As soon as Halloween ends, and November begins, my brain is rewired to get myself ready for the holiday season. Each year I look forward to shopping the aisles at both small and large businesses and always stumble upon some of the cutest apple red and vibrant green decorations. While these colors scream “Christmas,” they simply do not match the year round colors and decor I garnish my home with and it got me thinking, do Christmas decorations always have to match with conventional holiday color schemes?
When my husband and I moved into our dream Mount Laurel home, we began shopping for furniture, decor, and paint colors that fit with the boho-glam style we (mostly me, sorry, Paul) were going for. By the time the holiday season came around, our home was filled with navy blue furniture, gold and pink decor, and the most epic hand painted accent wall I could have ever wished for. With shades of blue, pink, and gold I knew the traditional red and green Christmas decorations we had were going to clash, so I set out with a new idea in mind.
Once I changed the vision I had in my head of Christmas, I was shocked to find so many unconventional decorations. Stores like Homegoods, Hobby Lobby, and Target had separate aisles and displays for the colors my home needed. By the end of my haul, our home no longer looked like a poorly decorated antique shop, but embodied a glamorous and colorful Christmas village. Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone for home decor can really change the look of a room.
Start by choosing a neutral color. For my house, and this specific room, gold and white were going to be the two easiest neutrals to find. Depending on your home, you might want to choose black, gray, or beige and then accent those with gold, silver, or bronze. I find a metallic color mixed with a matte color complement each other well.
Locate basic background decor options in your neutrals. For my bar, I found a white snow blanket (Target), and a string of white pearls (Hobby Lobby), to begin neutralizing my accent wall. Different neutral color garlands and table cloths can work the same way in any room with a shelf or table.
Choose your unconventional color. Pink was my color of choice here. I found a box of pink ornaments (Target) and some trees with hints of pinks (Athome, Michaels, & Homegoods) in order to help the pink decor in my room pop. There are tons of other unconventional holiday colors out there. Maybe your house has a lot of yellow or blue. Find small items with these colors to add to your normal decor instead of changing everything in the room to reds and greens. I promise it will help with the appeal factor and it will make cleaning up in January less stressful.
Play around with depth and height. This is the fun part! Lay your findings out on the floor and begin to place items next to each other based on height and depth. I tend to place the tallest items in the middle as a focal point, but placing them on the ends of shelves would work well too. Space out your colors and neutrals and add small touches (lights, garland, pictures, candles) to finish your look. Try not to have all the bold colors in one area and all the neutrals in another, this will make your decor look off balanced.
Leave what you can, remove what you can’t. As you will see in my pictures, there are many decorations on my bar wall that are not Christmas related. I have a lot of glassware, a dachshund cookie jar, and many cocktail books. These pieces stay on my bar all year long and while they have nothing to do with the holidays, they still complement the holiday accents in the room.
Even though the holidays bring joy to almost everyone, it is easy to have house envy when you are visiting friends and family. Instead of comparing your home to others you may see in person or online this year, look for small ways and simple touches to add your own style and colors to your holiday decor. Even the simplest piece can change a room. Happy shopping!