Get your home insta-ready for Christmas

Have you caught the new John Lewis Christmas advert yet? To me, that means we are officially into Christmas season!

The holidays are just around the corner—you’ll be decking the halls with Christmas decorations before you know it.

Christmas is one of my favourite times of year, I love the atmosphere created by the decorations and the lights. I love visiting friends and families and taking in all the beautiful different styles and colours that fill the rooms.

If you are anything like me, you are already thinking about how you are going to decorate your home. What colours you are going to use? Small or large baubles? Santa or reindeer? We all want to get it right and avoid that fine line between stylish and over the top!

There are new trends every year, and there are different styles of decorations from Nordic to traditional country to minimalist.

Confused? Well, here are some ideas on how to dress your home in style and get insta-ready for Christmas.

How much space do you have?

Before planning any decor, consider how much space you have to work with, and anywhere you can realistically place decorations. This will be vital for making your space look stylish without being overwhelmed.

You don’t want decorations where they can be easily knocked over or get in the way. Don’t over clutter surfaces as your family or guests may want to place drinks, nibbles or unwrapped gifts on them.

Choose a theme

Firstly, look at your house and see what the style is. You see, decorations are about so much more than red and green, and there are other ways to think about baubles that don't just involve the family favourites.

Perhaps you want to add to your existing collection of Christmas tree ideas, changing up the look you always go for, or you’re after a whole new look.

To keep your Christmas decor from looking busy, choose one colour scheme or design style and try to use it consistently throughout your home.

Natural colours are a big trend this winter, the camel, tan and beige hues are a softer take on the gold tones traditionally associated with Christmas.

Mixing metallics

Gone are the days of needing to choose between gold and silver. If you ever wondered when the right time is to ever mix metallics – well here it is!

Decorating with warming metallic decorations and warm fairy lights will set the scene for a cosy ambience.

White or blue lights will make the room feel more contemporary and vibrant, while the more copper tones or pastels will emit a warmer glow – changing the look entirely.

Bronze, gold and rose gold metallic decorations goes a long way to enhance the warmth of the Christmas decorating scheme to make the room feel cosy and inviting.

The smell of Christmas

Lighting can really set the mood for warm and cosy winter days. Scented Candles are a very good way to add atmosphere, colour, and smell with typical Christmas fragrances. Create a festive aroma in your home with the smell of cinnamon, orange and pinecones. You can also use anything from potpourri, air freshener, fragrance sticks, or a combination of them to achieve this. Just don’t go too overboard by mixing too many of those options.

 Don’t forget the other rooms in the home

The kitchen and your dining area are other important rooms to decorate. If you are going to host dinner parties your table will be the main focal point. Enhance your table with a nice Christmas centrepiece that can be made with many different elements. Add season flowers, pines, candles and lights too. This will give a nice welcome to your guests when they sit down. Tablecloth and napkins are a great way to decorate the kitchen. If you like you can also introduce some small hanging wreath in some of the kitchen units.

 The Tree!

The main attraction of any festive interior is the Christmas tree! Whether real or fake trees are the way to go for your festive decorating it all comes down to personal preference. There is nothing quite like the experience of picking out your own tree and having it fresh in the home (particularly that authentic pine needle smell), but equally the ease of having a perfectly proportioned and luscious looking artificial tree to hand year on year is a more attractive option many. Or maybe you will dare to be different this year and decide to go with an upside down hung Christmas tree.

Lighting is the best place to start, before decorating your tree. If you already have a pre-lit tree – then you are one of the lucky ones, who won’t have to spend hours untangling endless tiny little lights.

Finish decorating your tree with a gorgeous, eye-catching Christmas tree topper. You can top your tree with an angel, a snowflake, or even a classic, illuminated star – it's all up to you!

Garlands & Ornaments

A small selection of garlands and festive ornaments can also be utilised to decorate your home for Christmas as just a few can go a long way. Drape garlands over bannisters, shelves or mantelpieces and scatter ornaments on coffee tables and other selective surface to finish your first festive look.

Whatever look you go for this year; just remember you can transform your home into a winter wonderland with the style-factor of a five-star hotel for a fraction of the budget. Stick to simplicity and get creative. Happy designing!