{ Posts Tagged ‘christmas decorating’ }

tabletop trees

If you’re short on space at home, you don’t have to give up the joy that comes with having a tree in the house. Tabletop trees add a definitively festive feeling and are a lot easier to manage if you live in a small space or just don’t have the time or means to put up a real tree. I love these rustic beauties from West Elm, made from stacked twigs.

tabletop trees tabletop treesCheck out more stunning tabletop trees here!

holiday palettes with maria killam

We’re forever preaching that the first step in decorating for the holidays is to pick a palette – a colour scheme that you’ll be comfortable sticking with (for this season, anyway!), and that will guide your hand as you shop for bits and baubles for the tree and throughout the home.

But this year – more than any before – the colour options in ornaments and decorations seem completely overwhelming. Where to begin?

mariakillam holiday palettes with maria killamMaria Killam portrait by Anna Beaudry Photography

Vancouver-based colour designer Maria Killam advises clients on harmonious hues for a living, and shares her design expertise on her hugely popular blog, Colour Me Happy. Who better to ask for suggestions for a hot, three-colour holiday palette?

“Colour creates a feeling,” Maria says of the three colours she selected for my festive scheme. ”Royal blue is energizing and electric; turquoise is cool, upscale and sophisticated and gold is luminous and joyful.”

peacocks holiday palettes with maria killam

MARIA’S ROYAL BLUE: Big Country Blue 2066-30, Benjamin Moore, 800-361-5898:

royalblue holiday palettes with maria killam

TURQUOISE: Aquarium 6767, Sherwin Williams, 800-474-3794:

turquoise holiday palettes with maria killam

GOLD: Ale 12-9, Pratt & Lambert, 877-772-8898

gold holiday palettes with maria killam

“It`s the perfect combination for conversations that sparkle at the dinner table,” says Maria.

Taking Maria’s colour cues, I scoured the market for ornaments in similar shades… Here’s what I came up with! I can’t WAIT to decorate!

steveornaments holiday palettes with maria killam

Photography by Steve Rhodes

Holiday Collection hand-decorated blue and turquoise glass ornaments, $10 per pack of four, Canadian Tire

101 Glass Ornaments in gold, $20, President`s Choice Home Collection

Thanks so much, Maria!

For more of Maria’s colourful design advice, check out Colour Me Happy!

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potted pines at pottery barn

Pint-sized (they run up to 48″ – perfect for apartments and other small spaces!) and oh-so-so pretty, Pottery Barn has revived its popular faux firs for another holiday season.

trees potted pines at pottery barn

Amidst all the glimmer and glamour of the holidays, these petite pines exude a simple charm. They hit just the right rustic note in their burlap-wrapped pots, and look just as great on their own as they do decorated. I’m actually partial to the minimal dusting of pinecones throughout the trio above, which is how the trees come – totally in-keeping with the back-to-basics appeal of the trees themselves.

Here’s my snap of one of the pines in situ at the Bloor Street Pottery Barn in Toronto, sprinkled liberally with Pottery Barn’s ornament collection.

trees2 potted pines at pottery barn