fewer, larger scale pieces for the best impact - a bunch of ditsy little items will just look cluttered. The larger the scale of the mantel, the larger your decor items should be. If you hang stockings from your mantel, you can tuck a few greens into them as place-holders until Santa comes to fill them! These same tips hold true for decorating table tops or ledges as well.

Urns filled with mixed greens and large pine cones are decor that lasts well beyond the holidays for the whole winter season!

JRL Interiors