Our house decor is very contemporary and during Christmas I usually aim to keep with the same theme. Colours white, grey and silver work very well with our monochrome look. Our living room turns into a bit of a Winter Wonderland during the month of December and most decorations will be located in this room. After all, it is where we spent most of our time in.
I love getting my Christmas decorations in supermarkets. They have a great selection of contemporary and classic pieces that are excellent value. Sainsburys and Waitrose are my personal favourites. Even though I mainly use contemporary decorations, I also invest in some classic items. You don’t want to be buying new decorations every year (although I think a little change every now and then is refreshing). I have found that one of the best places to get contemporary Christmas decorations in the UK is John Lewis. I bought all of mine there last year. I usually get my gift wrap from Next as they have some great designs on offer. This year their gift wrap felt much thinner than previous years which is a shame. It can be difficult to find good quality gift wrap based on online pictures.
I used to go a bit OTT with Christmas decorations but this year I decided less is more. I’ve also realised that I seem to go for a more glamorous look every year. I think this is probably the only time of the year you can get away with glitter and sequinnes so why not?!
I love our Christmas tree and there is a funny story how we ended up with it. Few years ago we ordered a real one but it never arrived. So, just few days before Christmas we went to B&Q and this was the only one that was left in the whole store! I have been very happy with it. Even though I love the idea of a real Christmas tree, an artificial one is so much less maintenance and most of the ones I have seen look better too. You might miss the smell of real tree but who cares when you have a gorgeous Jo Malone candle that smells like pine! You can also read my recent Christmas Candle review here. I think eventually we will end up getting a real Christmas tree but for now this is perfect.
Our tree is pre-decorated with snow dust and some pine cones which I feel gives it a real wow factor. The snow is a bit messy though and I do have to keep hoovering underneath it every few days (same problem with a real tree). I have a confession to make. I hate decorating the Christmas tree! Well, hate is a bit strong but I certainly don’t enjoy it. It’s quite strange as I love decorating the house but the tree always drives me nuts. I’m such a perfectionist and there is always the odd branch that looks funny (and not in a good way!). I happily let my husband hang the lights on the tree. We also have a mini tree in our bedroom which was decorated by our daughter with a little help from my husband.
I absolutely love these retro Christmas balls that I got from John Lewis last year. I wish I could find more Christmas decorations like these. I don’t buy glass baubles anymore as they break easily. Especially, when you have kids in the house you just don’t want to risk it. I’d like to make my own decorations but just haven’t found the time this year. There are some great DIY ideas on Pinterest.
One of the best purchases I made last year was this garland from Laura Ashley. You can find a similar one here. It is perfect for the fireplace and I do sometimes think we should open it up so it can be used. I cannot think of anything more cosy than an open fire in the living room while you are sipping some mulled wine.
Reindeers, faux fur cushions and star shaped ornaments are ideal for a contemporary Christmas look. They seem to be in style at the moment as I’ve seen them everywhere. I also think they are pretty timeless and will last for many years to come. I’ve seen some great reindeer candle holders on sale in Sainsburys. If you want to splurge, get the original one from Finnish design brand Pentik.
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| s fluffy friend is our Christmas mascot. The cushion is from Next. |
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| The hanging star is from Sainsburys. |
I am quite surprised that our daughter is not too bothered with our Christmas decorations. However, she doesn’t seem to be able to keep her hands off the presents! Not that I can blame her.. 😉
This year we are off to Germany to see the famous Nuremberg Christmas Market which should be great fun. I am looking forward to some window shopping and visiting some of the antiques shops over there. I will be telling you all about it in my next post!
