Asked on Nov 29, 2015

Natural Christmas

Anna B
by Anna B
I always decorate our home for Christmas in the traditional red and green with some brass thrown in. This year I would like to add a more natural theme, not rustic, but maybe using some natural decor with my everyday decor and a touch of some kind of metal.
Am I making ant sense? I can get ideas in mind, but I'm terrible at executing them. I have a white fireplace mantel and green sofa/ chairs in the living room, dark wood dining room set and sideboard and floor to ceiling bookshelves along one wall of the family room, also maple cabinets and maple table and chairs in the kitchen. All of the floors are a medium color hardwood. Of course all of the rooms have side tables and coffee tables. I never decorate in the bedrooms or bathrooms. HELP!!
  10 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Nov 29, 2015
    My suggestion to you is to narrow your search under christmas decorations within the home talk discussions as this question is truly of personal taste.
  • Jacalyn Jacalyn on Nov 29, 2015
    I am a big fan of using what you have on hand or in your yard. Do you have holly bushes, magnolia trees, or ivy? Then clip those leaves and berries and use them with brass candlesticks or weathered lanterns. Some recent Hometalk posts have used slices of wood/branches to make trees and Santas, etc. let your imagination be your guide a have fun. Happy holidays!
  • Jennie Herrick Jennie Herrick on Nov 30, 2015
    One suggestion I would make if you really want to be different this year would be to almost go away from color all together. What I mean by this is, use Whites, Silvers, and Golds as your color palet for your decorations. The really cool thing is that you can take most of your old decorations and spray paint them with Krylon Spray Paint in either white, metallic silver, or metallic gold and the only money you are out is for the paint!! And you can't forget to toss on some silver or gold glitter while the paint is wet! Oh yeah! I'm seeing your living room coming together as I type this! :-) I hope I was able to help you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions! Have fun & Happy Holidays!!
  • Sue P. Sue P. on Nov 30, 2015
    One year I decorated a tree with dried hydrangeas, birds' nests, red berry clusters from holly or other bushes...it was one of my favorite trees ever.
  • Marilee H Marilee H on Nov 30, 2015
    If you would rather spend than make, try woodland animal shaped ornaments. If you are a diyer - sew some with felt.
  • Donna Donna on Nov 30, 2015
    I love the ideas above. One more suggestion - add in a few pine cones among your brass items and red and green colors. Put a pine cone wreath above your fireplace and/or build a pine cone pyramid to look like a mini Christmas tree. There's lots of great pine cone projects here on Hometalk and on Pinterest. Good luck!
  • LD LD on Nov 30, 2015
    Remember that in decorating, less is more, for if you over decorate then it will become clutter looking, and take away from the decorative items. I would go with silver, clear glass, fiber optic lights, with just a touch of turquoise and a little bit of light wood. In the living room your tree and the fireplace mantle, should be the area to focus on; dinning room- center of the table; bathrooms-fingertip towels and scented candle or potpourri; bedroom pillows with battery candle in each window; and kitchen-garland draped on windows.
  • Kayo Frazier Kayo Frazier on Nov 30, 2015
    Here's my 2 cents...For the tree, you can add some DIY ornaments...Twig stars w/ holly berries, big/small acorns spray paint them gold/silver, small bunches of mistletoe w/ red/green ribbon, pine cones w/ glitter, wrap burlap around clear plastic ornaments, and wrap cinnamon sticks w/ ribbon, small poinsettias, add birds, tuck some elves or fairies into the branches are a few things I can think of. Something new I've seen on Pinterest is adding flowers. You can mix them in w/ the red & green ornaments you already have. For the fireplace, you don't say what kind of mantel you have, so I would keep the decorations on the smaller side. I would go w/ holly sprigs, small evergreen branches & add red/green candles in glass containers. For around the home, I would get a few small or medium grapevine wreaths & add some evergreens & ornaments.
  • Gwen Gwen on Nov 30, 2015
    Natural elements. A different metal. Blend with red and green. Give a new look. Not country. Maple sideboard. Dark wood dining set. Full bookcase. Okay. I'm going to see in my mind what we can do first that maybe you have not done before. See that bookcase? Let's not take away the books but find every red and green book and randomly shelve them in one or two shelves. Next shelf? Turn all books biggest on bottom to smallest on top so we see spines. It's called relief for the eye. Do you have a special doodad in silver??? Crystal? Kind of smallish. Oh 3-4 inches. Set on top. Not brass. Continue with bookshelf--do you have two or three baskets all the same that fit the shelf? Put the books in the rectangle baskets or even boxes ( I found some light cardboard with metal label on the end at IKEA) thTHAT would give another texture to the shelves. Finish with a row where half shelf books are up and then others stack on side. Now to dark dining table. Do you have an old linen square table topper? I'd gotten mine off Etsy. My mom has some. Or fold a thin lace tablecloth to be a square. You do not want to cover the wood. Gather those brass candlestick holders, your crystal ones, ( dollar tree has nice ones for a dollar) and have short to tall heights clustered in the center. Candles? Use all white or I like to use red and green. Maple sideboard. Add red ceramic. Do you have a pie plate or mixing bowl? Fill with apples of green and red. Use a canning jar to fill with walnuts or pecans or almonds. Have a nutcracker handy. Do you have a wooden cutting board? Place items and a mug of candy canes on this. It adds texture, color, but it's food!!! Use poinsettias as decor. They are gorgeous. Set one on the sideboard. A small one on an end table. Ornaments. I got metal ornaments 70% off at Michaels a couple weeks ago. But what about using bells on a ribbon! I like glitter. I filled a few clear ornaments with clear glitter. By the fireplace, can you see if you can get an olive picking metal basket? Logs up and down in one would add a galvanized type metal and store wood artistically. Along the mantel put three lanterns. Mixed or matched. They are everywhere or maybe you have three the same size. I've been using programmable candles in red and green so I have candlelight automatically. Maple kitchen table. What do you usually do?? I have fresh cypress I soak and then stick in a dollar tree vase with cranberries. I use either a plate charger or a round cloth. It's very dramatic and it's amazing how long they last. I do change water occasionally. Green chairs? Christmas pillows. A cozy throw over the back. I got pillows at Target, on sale at Pottery Barn, on sale at Khols and I've turned pillows to a plain side and tied with ribbon to go with my decor. Oh!! Use the Dollar tree tea light candles scattered around. Some are even glittered!! They last a good while for 2/$1. I keep a basket of Christmas books by a chair. I tie ribbon onto chairs. I try new ideas. Get out any silver you own this year. Display it around the house. Add candy to crystal dishes. I'll bet you could do all I've suggested on less than $50. Best to you❤️💚
  • Michelle Harbee Michelle Harbee on Dec 01, 2015
    Do you have a Michaels Craft Store near you? They have isles full of rustic, natural Christmas decor. It's 50% off this time of year and they often have deals where you can get an extra 10-20% off of that.