Christmas Styling

Keeping a consistent colour scheme throughout is the easiest way to do this. Last year I used silver on my tree, my table and in the kitchen which worked really well at tieing in the three areas with each other. That said, don’t be afraid to use more than one colour, just ensure they compliment each other and perhaps even your home decor. Here you will see that I have gone with a red table decor but introduced blue and green to the kitchen area which compliments the Christmassy reds and also my island colour.

Less is More. Yes, I for one, love a bit of detail – I am a big fan of creating individual areas that have a lot of interest and boast some creativity, but I do like to confine these areas and keep my spaces clutter-free and easy to live with. One of my favourite Christmas decor methods is to use lots of different beautiful baubles (the detail) and place them inside a large glass vase (confined). This is an excellent way to bring colour, sparkle and Christmas interest to your kitchen worktops or window sills whilst keeping it easy to work around and clutter-free.

Another Christmas decor tip is to use long branches which you can pick up from broken trees in the woods, spray them with metallic spray and pop them inside a vase to hang baubles from. I applied white spray first and then silver metallic spray to my branches to give them a lighter finish. With the addition of a few LED twig lights, this makes for a wonderful island centrepiece (especially in the evenings as it looks so pretty all lit up!).

Beautifully formed yet simple in design, these marble Christmas trees from Blonde and Stone add a lovely dimension to the island decor. I just love their clean lines and natural stone form.

3. Be bold with your Christmas table decor

Be sure to balance your bold colours by using natural accent colours. This can be on your napkins, plates, table runner, placemats or even candles. The natural greens from the garland bring a lovely base tone to this table design whereas the white plates, napkins and silver table runner really lift the red colours to make them ‘pop out’.

I think it’s important to ‘frame’ each seating position for your guests. It may sound obvious, but by using a placemat, a coaster, a napkin and a cracker (you can’t forget a cracker at Christmas!) it defines the area each guest is going to sit and adds a sense of occasion to your dinner party. It can also help tie in your Christmas colours around the rest of the room.

At Christmas, and for more formal occasions, I also like to add personalised place settings. These absolutely beautiful personalised agate settings have been made by Lauren Cooper from Oh Wonder Calligraphy. I have even bought some blue ones to go on my own Christmas table which has a blue and silver theme this year!

A great way to add colour, texture, pattern and a bit of sparkle to your table is to use baubles within your Christmas centrepiece. In small clusters, they look wonderful amongst the foliage of your garland. It is also an excellent way to coordinate with the baubles in your kitchen (if you decide to create a similar display to the ones above) and on your tree, especially if your tree is in the same room as your dining table. These red baubles are from John Lewis’ Ruby Christmas collection. Top tip: ensure you use foliage with your baubles as, without it, you may find your baubles will roll off the table!

And lastly, always think about how you can lift and lower the eye level with your Christmas decor. A good way to do this on the table is to use candlesticks and tea lights or even by hanging something from your ceiling above the centre of the table. Within the kitchen, I tend to use vases with flowers and branches to lift the eye and then worktop ornaments and candles to lower the eye.

Designed to get you and your taste buds in the festive spirit, this coming Saturday I am hosting ‘Just a Little Christmas’ at Tom Howley Kitchens in Beaconsfield. The day will be split across two sessions and both will involve Christmas table-scaping with me, SJ, and cooking demonstrations with Sven-Hanson Britt, Miele’s Executive Chef and MasterChef Professionals finalist.

The focus of the day will very much be all things Christmas and food, with guests being treated to a glass of prosecco on their arrival, a chance to taste the foods cooked in front of them, inspirational Christmas decor and a luxury goody bag for all to take home. Tickets to the event are now SOLD OUT but stay tuned, as more events like this may follow!

Thanks for reading, SJ