Bring Consistency and Harmony to Your Christmas Decor

Once you choose a color scheme, it’s a good idea to carry the c

olor through all

connecting rooms, for a look of consistency and harmony.

There are some general rules to follow when bringing a Christmas

(or any seasonal

Once you choose a color scheme, it’s a good idea to carry the color through all connecting rooms, for a look of consistency and harmony.

There are some general rules to follow when bringing a Christmas (or any seasonal) color scheme into your home.

Harmonize With Your Interior

If your home is decorated with a contemporary interior of black and white and chrome, don’t try to create a rustic space with twigs and birds nests. Focus on the space as it is with silver, white, glitter, and crystals, maintaining the minimalist look.

On the other hand, if your home is decorated in warm, colorful tones, don’t try to make it look sleek and sophisticated with silver and white Christmas decorations. Choose colors from the decorating plan and draw them out for the Christmas decor.

To summarize, if the space is warm and cozy, choose Christmas decorations in shapes and colors that retain that feeling. If the space is cool and sleek, choose decorations that are also sleek and sophisticated.

Transition From Room to Room

For continuity through your home, coordinate your Christmas decorations from room to room. Don’t use silver and white icicles in one room and rustic twigs and calico ornaments in the adjoining room.Try to repeat main decorating colors in each room. The decorations don’t have to be the same but bring colors from one room to the next. Try to find some decorations that have several colors in them. Then use one of the main colors in one room, another in an adjoining room, and the third color in the third room. Tie the spaces together with a common garland or decorative ribbons.

Why Color Is So Important

Color evokes strong emotions in people and the colors chosen for a Christmas color scheme might be more important than the items chosen for decorations.Think about walking into a room that’s black. Black walls, black floors, black furniture, black lights. Then see a bowl of plain round silver sparkling ornaments in a black bowl. The silver ornaments are the only thing you really see. The ornaments could be green, red, gold, or purple, but they’d still draw all your attention.

Now think of a white room. White walls and everything else white. What would attract your eye the most? Something, anything, that’s not white. Choose the colors you like the most for your Christmas decorating.

Choose what will draw your eye and make you feel joyous and festive.

A Monochromatic Color Scheme

If you love things harmonious to look at, all in a family of colors, you may choose a monochromatic color scheme. But that doesn’t mean that everything will be the same color. In fact, your monochromatic color scheme will be much more dramatic if you select items in many shades of your chosen color.

If red is your color, think of all the hues of red. Start at the pink end and move on to fuchsia, rose, cherry, firecracker, ruby, cranberry, burgundy, and maroon. You get the idea. Find balls, bows, garlands, and other decorations in every shade of red. That’s a monochromatic color scheme. Do the same thing with greens, blues, purples, whites, silvers, golds–whatever color you choose.

Use Color to Add Texture

Even with a monochromatic scheme, it’s important to have some texture for interest. A tree decorated with only balls can look boring. Use garlands, different finishes on the balls, ribbons, nosegays to add different textures and balance.

Warm Colors and Cool Colors

It’s known that certain colors evoke particular feelings. Reds, yellows, and golds are warm colors. Blue, white, and silver are cool colors. If you choose a decorating scheme of snow, you’d probably gravitate towards cool colors. If you’re focusing on the cozy feeling of a winter fireplace, you’d choose warm colors. If you live in a climate that’s freezing cold, you might want to warm up your interior with warm colors. If you live in a tropical area, you might want to bring the coolness of icicles into your home at this time of year.

Tie It Up With Ribbon

Christmas decorations are temporary and can be over the top and whimsical. Bows and ribbon can be a unifying element in holiday decorating. Use the same ribbon in every room or buy coordinating ribbons in contrasting colors (for example, a gold ribbon with red stripes, and a red ribbon with gold stripes) to use in various rooms. Purchase different widths of the same design ribbon so you can use narrower around candlesticks and wider on wreaths and garlands. Use ribbons and bows to add color and a holiday mood to garlands, wreaths, mantles, swags, and candlesticks.

Learn a simple way to make floral bows to use anywhere in your home. French ribbons with a wired edge cost more than regular soft ribbons, but are a great investment as they can be used year after year. With the wired edges, you can make a perfect bow, arranging the loops and tails any way you like for the best effect. Be sure to purchase more ribbon than you think you’ll need. You may not be able to find more later.

Almost Any Hue Can Work

Though red, green, gold, and silver are the favorite choices for Christmas colors, almost any hue can create a beautifully decorated home for the holidays. When choosing color combinations, remember that most colors of equal depth and intensity will harmonize with each other. Pastels, for example, mix easily with other pastels such as pink, peach, butter yellow, baby blue, lilac, and mint green. Or the deep jewel tones of navy blue, hunter green, and deep red will also combine well. Most colors, whether pastel or jewel tones, mix well with crystals, white, and ivory. And metallic tones like gold, silver, iron, brass, and pewter look great with almost any color. Here are some more colors and wonderful color combination for Christmas decorations all around your house.

Red & Green
Green & White
Red & White
All White
Any Color & Gold
Any Color & White
Any Color & Silver
White, Blue, & Silver

Ivory & Brushed Gold
Sage Green, Ivory, & Pewter
Bright Purple, Blue, & Green
Icy Blue, Lilac, & Silver
Autumn Tones of Beige, Brown, Golden Yellow, & Rust
Forest Green, Burgundy, & Gold
Primary Toy Colors Such as Red, Yellow, & Blue

Need help decorating your home this season? See our Holiday Design Services.