Christmas Time Is Here!!!

Truth & Co. Home Christmas Install

Christmas sneaks up quick! It seems that right after Halloween is over, the trees are ready to go up! Christmas decorating can be overwhelming and often take time away from actually enjoying the season. And for us in our little cottage home, it means arranging everyday things to make room for the Christmas decor.

Our clients are a busy, fun family who love to travel and entertain. They asked us early (we suggest July) to come in and help go through decorations they had and then create a list to purchase new ones. We created piles: “Use / Save / Donate”

This install was so much fun and because it was a newly renovated space/addition that we did last year (with Renew Properties), we wanted to make sure that the Christmas decor flowed with the existing decor.

With this install, we kept things neutral and natural. We didn’t want bold colors to distract and become the focal point - but rather for your eye to see the space as a whole and not just a red bow on a wreath… not that we are against red :) Our clients have made the switch from bright color Christmas decor to neutrals…and they are loving it!

Above you will see some photos of the Sunroom before we decorated it for Christmas.
We relocated the 2 chairs to face the tree, added wreaths to the windows with a simple gauze ribbon, put down a new tree skirt, added to their ornaments on their tree and layered some pillows and accessories. This is a warm and cozy space that the family now enjoys spending Christmas morning in!

Below you will see how the spaces came together. All the decor works seamlessly together and can be moved around from year to year to create a new look. When we decorate, we want the client to be able to use some of the items for more than one purpose or holiday.

We couldn’t forget the outdoor fireplace! We kept it simple with some garland and this beautiful word art. Fun fact: the lettering used to be red, so with the help of some little elves (Ava & Casey) we hand painted over it… voila!

Below are some of our Christmas Decorating tips. It could be repurposing items that you already own or maybe you need to add a little to your Christmas decor. Hope it helps you think of some creative and simple ideas of how to decorate this year! Most of all, make it reflect you - Happy decorating!

Tip 1: Centerpieces can be tricky because if you are like us and going to pull out the board games, you need something that you can easily remove. Dough bowls may be trendy right now, but have been around a long time. You could swap for long metal or galvanized troughs or wood boxes. Mercury glass ornaments in dough bowls make for a beautiful, unfussy centerpiece for your dining room table. Cut off some springs of greenery and you’re good to go! Mix it up with some rope balls which will give a different texture and look.

Tip 2: Coffee tables and side tables need little Christmas touches too! Try adding candles, wooden candle holders, lanterns, stacks of vintage Christmas Carol papers or old books, bottle brush trees, tiny Christmas houses, cloches with ornaments, snow globes, vintage metal tins and mercury glass votives. Try your local antique store or Etsy.

Tip 3: Invest in good garland. If you have allergies or if you are like us and decorate early all of your fresh greenery is brown by the time Christmas rolls around… go for faux. It has come a long way and most have wires in them so you can manipulate the branches to where you want them to go. Be sure to tuck the wires and lights in so you have a nice glow and not the whole bulb showing. We found some great stuff locally at Reeves in the Atlanta area, Magnolia, Hobby Lobby and Terrain. 

Tip 4: Opt for a tree collar to freshen up the look. Ideally a basket looks best, however if it’s hard to find one to fit the base of a tree stand, Crate and Barrel and Terrain have some great options! If you don’t fancy the collar then there are some beautiful tree skirts at Anthropologie!

Tip 5: Tree garland adds a nice touch to the tree and create lines for staggering ornaments. It creates texture and keeps your tree from only looking like its covered in round ornaments. We really love felt ball garland, wood ball garland and this wool knit garland!

Tip 6: Some of our favorite ornaments are vintage, hand blown, hand painted, milk glass, mercury glass, wood or metal, paper mâché, cloches with wintery scenes… and snow globes. Of course the most important ones are the sentimental ones. If you have littles ones at home still, do their handprints each year and put them on the tree! For other items try local antique stores, Etsy, McGee and Co, and Anthropologie

Tip 7: Swap out the pillows or add to what you have to make extra cozy. We love adding some velvet, Mongolian fur, plaid, cable knit, stripe, buffalo check, and ones with a holiday greeting or a wintery scene.

Tip 8: Layer texture! Bring in the cable knit blankets and faux fur throws. 

Tip 9: Presents can be dual purpose - part of the holiday decor AND also practical when you open! We love using lidded boxes to save on time wrapping and then just by adding ribbon (plaid, check, twine or muslin), a cute wooden or metal tag and greenery - your presents are part of the scene and you can reused the ribbon and boxes. If you love to wrap, we suggest brown or white craft paper, a solid color (soft blue etc), a ticking stripe or plaid.
You don't have to use "Christmas" wrapping paper. I like to buy my paper throughout the year at Container Store, Paper Source, Target and Homegoods. 

Tip 10: Make sure you stop and soak it in. Pause to read the Christmas Story from the Bible, The Night Before Christmas, break out the guitar and sing carols, make gingerbread villages, drink hot chocolate, watch Elf, sleep by the fire one night in the family room with the kids AND don't forget to have an attitude of gratefulness… not just in the season, but all year long!

We want to come in and help you manage the entire process from start to finish! Beginning in 2019, we will be rolling out our Christmas Install packages and we suggest getting on our calendar as early as July because there will be limited spots!

Happy Thanksgiving From our family and team to yours!

Photo by @SaraDHarper