5 Top Christmas Decorating Ideas For a Vintage Home
5 Top Christmas Decorating Ideas For a Vintage Home
First things first, I want to remind you that decorating for Christmas isn’t a competition you need to win. It doesn’t need to be ‘perfect’. Your Christmas decor should just make you feel happy and content! Read on for a checklist of 5 inspirational ways of giving your home a traditional festive feel.
- Decorations - choose decorations that are significant to you. For a vintage look, choose retro style baubles in traditional colours such as green or red. Alternatively, for a more rustic look look for those decorations that are inspired by the natural world of pine cones and acorns. TIP- your hanging decorations and baubles don’t need to match! You can buy new, but it’s always lovely to have these interspersed with ones handed down through the family, or that a child made at school. They may start to look a bit time worn, but that won’t matter. After all, you are wanting a vintage look.
- Foliage and flowers - these will add a lovely rustic, vintage look to your room. Go out and cut stems of ivy and trail these with other long stemmed greenery, twigs and pine cones. These can be intertwined with strings of led lights and placed on a mantlepiece or along window sills. Don’t do this too soon or your greenery will look a little worse for wear. Alternatively, place them in an old, vintage jug or vase to keep them fresh and hang some small decorations from the stems. TIP - if you don’t have time for this, use an artificial garland which will have the added benefit of being able to use it again and again over the years. Suspend branches or twigs in windows to hang Christmas cards or your favourite decorations from.
- Candles - cinnamon, orange, spices, need I say more. Light a scented candle in any room to invoke a warming feel. Its aroma will percolate around your home and the flickering light will add a cosy touch. TIP - Choose candles with pretty tins or glass so that when not lit they will still add a charming look to the room. Alternatively, stand dinner candles or pillar candles in pretty holders and place them in settings or groups for a pleasing display. Mix and match tea lights and votives and stand on a vintage tray or plate for a table centrepiece.
- Table linen - dress your table in traditional style. Whether it is with a simple Christmas table runner so that you can show off a rustic pine table, or cover your table completely with a Christmas design tablecloth. Keep it simple and let the tablecloth be the star of the show, or dress it up with candles, greenery or a bowl of vintage baubles. Add bone handled cutlery, or a reproduction cream handled set; matching napkins in holders and placemats to protect your table’s surface. TIP- tie your napkins with a simple ribbon and mini glass bauble in a matching colour if you don't have holders. Check out my table linens in the tableware section.
- Lighting - Christmas lights are the crowning glory for seasonal decorating. The uses for a string of LED lights are endless from twisting along a mantlepiece, to coiling them in a vase or old fashioned mason’s jar. They look sweet placed around a mirror, or twine them up your bannisters. TIP - don’t wait until December, introduce some little strings of LED lights in your home to last all winter.
There you have it, my 5 key decorating tips for a vintage style Christmas. I hope you find them inspirational for your festive decorating this year. Keep an eye on my socials for more Christmas settings inspiration and of course have a look at my Christmas shop to start your own festive decorating.
Love Jill x
