Christmas provides the perfect opportunity to express your creative flair. Here, leading designers share how they decorate their own homes for Christmas. By Jessica Jonzen
NICOLA HARDING USES HER OWN NiX FABRIC BY THE METRE AS A TABLECLOTH AND TONAL CANDLES AND FOLIAGE FOR A SIMPLE SCHEME
The Joy of Simplicity – Nicola Harding
For Nicola Harding, Christmas is about the magic of bringing loved ones together and sharing the load. “Rather than striving for perfection, I embrace the chaos,” she says. “Over the years, I’ve learned to keep preparations super simple and make things myself where I can and reuse as much as possible.” Nicola avoids disposable decorations, favouring compostable foliage like holly, ivy, and old man’s beard, gathered from local hedgerows.
“Don’t worry too much about festive colour schemes,” she advises. “The secret to creating a warm festive space is in the layering.” Her dining table is dressed with fabric by the metre, such as her NiX Checkmate, Slow Lane Stripe or Ticking Cotton in Berry, “it’s a lovely subtle pink colour that can be used all year round and you don’t even need to hem it. You can cut squares of the same or contrasting fabric to use as napkins.”
More is more when it comes to dinner candles. “Tonal shades work wonderfully well together, like warm reds, pinks and oranges or cool blues and greens. Add a mishmash of jam jars or bud vases full of evergreen foliage from the garden.” Paper chains made with her children from old wrapping paper or even newspaper are a staple, and some well-loved white bunting is brought out year after year. “A quick press with an iron has it looking as good as new, and being white, it works with all colour schemes. We use it for Christmas, New Year and even birthdays. It’s really very versatile.”
Personal Touches – Kate Cox, HÁM Interiors
“Christmas is always a special time for our family, and this year feels even more meaningful as it’s our first in our new home in Devon,” says Kate Cox, Partner and Creative Director at HÁM Interiors. “I like to swap out some of my scatter cushion covers at Christmas time, which my mother has always done. I have a lovely pair of needlepoint cushions with a woodland garland and berry motif that give a subtle festive feel, but just adding a touch of rich green or deep red velvet to the sofa can have a great effect,” she says. And a garland over the mantlepiece is always the perfect finishing touch. “Simple in style and either traditional or made with hops, they bring lots of festive cheer without needing to have multiple Christmas trees. I like to keep my Staffordshire animal figures amongst the greenery on the mantle for a whimsical feel!”
A TABLE DRESSED FOR CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES BY OWN LONDON. IMAGE: DEAN HEARNE
Preparation is Key – Alicia Meireles, Creative Director, OWN LONDON
For Alicia Meireles at OWN LONDON, preparation is key to creating a welcoming festive atmosphere. “If you don’t yet have low-level lighting like floor or table lamps, I’d recommend starting here,” she suggests. “Soft lighting creates a warm, inviting ambiance, perfect for cosy winter days. If sockets are an issue, wireless lamps are a great alternative. Of course, candles add to the mood too – but always keep an eye on them!”
When it comes to colour, Alicia advocates for individuality: “Reds and greens are classics, but there’s plenty of room to explore other tones. Choose one standout colour and build on it while being mindful of the hues already in your home.” She also advises against falling for the latest fast shopping trend. “I recommend doing a combination of investment pieces that are timeless and that can be used year on year, second hand or vintage accessories which have been passed down by the family or found in markets, and branches, dried fruit or flowers – anything that adds a sense of nature being brought in. In the past, I have used dried citrus fruits, cinnamon sticks and small dried chillis.”
MORE IS MORE IN ALICE PALMER’S WHIMSICAL MAXIMALIST SCHEME
More is More – Alice Palmer
“Christmas is the time to go all out,” says homeware designer Alice Palmer. Her mantra of “more is more” comes alive through layers of seasonal greenery like eucalyptus, pine, and ilex, which she scatters across mantels, tables, and vases. “The pop of red in ilex and the eucalyptus and pine smell delicious.” For the table, Alice layers two tablecloths to create impact. “I also buy Brussel sprout stalks to lay down the middle – they are really affordable and add great texture. Pomegranates, radishes and other vegetables are an unexpected way to bring in colour and interest too.” A maximalist at heart, she piles her Christmas tree high with lights, tinsel, ornaments, and colourful ribbons. “And don’t forget scent,” she adds. Her Botanical Garden and Wood Fire & Pine candles are perfect for enhancing the festive and cosy atmosphere.
Embrace the Childhood Wonder – Olivia Outred Studio
“I decorate boldly but affordably,” says Olivia Outred, whose Christmas staples include foraged ivy sprayed gold and silver. “We open up the box of old decorations, things we have been given or have made, which usually creates a joyful but rather chaotic look; loved by my daughter but slightly too mad for me. So I tweak it when she has gone to bed and remove some items that I think she won’t notice,” Olivia admits. “Then I use swathes of ribbon in just one colour, a deep orange this year, tied in bows around the branches. This gives me the look I want, and my daughter the look she wants too.”
Christmas is, after all, for children, Olivia says. “Any desire I had to have a genuinely grown-up approach to decorating has long gone, hence the desire for homemade ornaments and lots of greenery everywhere.” Another rather more unexpected decoration? “Pineapples! Sprayed gold they look absolutely incredible, and it’s a job a child can do outside, so we can all be busy and happy and take part in the madness of Christmas.”
A CLASSIC AND TIMELESS CHRISTMAS SCHEME BY SIMS-HILDITCH
Timeless Style – Sims Hilditch
Start by getting your tree into the best possible shape, recommends Emma Sims-Hilditch, Founder of Sims-Hilditch. “I start by trimming any errant branches of the tree down and setting them aside to use as a centrepiece for the mantlepiece or Christmas table.” Any fresh foliage such as eucalyptus, holly and mistletoe can be used to fill any gaps once the tree has been decorated to help the tree to feel fuller and fresher for longer. “In our home, we like to use a collection of old and new decorations on our tree; it’s special to make homemade decorations and see decorations from your childhood hanging on the branches.”
Christina Bull, project lead at Sims Hilditch, suggests introducing battery-operated lamps into your home for soft, flexible lighting. “Changing the fragrance in your home during the winter season is also a wonderful way to create a warm and inviting atmosphere for Christmas,” she says. “I particularly love the cosy notes of amber and fig during this time of year. You can also enhance the space by introducing more seasonal foliage and draping additional throws over the backs of armchairs or sofas.”
Natural Festivity – Kate Guinness Design
For Kate Guinness, the smell of a real tree is non-negotiable. “For me it’s almost as important as the look,” she says. “I like the tree to be decorated in an eclectic assortment of ornaments gathered or made over the years, each one with its own memory, rather than being too styled. Her Senior Designer, Sarah Davies-Bennion, adds: “If you want to boost the Christmas aroma and homemade feel, baking slices of orange and then studding them with cloves to string up around house works wonders. The house not only smells like Christmas but you have pretty strings of oranges to look at too. It’s also very cost-effective and environmentally gentle.”
VICTORIA WORMSLEY’S MANTLEPIECE DECORATED WITH BRANCHES, HOLLY AND A MULTITUDE OF CANDLES
Bring the Outside In – Victoria Wormsley, French-Brooks Interiors
For Victoria Wormsley, Founder of French-Brooks Interiors, creating a statement mantlepiece is key. “I love gathering small tree branches with catkins or buds to provide a framework for the mantelpiece and then adding evergreen foliage such as mature ivy with berries, rosemary and holly to form a backdrop for a few small Christmas flowering plants such as hellebores in vases. I’ll then dot tea lights in mercury glass and antique candlesticks through the greenery. Ester + Erik make elegant tapered candles in beautiful subtle colours, whilst on Etsy you can buy hand-dipped beeswax candles which help purify the indoor air.”
Victoria introduces other natural elements with flowering bulbs such as paperwhites. “They give a wonderful scent and look fantastic in a big woven basket with moss, and you can intersperse small branches and tall twigs to keep them upright.” For a more sophisticated urban look, Victoria suggests using asparagus foliage and starry white flowers in small vases of different heights on a console table or mantelpiece with silvery tea light holders and glass candlesticks with blue/grey candles. “All of these ideas can be adapted for the Christmas table – just add a glamorous bow to the napkins.”
CLOVE-STUDDED ORANGES MAKE INVENTIVE TEA LIGHT HOLDERS, SHOWN HERE ON FABRIC FROM THE DESIGN ARCHIVES
Thoughtful Creativity – Sharon Crowson, The Design Archives
For Sharon Crowson, Managing Director and Creative Director of The Design Archives, “Christmas decorating should be the ultimate recycling event. I always use the same decorations year after year,” she says. Her trees follow a two-tone palette of red and gold or silver, with lights always added first. “Also, don’t rush, but grab the moment when you are in the mood. I have learnt that you cannot force creativity if you’re not focused, and as the tree is the central focus of the celebrations you really do want to get it right and take time.”
In the run up to Christmas, Sharon might add some extra pieces to her collection of decorations. “This year it was some beautiful Highgrove Christmas decorations bought from The King’s Foundation Christmas Fair at The Garrison Chapel in the former Chelsea Barracks in London.” For a more budget-conscious approach, Sharon also loves a good local garden centre. “Their Christmas sections are always wonderful for inspiration.”
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