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Think rustic texture—Debbie calls it "homespun"
Trends come and go, but the reason for the holidays stays constant: connection, love, home. This season, style and spirit come together with a return to what Debbie calls "home-spun nostalgia."
"What's really big this year is texture that creates ambiance, a mood that's home-spun, a good old-fashioned Christmas," says Debbie. What should you look for? Debbie's inspired by her imagining of Little Red Riding Hood's cottage: "ornaments that look like balls of wool, decorations of hand-carved wood mixed with gold," she says. "That's different—putting gold and wood together," she adds. "We'd never do that the rest of the year, but it works now, especially for the cottage, or on a traditionally styled tree at home." But this traditional motif, "this rustic, cozy texture, comes with bling," says Debbie.
Metal: Perennial Christmas bling
The holidays call for extra effort, a bit of show, compared to the rest of the year. Dinners have more courses, luxuries temporarily become necessities (think candle light and desserts with every meal), and of course decor gets more attention than usual.
Shiny, mirrored surfaces play a role in this seasonal abundance, even in traditional settings. Silver and gold ornaments add richness and glamour (not just to your tree, but hung from ribbon on the backs of chairs, strung along banisters and pinned into wreaths), and also reflect light in small, glittery doses.
Your finished look should include a bit of bling, but your holiday scheme has to be something you can live with for the entire season, not just the duration of a family dinner. So if you're a modernista who loves glass and chrome, no problem. "You can go very modern in the dining room, with your main tree," says Debbie. But use smaller areas to introduce a theme you might otherwise shy away from: in the powder room, for example, vases of tied sprays and bowls of wooden ornaments could be a nice counter-point to the rest of your home.
