A Stylish Christmas

Christmas can be a rather stressful time, what with organising Christmas dinner, presents, and worries of the Christmas Tree, it's no wonder that the thought of decorating your home for Christmas can be something of a chore.  That's why I thought I would take you through some tried, tested, and above all, easy tips to create a stylish Christmas.  After all Christmas should be merry!  

In my humble opinion Christmas decorations shouldn't begin and end in the sitting room alone.  I am a huge fan of spreading the festive cheer around the home.  Granted, this takes a little more work but it is so worth it.  

The Hallway:

Understated and chic.  Plain foliage and tea lights look gorgeous. 

A tree, real or fake, is a lovely warm welcome for your guests.  Even a small one perched on your side table will do the job nicely.

A garland hung over a mirror adds even more festive charm.

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a garland flowing up the staircase.  Here are a  couple of our favourites...  

The Sitting Room:

The sitting room has to have the festive wow factor, however elegant and subtle.  Think warm white fairy lights adorning the tree, stunning ornaments and flowers should set the scene and colour palette.  Red, gold and silvers are traditional, however mix with greys and whites for a stylish look.

The main focus in any home at Christmas time is the tree.  I love the gentle twinkling of the fairy lights when it becomes dark outside, it is cosy, relaxing and a real focus in any room.  The key to a fabulous show stopping tree is not to be stingy with the fairy lights, pack it full, then you can always be more sparing with the decorations...not like this jam packed one below! 

Fireplaces scream out for decadent decoration, whether it be a garland, church candles or ornaments.  

If you have a mirror over your mantel piece the candle flames are exaggerated and look just stunning.  You could even hang a wreath from your mirror.  See my wreath tips here.   

Children's Bedroom:

Let's face it, Christmas is all about the little ones, so why not trim up their bedrooms in true style, so they wake up and nod off to 'thoughts of sugar plums dancing in their heads'.  I love a traditional look in children's room, so wooden train garlands draped over a tree and cute knitted ornaments do the job nicely...and of course decorations that they choose themselves!   Last weekend I helped my four year old nephew choose a tree and decorations for his bedroom and I was delighted to find some fabulous Christmas tree and icicle shaped fairy lights which he adored and looked so pretty on his tree.  Here are some gorgeous child friendly trees for bedroom and playroom inspiration...

Colourful and fun...especially for a beach house

Colourful and fun

Traditional

The Kitchen:

The kitchen is the heart of the home, especially at Christmas time, with the smell of mulled wine simmering on the stove.  It is tradition in my family to always have a tree in the kitchen, in fact the kitchen is the main focus of our festive cheer as it is the place we spend the majority of time cooking, eating and chatting.  So with this in mind, with have a great selection of festive fruit to hang from the tree and a gorgeous fruit garland to drape over a dresser.  

Festive Fruit from Butterfly Lane 

Christmas Kitchen Collection from Butterfly Lane 

Fill jars with decorations

Fruit Garland

These sparkling bay trees also look gorgeous placed in pairs on a worktop.  

Sparkling Bay Trees

Little Extras:

I love to fill bowls and jars with baubles to add an understated Christmas look around the home.  This works well on a coffee table or sideboard...

Fill kitchen jars with sweets for expectant visitors.... 

My top tip of them all is to pop on some carols and warm up some mulled wine on the stove, the smell alone will get you in the Christmas spirit and ready to decorate your home from top to toe!  

Let us know your top Christmas decorating tips...