Leave the tinsel in the attic, splash out on several trees for your home, don’t forget to decorate your bathroom and light up your garden – this is the advice for eager beaver Christmas lovers this year.
Yes, for those aiming for a fashionably festive look this season, we’ve called in the decorating experts to give their take on what’s in – and what’s out – this Christmas.
Sophia Weir from Christmasfairydecorators.com, an Irish corporate and residential Christmas decoration company, says there is a leaning towards decorating the whole house this year.
“Basically, Christmas is bigger and bolder than ever before,” she says, but adds that people are going for a more subtle look when doing so.
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“There will be themed rooms, but definitely more on the classy rich colour scheme, such as deep reds and purples with gold,” she says. “Our corporate clients, in particular, are really seeking the traditional look to work alongside very large, modern sleek buildings, to bring a real homely feeling to all who work and visit; there is a real emphasis on that feeling this year, particularly after Covid.
“But we would say a definite no to tinsel. We are allergic and never do it. However, table centre pieces will have some of the subtle sparkle such as wood, cinnamon sticks or pine cones dipped in small amounts of glitter – this can be really effective and tasteful as opposed to over-decoration.”
In Brown Thomas, where its Christmas shop opened as far back as August, Claire Charlton, the department store’s gifts and seasonal buyer, agrees that many people are keen to decorate the whole house, rather than just one room.
“We are seeing a move towards more tonal colour trends,” she says, adding, “This year there seems to be a mix of sparkle and shine and also decorations with matte sheens. We look to incorporate a mix of textures, materials and tones throughout each trend to balance the look and feel.”
Themes to be found in the store’s Christmas shop this year include “glacial lake”, which “captures the serene beauty of a winter landscape with icy shades of white, blue and silver with pops of dark navy ornaments adding elegance”, and “natural glow”, a classic look combining metallic and shimmering accents with earthy autumnal tones of walnut and cinnamon.
“This look will bring a timeless elegance to your festive home decor with chocolate velvets and large glistening baubles,” says Charlton.
When it comes to trees, the bigger, it seems, is the better, while Charlton also sees a trend towards having more than one around the home.
“Our best seller is the 7.5ft tree but the 9ft one is also growing in popularity, and for those who want to make a real statement, we also offer a 16ft option,” she says.
“Also, the trend to decorate throughout the home is growing year on year, with many people having more than one tree so they can showcase different looks.
Wreaths on the front door are also becoming more and more popular so we have expanded this area to offer more options to our customers,” says Charlton.
Pencil trees, which are tall and narrow, are often popular as a second and third tree option.
“Our residential clients tend to have large homes with interesting spots for lit garlands with berries and trees of different shapes and sizes. Also, a new request, which now appears to be coming as a standard, is to bring a touch of Christmas to the main bathroom. This can be with ornaments in contemporary style using glass or candles to create something really special,” says Weir.
As well as making sure the inside of your home is looking festive, decorating the garden is also very much “a thing” this Christmas.
“Outside is almost more important than ever before – and trees, shrubs, planters and coasting buildings framed with lights will be huge this year,” says Weir.
“A simple one-style string of bulbs with the same soft or warm white lights are in real demand. And less is more when it comes to bulb selection and lighting as the placement of the lights is key.”
