Style Estate Blog

Part 2: Country Christmas Decorating Ideas

Have a Cozy, Country Christmas

If you’ve got a passion for country decor, you can let your infatuation blossom during the holidays.  There’s an endless amount of choices for creating the feeling of an old fashioned country Christmas.  

A real tree will quickly establish the natural feel country decorating abounds with and you’ll get that wonderful pine scent wafting through your home.  Let the whole family participate in making strands of popcorn and cranberries or buy readymade look-alikes if there’s no time for stringing.  Garland made from wooden beads also adds a taste of country to your tree.

Another fun project for the family is making cookie cutter ornaments from a salt and flour paste, baking them, then painting them with acrylic paints.  Don’t forget to use a straw to create a hole to run a ribbon through for hanging before you bake the ornaments.  This project is not only fun, but if you spray an acrylic topcoat on the finished products and store them carefully in a dry place, your adorable ornaments will last for years to come. You can even hang the metal cookie cutters on the tree for additional ornaments.   Of course, you can buy readymade versions of these decorations as well.

The more natural you keep your decor, the more country it will feel.  Tie bundles of cinnamon sticks together with red and white ribbon and hang them from the tree or fill a bowl with pinecones.  Dry orange peels and mix them in pine needles, whole cloves and broken cinnamon sticks for a fragrant holiday potpourri.  Grapevine wreaths with holiday accents look great on the door or in the windows.  Center candles in terra cotta pots and surround the rim with moss for a festive country touch or fill the pots with colorful ornaments. 

Use warm additions like a tartan wool throw across a rocker or a colorful quilt in the place of a tree skirt.  Add whimsical notes with teddy bears wearing mufflers or ski hats or birdhouses topped with artificial snow and miniature presents around them.  There’s an endless array of ideas for decking your halls country style.

 

Part 1: Contemporary Christmas Decorating and Choosing The Right Christmas Tree

Have A Cool Contemporary Christmas

As the old song goes, Christmas is the happiest time of the year, but it’s also the busiest.  Not only do you have to do all the shopping, baking, cleaning, card sending and attend and host holiday get-togethers, you also have to decorate your home - and you want it all to be perfect.  While we may not be able to help you with your other holiday tasks, we can lend you a hand with your decorating.

One surefire way to be confident your holiday decorations look just right in your home is to use decorations that reflect the style of your other decor choices.  Is your home cool and contemporary, dressed with minimalistic furnishings and modern art pieces?  Or are you surrounded by cozy, country appeal?  Do you prefer a more formal, traditional feeling or is your home a Victorian charmer?  Whichever style you’ve used throughout your home, continuing the theme in your Christmas decor will guarantee a harmonious flow.  Let’s take a peek at a few decorating styles and see how they are accomplished.

Part 1: Contemporary Christmas Decorating and Choosing a Christmas Tree

Modern Contemporary Christmast Interior Decorating

When you’ve created a sleek, sophisticated space, often the bright colors and heartily embellished decorations used in traditional Christmas decor just don’t seem to feel right in your home. Luckily, there are some great alternatives that will fit beautifully into your contemporary decorating scheme.

The tree is usually the showpiece of the Christmas decorations, but no one says it has to be decorated in red and green.  Instead, choose a monochromatic scheme of silver and white, with just the occasional spot of scarlet or another favorite color.  A twig tree is the perfect choice. 

If you like, use clear line to hang sparkling snowflakes from the branches or add a scattering of silver or clear acrylic or glass ornaments.

Continue the theme throughout your home by framing a mirror with tiny white fairy lights that reflect in the mirrored glass or stand a collection of twigs painted white in a clear vase and add a hint of glittery spray paint to the branches to create a cool, frosty touch.

Want a little more color?  How about a pink, purple or blue theme?  Buy an artificial tree or purchase a real tree and have it flocked a pretty color.   You can even find black trees that make a dramatic statement. 

Or here’s a Christmas tree that is contemporary and colorful.  Called the tytree, after it’s designer, Ty Arnold, this tree is made from acrylic and brings a fun and festive touch to any modern space.  Check out TyTree for more.

Here is an interesting idea.  An upside down christmas tree? 

Upside down Christmas TreeFor other decorating touches, keep it simple.  A glass bowl filled with water and topped with tea light candles or cranberries floating on the surface makes a beautiful addition to a contemporary table or hang a few glass icicles across a curtain rod.