Colours for Christmas

According to Christmas tree trends 2021, the colour theme for Christmas this year is all about joyful bright colours in both traditional schemes as well as contemporary alternatives such as Magenta and Oxford Blue or muted colours such as Olive, Argento and Bengal.

Sustainability is also a key priority this year. "Everything from recycled glassware to reusable crackers will be in demand" according to Sylvia James, Interior Designer at HomeHow.

The team at Sass & Belle agree: consider artisanal, hand-crafted, wooden, and recycled glass decorations which fast becoming a firm favourite in many households. Just because they are a sustainable option, does not mean that you will miss out on colour, texture and the sparkle of Christmas. Rich hues, opulence and glitz are still on the agenda for 2021.

Decorating Priorities this Christmas

The top trends for this Christmas not only include decorating your tree and dining room. New focal points are feature fireplaces, mystical children's bedrooms, festive front porches and garden rooms.

Top Tips for your Christmas tree

Before choosing your Christmas decorations decide on your theme first, this will help tie all your decorations together setting the right tone as well as giving you a clear idea on how to decorate the tree.

With your theme in mind, start with the lights first. As a rule of thumb, it is best to have 100 bulbs or 5 meters of lights per 0.7m of Christmas tree.

After the lights, start with the other decorations such as the baubles, clustering three baubles of different sizes adds flair and visual appeal.

Finally, choosing the right tree topper is important for any Christmas tree as it is a beautiful way of completing the designer look. Make sure that you choose one that best fits your theme and the proportion of your tree.

To make your tree stand out, place it in front of a painted feature wall with complimentary or contrasting colours, Periwinkle and Bordeaux make great festive canvasses particularly with white trees. GrafClean is the ideal sustainable paint for walls and ceilings, achieving the highest environmental standards of BREEAM, LEED and WELL for buildings, available in 96 modern and heritage colours.

How to Add Colour and Accessorise your feature fireplace

With your theme established, then it is a natural choice to continue the theme over to your fireplace.
Hanging up stockings from the mantel of the fireplace is traditional, although be mindful of fire hazards. If your fireplace is not in use then you can hang the stockings inside to create a magical effect and frame the stonework ready for Santa's arrival.
One fun way to give your fireplace a natural Christmas theme is to display round birch logs of different lengths on their ends inside the firebox. Surround them with Christmas ivy and holly and have baskets of kindling and more greenery nearby.

Paint the chimney breast wall of the fireplace to create an accent wall to compliment or contrast your theme. Consider using air purification paint, Ecosphere is a natural interior sustainable and ecological paint which absorbs carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and other combustion bi products.

Child safe paints for nurseries and bedrooms

For children's bedrooms, it is best to keep the décor simple and furnishings to a minimum. It will create more space to play and provide a neutral canvas that can be updated as your child grows throughout the years.

Double up on bedroom and storage space with under the bed storage crates for their toys, books and clothes. IKEA is a low-cost provider of brightly coloured recyclable crates. Consider a second rail in the closet to provide more hanging space for clothes and get organized for the day ahead.

Bedrooms can have the worst air quality of any room in the home. Allergens, dust mites, aerosols, and cleaning chemicals can trigger allergies and asthma.

GrafClean is a washable matt finish certified toy safe and has been awarded Eurofins indoor Air Comfort Gold. It is an ideal sustainable paint for children's bedrooms and nurseries. Available in soft pastels and neutrals like Porcelaine, Chiffon and Briar Rose. These neutral colours can be enhanced with a splash of colour adding murials and festive stencils. You can read more on air-purification products on our recent blog.

Impressive entrances and porches

For metal and UPVC doors requiring a high design exterior durable finish, Bradite One Can is highly recommended. It is available in thousands of NCS and RAL colours in a matt or eggshell finish. Fast drying and easy to apply by brush or spray, two coats can be applied in an hour. Upcycling is the latest trend of product sustainability. Old white UPVC doors can be given a new lease of life saving high replacement costs and reducing waste.

For windows and doors try Demidekk Infinity, a self-cleaning exterior wood paint which is rain resistant in one hour. Available in most NCS and RAL colours in a satin finish.

The colour you choose for your entrance and porches should complement the style of the rest of the house, choosing the right colour can be a difficult decision.

If you are going for a warm and inclusive look then red tones are a popular choice. They form great combinations with Ivory or Pewter whilst a lighter red combines well with Pebble and Provencal.

If you are looking to keep it light then colours like Glacier and Silver Birch create a subtle change in tone from the door to the frame with a white winter crisp feel. These colours can combine with bold colours and blacks for a more modern classical look. For a festive feel add tall olive trees to the entrance with white solar fairy lights entwined through the branches.

How to create Winter Garden Rooms and Patios

The now popular trend of working from home has created a huge demand for garden rooms and better use of our outdoor spaces. Meeting family and friends in an outdoor environment has been encouraged by the government and their health advisors.

Upcycling wooden euro pallets to create low-cost garden furniture is a new trend. Painting pallets in festive colours can create a unique feel. Pallets and Wicker furniture can be left outdoors without corrosion then brought to life with soft furnishings and accent cushions.

Fire pits and solar lights can be added to create a winter warmth and atmosphere, make your area more private as well by adding in evergreens that will form a privacy wall. For smaller gardens and courtyards add mirrors for effect and creating a sense of space.

Adding water to an outdoor space can help bring tranquil sounds to your garden, place a water feature like a waterfall or fountain powered by a recirculating pump on an outer wall, or create a soothing water garden in a nearby raised bed.

Exterior wood can be brought to life with natural colours reflecting the season. Brunswick Green, Golden Browns and Anthracite Greys are all great colours with an Autumnal feel. Exterior wood will absorb moisture, distort, create mold and rot if left unprotected. Exterior wood can be protected for 12 years by applying Demidekk Ultimate, a high performance sustainable and ecological Scandinavian wood paint available in over 2500 NCS, BS, RAL and designer colours.

Modern Dining with a splash of Colour and Art

To create a finished, purposeful look in your dining room add in some modern art. Due to modern furniture consisting of stark lines and sleek angles, it can make a room feel stark and cold, but by simply adding colour to your walls can help create a warmer winter cosy look.

When opting for a simple, modern look, pick a dining room colour that will add dimension to the space and play well with your table and chairs.

If you think that a dining room is a great place to experiment with colour, that doesn't mean that you have to choose a bold wall colour; the rest of the rooms accents can do that. White is a go-to for dining rooms as it is an incredibly versatile and forgiving colour that plays well with a wide variety of different colours.

Another good colour for a classic dining room is a soft beige, this is an excellent choice for formal dining rooms and offers a sophisticated feel without becoming too stuffy.

Festive Colour Trends

There are several colours that are traditionally associated with Christmas, this includes Red, Green and Gold. But why are these the traditional colours and what do they represent?

Most of the colours came from the western and northern European traditions, with Christmas in the middle of winter when it is dark and cold.

Green

Evergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They also remind people that spring would come, and that winter was not forever.

The Romans would exchange evergreen branches during January as a sign of good luck. The ancient Egyptians used to bring palm branches into their houses during the mid-winter festivals.

During the Middle Ages paradise plays were performed. These plays told biblical stories to people who could not read, one notorious play was called 'The Paradise Tree' it told the story of Adam and Eve. In the play a pine tree with red apples tied to it was at the centre of the garden of Eden.

 

 

Red

An early use of red at Christmas were the apples on the pine trees for the 'Paradise Play' representing the fall of Adam to temptation.

Red also became a traditional festive colour as it was the colour of the bishops robes. These would have been worn by St. Nicholas and now associated as Santa's uniform.

 

 

Gold

Gold is the colour of the sun and light bringing hope to the dark winter and both red and gold are the colours of fire to keep us warm.

Gold was one of the three gifts presented at Bethlehem by the wise men and traditionally it is the colour of the star that they had followed.

 

 

White

White is the colour of purity and peace in western cultures. White is total reflection, combining the force of the spectrum into our view. Clean and hygienic, white gives a heightened perception of space. Winter white depicts the festive mood with snow laden hills, snowmen and reindeer pulling sleighs.

 

 

 

Blue

In medieval times blue dye and paint was more expensive than gold! So, it would only be worn by Royal families and very rich people.

Mary was often painted wearing blue to show her importance. Colours on the blue side of the colour spectrum are associated as cool colours.

These colours are often associated with calm and healing. Blue is the colour serene and calm a colour of clear communication.

 

 

 

Inspiration colours

For inspirational colours and ideas on interior and exterior design, head over to Avacedesign on Instagram for top decorating tips.