A considered Christmas. Make your home merry

01 December 2020 Interiors & Home decor

The past days I’ve been thinking a lot about this year’s Christmas, wondering how we are going to celebrate it with the pandemic still affecting us.

For sure, we will not be running from a pre-Christmas dinner to the next nor visiting Christmas markets around the world. Most probably, we won’t be able to visit our families but we will try our best at keeping the festive spirit alive.

Whatever your plans for December, this will certainly be a simpler and slower Christmas. I’m calling it ‘a considered Christmas.’

It may sound obvious but this year more than ever it’s really all about celebrating the little things. If you think about the past Christmases, I’m sure the things that still bring joy to you are non-material things: the delicious smell in your kitchen when you bake cookies, the voice of Frank Sinatra in the house while decorating the Christmas tree, the hot chocolate sipped while it’s snowing outside…

It’s all about savouring simple pleasures and nurture traditions to look forward to in this and in the coming years.

Today I’m finally sharing how I decorated my apartment for the festive season. Mine is a laid-back approach to Christmas decoration and it’s inspired by the Scandinavian coziness. I created an inspirational moodboard that helped me in choosing the color palette and stick to my original ideas when picking the actual ornaments.

I’ve made my own decorations and set a festive holiday table in the tones of white, green, brown, with pinches of gold. Here is how my home looks like now that is in full Christmas mode.

Hope you can find lots of inspiration. Let me know if you’ll use some of these ideas! And if you feel like, share some photos of your decorated home and tag me on Instagram so I can see your beautiful pics.

My inspiration moodboard for Christmas 2020

Back to Christmas basics and handmade decorations

Fir branches, pine cones, dried-out cork, and flowers are some of the ‘ingredients’ that came to my mind when I was putting together the recipe for my Christmas home decor. I wanted to keep things simple yet elegant. It’s not the time for more complications, it’s quite the opposite, so don’t stress out on decorations. Speaking of which, try to make your own (and involve your kids because it’s a lot of fun)!

I’ve baked salt dough pendant ornaments and then I painted half of them using acrylic color. I couldn’t find a shared opinion on the right proportions for salt dough so I developed my own recipe:

1 cup of salt
1 cup of water
2,5 cups of all-purpose flour (adjust during the preparation)
Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until the dough is smooth. Knead the dough for some minutes and then start to cut out the desired forms using cookie cutters. Put your decorations in the oven (pre-heated at 50°) and leave them drying for 2,5 hours. It’s a slow process but it avoids the formation of cracks in the decorations. Remember to cool the decorations completely before painting them.

A considered Christmas tablescape

If you already read the blog, you might know that I love setting a beautiful table for the holidays (actually I love doing it even when there is no special occasion to celebrate).

Every year I experiment with different styles, colors, and materials but this year I went for more traditional and calming table decor. Here is the final result… do you like it?

For the centerpiece, I sourced some fir branches (faux or fresh is up to you), wooden decorations, different kinds of pine cones and, of course, my handmade salt dough ornaments. EXTRA TIP: homemade ornaments can also be lovely gifts for your guests or can be used as name tags.

Moving along to my plates, I used natural stoneware and matched the plates with golden cutlery. An elegant twist to the overall look! Tablecloth and napkins are made of linen. Remember: playing with different textures is always a good idea when decorating your home.

Searching for the perfect Christmas presents? Have a look at my 4 Holiday Gift Guides

A considered Christmas. The Christmas tree

The Christmas tree is the piece that makes your house instantly merry. I have a faux Christmas tree for 5 years now and it’s still in amazing shape. Reducing waste is another important aspect of a considered Christmas.

This is the piece I cherish the most because it’s a living story of my family. Each ornament has a little story behind it and comes from a different part of the world. My family is really, really, really into Christmas and each year we have this tradition to add something new to the tree. Do you also have the same tradition?

When it comes to holidays, uncomplicated always wins. As you can see from the photos, I didn’t take away my usual posters nor moved my lamps. When you’ll set the table on Christmas Eve or on Christmas day you’ll be not moving furniture around. You’ll be busy cooking something flavorful and you’ll be chatting and laughing with your family.

I hope this blog post inspires you to create a welcoming and comfortable home to savor the festive atmosphere at its fullest!

P.S. If you want to know where to source plates, cutlery and decorations write me a message on Instagram or comment here below: I’d be happy to help you!