Oh Christmas tree....

Nicole LaTour MacLaughlan
Dec 6, 2016
4 min read

How I love the holidays and all its trimmings. We all have scents and scenes that make us believe that the Christmas season is here. I remember stringing garlands of popcorn and cranberries (with lots of finger wounds) and putting cloves into oranges and arranging them into a bowl. My birthday is the same week as Christmas so December has always been an epic month for me. Now with two small children, very much smitten with the season, this time of year is even more special. However holiday decorating can be intimidating and down right anxiety ridden. We live in an age with Pinterest, Instagram and ahem design blogs. There is a seemingly endless supply of holiday catalogs that start to cram our mailbox right after Halloween. It's not just the tree anymore, there are outside spaces to adorn, elves to move and guest rooms to prep. These catalogs arrive and I marvel at the attention to detail and transformations that these holiday home landscapes have achieved.

Image from Country Living Magazine

I then close my eyes and sigh as now the pressure is on...or is it? Here's the thing, I think we all need to give ourselves a break. The holidays are supposed to be magical. Yes the tree needs to be trimmed and some Holiday cheer is lovely in the home, but it ISN'T a requirement nor should you make yourself crazy to get there. I like to remember a wise high school teacher of mine who applied the "KIS" (Keep It Simple) theory to nearly everything, academic and otherwise and I must say I think he was brilliant. It has taken me a while to get there myself but I am learning that Keeping It Simple, Less is more, are all great tenets to adhere to for holiday decorating and design in general. Mind you if going all out is what speaks to you then embrace it. As Marie Kondo highlights, in her book "The life-changing Magic of Tidying Up", if something gives you joy, you keep it if it doesn't you say goodbye. Same is true for Holiday decorating....If having a second tree makes you happy, go for it. However, if winding the garland around your bannister makes you reach for the egg nog (spiked) at 9am, I say your banister bare is probably not going to make or break your Christmas landscape this year.

Many friends have asked me how to make their holiday decorations look "pulled together". It can be tricky at times. You collect things over the years, inherit items, need to find a place to display your kids holiday creations and your taste can change. Then you move and what worked for your old fireplace suddenly looks awful and not to scale. As with all good design it's a constant balancing act. Who doesn't want that postcard Christmas wonderland, but what do you do when your daughter finds a beloved plastic Flamingo with a santa hat at Michaels...do you say no? (No, you buy it and then allow her the special "privilege" of having Flo the holiday flamingo adorn her bedroom)

I have found that working within a color schematic works for me as well as my clients. It doesn't have to be the the traditional, green and red, silver and gold or silver and blue. It is whatever color combinations speaks to you or works within your space. Working with 3-4 colors I find is best and there is always room for a splash of the unexpected (think hot pink or chartreuse). When you work within a color schematic it helps to makes a space look and feel cohesive and thus symmetrical and organized.

Elements of burlap, greenery gold and silver help to create a cohesive look without a lot of extras. It doesn't take a lot of "stuff" to make a finished design. There are so many great resources for fun, and affordable, decor. My go to spots for holiday decor are Home Goods, Michaels, Grand In Road, Ballard Design and Crate & Barrel.

What sets Holiday decor apart from the rest of the year is the use of greenery. Greenery is a must for both indoor and outdoor holiday decor. The presence and layering of holiday greens gives depth and texture that will add life and richness to any design whether it be a door, bookcase, mantle or tablescape. Fresh greenery has that amazing holiday smell (and mess) but cannot be fully replaced as far as I'm concerned. However, the assortment of faux greenery is amazing and has the added benefit of being reused year after year. I like to use both.

Here are some of my favorite real and faux holiday greenery finds:

This is one of my front planters. The majority of the Greenery is from Trader Joe's (yes can you stand it?!) Various types of branches and holly to boot. A generous bunch was $6.99 The long red branches and longer fawns are from a local garden store and were my "splurge" for this arrangement and the silver leaf is also from the local garden store (which have great embellishments ranging from metallic ornaments and pine cones to fabulous ribbon and bows)

Another find from Trader Joe's! The 22" wreath I snagged for $9.99 and then I embellished it with gold leaves and ribbon again from the local garden store. Such a fun and rewarding outdoor, or indoor decor project!