Pour yourself a cup of hot chocolate and turn on your favorite Christmas music because it’s time to decorate for the holidays. Spread a little extra holiday cheer by making your living room decor the centerpiece of your holiday. After all, that’s where you’ll be watching holiday movies on repeat. From ornaments that bring back memories of holidays past to new, modern pieces that incorporate a festive, but stylish, theme, here are some living room holiday decorating tips for inspiration as you begin to deck the halls.
Choose the Right Size Tree
The Christmas tree is the star attraction of your holiday decorating, and it’s important to get the right size tree for your living room. If you choose a tree that’s too big, it will overwhelm your space. If it’s too small, you won’t be able to display all of your ornaments. Whether you choose a fresh-cut tree or you’re going with an artificial one, here’s how to make sure you pick one that’s the right size. Start by measuring how tall your ceiling is and then subtract six inches.
These six inches will be for your tree topper and the extra height of the tree stand. So if your ceiling height is eight feet, your maximum tree height should be seven and a half feet. Same goes for the floor space that your tree will cover. Measure the space and subtract one foot and take these measurements with you when you choose your tree to ensure the perfect sized fir or spruce.
Deck Your Shelves and Your Coffee Table
Start with a clean slate when it’s time to decorate. Pack up and put away the everyday decor that’s on your built-ins, hanging shelves and even your coffee table. Now you have the space to present your holiday collections and decor. If you have a vintage collection of holiday trinkets, mini Christmas trees or nutcrackers, give them a prominent spot in your living room.
Your collections will add texture, color and plenty of holiday cheer throughout your space without feeling crowded. Grab branches of greenery and solid colored ornaments to fill in any blank or open spaces to pull the whole look together.
A Very Modern Holiday
If a modern aesthetic is your jam, turn up the festive decor with a large tree covered only in white lights, plenty of greenery spread throughout the room, and a neutral color palette to maintain your style while still adding in some holiday flair. Take the clean lines to your wrapping and display gifts that are wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. Now your holiday gifts are pulling double duty as decor and gifts for friends and family.
Dreaming of a White Christmas
A monochromatic look is a dramatic and gorgeous way to dress up your living room for the holidays. It’s also easy to pull off this look because, as you shop for pieces to add to your living room, you only need to add white, cream, or off white. Choose different sized ornaments, a chunky throw pillow and blankets and plenty of white lights to give your monochromatic room a warm glow.
Let Your Living Room Color Palette Inspire Your Decor
You don’t have to decorate with the traditional holiday colors of red and green to be festive. Instead, let the color pallete of your living room inspire your holiday decorating. Choose ornaments that coordinate with the color of your throw pillows, or opt for velvet ribbon in the color that accents your living room and place it on your tree, wreaths or mantel display. Have fun creating a holiday scene that is fluid and connects with your established living room decor.
Nostalgic Christmas
If you have vintage ornaments or antique decor that you’ve inherited or collected, your living room is the perfect place to showcase those heirlooms. Fill your shelves with delightful pieces that will start conversations when you entertain friends and family. Decorate your tree and make over your mantle with your vintage holiday collection and add a few modern pieces to accent the antiques. Your retro decor will give your holiday decorations a timeless charm.
Bring in Nature
Your tree isn’t the only green that you can pull into your living room. Fill vases and bowls with pine cones and sprigs of holly and berries. Spreading greenery around your living room will make it feel cozy and smell amazing. Add accents of wood, antlers and rustic decor to pull the look together. Wrap candles in pieces of pine and tie them on with string for an inexpensive DIY. Using nature to decorate can help you reach the rustic or minimalist holiday living room of your dreams.
Dress Up Your Windows
Don’t leave your windows out of the holiday decorating. Display wreaths in each window to bring in a holiday vibe. With adhesive hooks and a few measurements, your wreaths will be perfectly aligned and easy to remove when the holidays are over. The symmetry of the matching wreaths will create a chic and edited look inside and out.
Mix Metallics
Silver and gold are gorgeous together and can give your living room a glam holiday upgrade. Mixing metallics with glass and crystals can create the backdrop of a wintery wonderland. Incorporate your stemware and glassware from other rooms of the house to hold metallic ornaments and to accent your sparkly aesthetic.
‘Tis the Season For Plaid
Now is the time to warm up your living room and coat your pillows, blankets and ornaments all in plaid. From red and black to buffalo check, pepper in the plaid wherever you can. Use accent pieces that aren’t considered holiday specific, but pull in pops of red, green and black. Drape plaid ribbon on your mantel and mix and match plaid ornaments to create a whimsical holiday display.
Plaid is so vertiste that you could display many of the plaid items all winter long. Plus if you’ve got plaid holiday pajamas, imagine the adorable family photos you’ll get to take in your plaid room.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
