How To Style Your Home This Christmas

From handpicking winter foliage and digging-out forgotten glassware, to pouring over the recipe books at bedtime, there is nothing I enjoy quite so much as inviting guests into my home on long December nights.

Whether sipping spiced hot chocolate whilst family hang their stockings, or welcoming the entire village over for Boxing Day drinks (it seemed a good idea at the time), decking the halls from the first of December is, for me, one of the best things about Christmas. 

Start with the table

If there is one time when you really want to set a showstopper of a table, it’s Christmas. The key to setting a stunning table is balance, which can be achieved by repeating scale and texture and stick to one colour palette. If your home style favours neutral tones, opt for white and verdant greens and stick to natural textures where possible.

A bushy garland of fragrant eucalyptus wound around glass hurricane lamps (I run mine through the dishwasher if they get wax on) atop a natural linen cloth or runner (remember rumpled is the new pressed), adds a modern feel.

Go a step further throwing sheepskins over stools or hanging glass votives from a spruce branch or oak beam, (use ribbon to fix these as fishing wire can melt!), to create a sense of an enchanted woodland. 

For a more upscale, traditional table

If you’re looking to impresss, don’t be afraid to go bold and embrace deeper tones. Napkins and tablecloths in rich hues of plum or forest green combine beautifully with eye-catching metallic votives and gold chargers. Dig out your Grandmother’s antique vases or fill pretty jars with winter blooms (ruby-red roses are my favourite), or seek out gold-etched glassware to reflect the glint of candlelight. 

I always like to include a hero-piece at my tables, such as a festive ornament or eye-catching side plates to provide interest and a create a talking-point between guests, and ensure everyone feels truly welcome with a signature touch at each place setting. An old glass tree decoration, homemade gingerbread shape with piped icing, or a golden painted pomegranate never fail to look elegant. 

Food and flowers

Remember that odd numbers look best, so keep vases or ornaments grouped into threes. Combined with extra-tall tapered candles in mismatched high and low holders, these create interest down a long table, but allow space for the food itself.

When it comes to food

There is nothing worse than feeling stuffed for the entire month of December, so rather than always going with tradition, consider what your guests will most want to eat. Perhaps they have already enjoyed a turkey, and an easy kitchen supper of fish pie or a vegetable stew might be a welcome surprise!

For a less formal gathering don’t overlook the humble Christmas buffet for guests to help themselves to. Forget turkey curry and sausage rolls, opting instead for bowls of spiced winter vegetables and rich dips bejewelled with pomegranate seeds, or delicious locally-smoked salmon. 

To set off your dishes best, cover a rich-coloured cloth over a side table, and position your plates and bowls at varying heights. If the table looks a little empty, include a tower of fresh clementines, a cut-glass bowl of foil-wrapped chocolates, or place leftover strands of eucalyptus into your favourite vase. For an extra special touch, display a menu in beautiful handwriting to show off all your hard work.

Beyond the table

Be sure to consider other areas that your guests will visit, such as hallways or even the loo. I always lower lighting and position a statement arrangement of tall winter foliage (seek out branches of white hypericum berries), along with an alpine-scented candle to pull the whole look together.

There’s nothing like a working fireplace to soothe winter spirits and burning logs such as cherry add a delicious woodland fragrance. Alternatively, fill empty fireplaces with an armful of sturdy church candles or branches of Nordic spruce trimmed from your tree - these offcuts also look lovely on mantlepieces, amongst traditional wooden nutcrackers. 

Remember the entrance

Create a cosy, yuletide welcome by hanging fairy lights amongst foliage or around mullioned stone windows to welcome you home and cheer passers-by on bleak mornings (I set mine on a time for sundown). A handsome wreath always looks especially lovely nailed to the door: Why not create your own unique wreath, by attaching foraged fir cones, crab apples and grouped pheasant feathers to a plain spruce wreath for a rustic cottage or winding in leftover silver baubles if it’s going on an elegant townhouse.

Whether foraged from surrounding woodland, picked-up at the local market, or dug out of your own cupboards, I hope you will enjoy showcasing your individual style this Christmas, and sharing in the joy of the season.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas.

K x