Creating a warm and inviting home this Christmas

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Have you embraced Christmas yet? It’s hard to escape at the minute, and if you haven’t already started your Christmas decorating at home, you’ll need to get on it pretty quickly. Whether you’re having a quiet Christmas or expecting lots of visitors and guests over the festive period, you’ll want to create a warm and inviting home. Thankfully, there are lots of ways to achieve this. Here’s our best tips for transforming your home into a cosy wonderland you’ll never want to leave.

Adding a Christmas tree

What home would be complete at Christmas without a tree covered in fairy lights and decorations? Most of us will opt to put at least one up this year, and whether it’s real or artificial, it’s a great start to adding that cosy festive feel to your home. Normally, adding a tree requires some furniture to be shifted around in your living space to make it fit, so don’t forget to add felt pads to the bottom of your tree stand and furniture before you move anything across the floor, to prevent any scratches or damage to your wooden floor.

Welcoming guests to your home

It’s traditional that family and friends call round to see each other at this time of year, so create a warm and inviting entrance to your home with outside decorations, lights and perhaps even a traditional Christmas wreath on your front door. Don’t forget to add a mat to the front door step too – otherwise you’ll end up with dirt or snow being walked in over your beautiful wooden floor in the hallway.

Rustic cabin-feel to your décor

There’s something very peaceful about the thought of staying in a remote log cabin with the snow falling outside, but for most of us we’ll be staying put at home this Christmas. That’s not to say that you can’t add this rustic-feel to your home décor though. Start with a traditional wooden floor in rustic oak, and layer it with thick deep pile cream or white rugs. Accessorize your home with lots of greenery and pinecones (also great for adding to wicker baskets as a centre piece too this Christmas!) Add some logs to the fire, grab some thick knit blankets and light some candles for a warm and inviting cabin-feel living space.

Protecting your floor this Christmas

A real Christmas tree is hard to beat, but it can cause havoc for your floors. Make sure you sweep up fallen pine needles every day so they don’t get embedded in your carpet or between floor boards and if you notice any sap on the floors try to clean it up straight away. The same applies to glitter from wrapping paper or new glittery Christmas clothes – the longer you leave it, the more it will end up everywhere. Many of us will enjoy lighting a few cinnamon-scented candles this Christmas but be careful you don’t allow any wax to drip on your wooden floors. If you notice any wax, leave it to set and get hard before you lift it off – it’s much easier than trying to wipe up a sticky, waxy mess.

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Please help us turn this house in a home for Christmas
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Hi, there! What a great start to this room and a great friend you are for helping this gentleman. 1) I agree with what others have said about placing the two sofas facing each other perpendicular to the fireplace, with the coffee table in between and turning the rug. 2) I also agree that the artwork is what should go above the fireplace, not the tv. Then I think the tv could go on the wall opposite the fireplace, if there is enough room. But if placing the tv in the room with the artwork above the fireplace is difficult, then the tv could go above the fireplace. 3) It's hard to tell where the chandelier is located, but if possible, I'd swag it to be centered over the coffee table and centered with the fireplace. 4) I'd place a large tufted bench with roll arms and small side table or floor lamp in the bay window. This can easily be moved aside or in front of the fireplace during Christmas to make room for a large Christmas tree. 5) I'd go with a medium to dark grey on the walls, leaving the moulding white and LOVE the idea of the accent color of purple on the fireplace wall. I'd also paint all the radiators in the same color as the walls to "hide" them a bit. (You can also have boxes built around the radiators to make it look like a piece of furniture.) 6) If you move the artwork, you will have a blank space between the wall sconces. If those are permanent fixtures, you could place an assortment of mirrors on this wall arranged like artwork. 7) I would find a nice buffet (maybe something like this: http://www.westelm.com/products/parsons-mirror-console-g199/?pkey=cconsoles-buffet-tables&cm_src=consoles-buffet-tables||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-) to place under the sconces, then you can place the chairs to either side of the buffet. It would be a great counter to have for entertaining purposes, to put out an assortment of appetizers. And a design like this, you don't have to be too concerned with covering up or getting too close to the radiator. And the chairs can be stored to either side, but be brought out into the main area for entertaining. Alternatively, you could place a large decorative floor mirror leaning against the wall between the sconces (with the chairs on either side) and place a nice buffet console table behind the couch across from it. 8) To either side of the fireplace in the "nooks", I would put some wood console tables or cabinets (they don't have to be a matching set) in a deep rich java. On top of those, I'd place a tall buffet table lamp and place either one nice piece of art on the wall above or an arrangement of smaller art. You could also do one piece on one side and an arrangement on the other. 9) I would straighten the back couch cushions to make them look more streamlined and place the accent pillows against the back in somewhat of a line, rather than haphazardly. So, there would be one small accent pillow for each of the back pillows or at least evenly spaced out. Golds and bronzes would also look lovely with the greys and purples and I like the idea above about adding something zebra print, too. You have such great pieces to work it, I think most of it will just take rearranging and adding a few things here and there. Good luck! I would love to see the "after" photos!!!
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Being Danish, but having lived in the UK for many many years, and now living and running a small B&B in beautiful Provence, France - we have always celebrated the 24th December Danish style and the 25th English style, so getting the best of both worlds! On The 1st of December our house will be ready and decorated in many delicate, often handmade, bought or made by me, decorations. Flickering candles everywhere. On the first Sunday in December, ie the 2nd Sunday in advent, in the afternoon...until often late, our house would be full of friends and family, young and old, for our traditional Danish Gløgg Party, where everybody brings a little red Wine (for har gløgg) and a little something yo eat. We would make lots if gløgg and lots og æbleskiver, the twi bring served in private or in public places all over Denmark from the 1st of December! The tree itself will always be a real one, you will never ever find an artificial in any colour in our house! We get the fresh tree inside normally on the 22nd December, and it is decorated firstly by putting the brass George Jensen star on the top (always a star never an Angel), then the strings of warm white electric lights are spread around the tree. Then the serious decorating of the tree takes place, often accompanied by us eating some of the Danish Christmas nibbles I have made and drinking some Gløgg. The tree dekorations are all in gold, white, red and green. It takes quite some time to decorate, and finsly we hang the candle holders safely and not below any decorations, as c60 live candles are lit on Christmas Eve after our traditional Danish Christmas dinner and as we sit down around the beautiful tree and just before we open most of our presents. We open the rest of our presents just a few, sometime in the morning on the 25th either before or after a very nice brunch! The live candles are all safe as the tree is fresh, and because of the design of the Danish candle tree holders, and it us soooo beautiful, and we would absolutely have it any other way! On the 6th January sadly like all good things, the decorations cone down...and Christmas is another c 11 months away, and we'll do it all over again! Hope you all have a blessed, nice and quiet Christmas, and how lucky those if us are, who can say just that, and for us this will be our first proper Christmas in la belle Provence, and our Gløgg Party has moved to just before Christmas for varietes reasons! ;)
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Hi Catherine, You have a lovely open plan kitchen and lounge, but as you say, it lacks punch and interest. Since you're stuck with the stainless steel kitchen for the time being, you need to work with it and have some fun. A symmetrical arrangement of stainless steel shelves either side of the splash back for the cooker would allow you to put up interesting bottles, plants, china, etc. What about painting this wall a bright colour like Seville Orange from Crown and the other walls in natural white. You could also paint the base of the island in the Seville Orange. In the seating area, use the orange colour and some others like plum or blue-grey in fabric patterns, have cushions made up for the seating area. Also an area rug large enough for the front feet of your sofas and the coffee table to sit on with colour would brighten up this area. It's unfortunate that the TV is blocking a French window. Can it be moved somewhere else, perhaps the bay if the bottom shutters are never opened? Instead of half of the bay window having plantation shutters, I would recommend a second upper row, which could be folded back or, if you don't need coverage for privacy on the upper windows, have an interesting, colourful valance. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=valance+and+plantation+shutters+for+a+bay+window&biw=1516&bih=839&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIzdu7xO-FyAIVh0gUCh1aigXI&dpr=0.95#tbm=isch&q=valance++for+a+bay+window&imgrc=SjLxqYYGnQmhlM%3A
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Hello John! :) October Squash painted on the back wall as a feature wall would look gorgeous and brighten up the room, making it really warm and inviting! Here is a link: http://www.paintbyconran.com/en-GB/collections/kitchen-garden/m/product/view/71/preserve-elements Also, have you thought about purchasing any nice throws for the sofas or bright pillows?! I like your plants, too. Perhaps even buy some more plants and make it a themed room? It would look really cool and the warmth of the orange wall and soft throws would balance out the tone of the room perfectly! Let me know if you need anymore help. Georgie :) x
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Creating a warm and inviting home this Christmas

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