Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been sharing some inspiration for minimalist Christmas decorations and today I want to show you how I’ve dressed my own home. As always, I’ve kept things simple and natural, with a hint of festive magic. And, apart from a few candles and the tree, I haven’t bought anything new.
The tree is of course the centrepiece, and going to choose it has become a favourite Christmas tradition. We always buy ours from the local Scout group, who run a charity sale each year, and it’s grown responsibly in the UK. We also send it to be turned into compost via another Bristol charity come January, so it doesn’t go to waste. I totally understand why many people find a faux tree more practical and more cost-effective, but they’re generally made of non-recyclable PVC and imported from abroad, so for me personally this is the better option. And you really can’t beat that wonderful pine scent – it instantly takes me back to childhood and evokes so many special memories!
I’ve built up quite a varied selection of tree decorations over the years, so I can pick and choose things to create different looks. This time around, I’ve opted for a beige, brown and white scheme reminiscent of the frosty winter landscape around me, with a mix of matt porcelain baubles, fold-out paper decorations, clay leaves and some hanging pine cones (I just twisted a length of sewing cotton around the scales to form a loop). I’ve also added a few silvery mercurised pieces for a bit of festive sparkle, including some long glass drops that my late grandmother bought for my very first tree when I moved into my own flat. They’re the one thing from my collection that come out Christmas after Christmas, as they remind me of dangling icicles and again hold some very special memories.
On the living-room fireplace, I’ve created a nature-inspired display with branches that I had lying around the house, plus some preserved moss and pine sprigs left over from last year. It looks complicated, but it was actually incredibly easy to do. As nothing is fresh, it doesn’t need any water, so it was just a case of arranging things how I wanted and securing them in place with a bit of hidden masking tape. If you’d like to have a go at doing something similar yourself, you can see step-by-step photos of last year’s mantelpiece, which I created in the same way, here. The key is not to worry about making things perfectly neat or symmetrical, as I always think a slightly wild look is so much more appealing. And if you don’t have a fireplace to style, a shelf or sideboard would work just as nicely.
Elsewhere in the house, I’ve added little festive touches without going overboard. I’ve dotted pine cones on shelves and in bowls, placed paper stars here and there, and arranged another bit of preserved pine in the Georg Jensen pitcher in the dining room. I also tried out the bow trend that’s all over Instagram this year by tying some velvet ribbon around a pair of candlesticks. I don’t normally go in for trends, but I do think this one has a timeless elegance and I really like the way it looks. That said, getting the bows to sit nicely proved such a faff that I won’t be embracing it more widely!
Finally, I’ve introduced a bit of festive cheer to the spare bedroom ready for our Christmas guests, hanging another paper star and a bunch of evergreen foliage snipped from the garden from the peg rail in the corner.
I’m really pleased with how everything has come together, and the house feels so calm and cosy – festive without being cluttered. The only things missing now are a wreath for the front door and some decorations for the Christmas dinner table, as we’re hosting this year. I hope to share those next week…
All photography by Abi Dare
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