Christmas Inspired by Nature
Can it really be December?
As time seems to speed by faster & faster, I want to slow down & connect with nature more & more. I find this is true for what I choose to do and what I want to surround myself with in my home.
I love to decorate my house for Christmas. In years past this meant lots of bins to pull out and things to arrange. In recent years, I have pared down the # of bins and chosen to arrange less things. This has been good ~ for truly less is more and the holidays shouldn’t be an endurance test.
I chose this year to pare down even a bit more, but still have all the beauty of the season. I decided to have my Christmas decor not only be Inspired by Nature, but to be nature!
Today am joined by some fabulously creative like minded women. We are each sharing bits of our homes decorated with the beauty of natural elements rendered with creativity & style.
I am sharing 5 tips for decorating with natural elements. If you want even more advice, thoughts & ideas on decorating with less stuff & more nature tune in to my podcast episode, ‘Christmas Light’ HERE.
Five Tips for Christmas Decor Inspired by Nature
First Tip
Gather plenty of greens! Pick up fallen stems on walks with your dog. Ask the Christmas tree lot for the cut off branches. Clip evergreens of all kinds from your yard.
Tucking evergreen everywhere in your home is easy and so evocative of the season. A favorite look of mine is slipping evergreens into simple white pitchers. I have a bit of an obsession with white pitchers, so I have more than my share of holders for the piles of greens I amass this time of year!
Second Tip
Choose decor “hot spots” to decorate. You do not need to light up & garland the entire house. A little done well goes along way! Hot spots might be your entry, dining table, coffee table & kitchen table/island. I have a tiered side table in my kitchen that is one of my decor hot spots all year long. At Christmas time it looks like this …
Third Tip
Keep your palette simple. Use the traditional red & green or go green & neutral for a very natural vibe. Last year I used red again for the first time in several years after using neutrals. My family spontaneously responded a resounding cheer for the red, so I am sticking with it this year. Really what better foil is there for the evergreens than red and I think the traditional colors are somehow comforting.
Fourth Tip
When you can, purchase live trees, plants and bulbs to force. Clearly natural and you’ll have months, even years, to enjoy your holiday decor. Now I will discourage getting a live balled 7foot plus Christmas tree. I did that one year & after we dragged the giant burlaped root ball /prickly tree into the house, I promptly saved my marriage & promised never another big Christmas tree with roots! Little ones are definitely ok though! Epilogue to that story: the tree had to get back out ( I think my husband dreaded that fact throughout all of Christmas & New Year ) but we planted it and it grew to be the most gorgeous evergreen. :)
Fifth Tip
Use what you already have & love to create little ‘holiday moments’. You do not need to clear away all your stuff and make room for a holiday village or Santa’s workshop. Incorporate a bit of natural holiday magic into what you have & love. Hanging greens over mirrors (reflection gives twice the delight) or snippets of greens artfully tucked do the trick.
Hope you enjoyed my tips! Now go visit my friends who are sharing their own versions of Christmas Inspired today. Links to the posts are below. Join them all on Instagram too, as we will be sharing more natural holiday decor ideas there.
Merry Merry & Happy Happy!!
xx,
Kelly