christmas Archives - Modish Living

Decoration ideas for a more sustainable Christmas

Collection of Christmas ornaments against rustic wood background

One of the reasons people love to buy reclaimed wood furniture is how wonderful and natural it looks but the other reason is, of course, the positive environmental impact it has on our planet – ie. reusing wood that would otherwise be destined for landfill. So if you do not have a liking for mass-produced plastic Christmas decorations and want a more sustainable Christmas, as well as having something fun and creative to do as a family – this blog will be of interest to you…

Here we have put just a few ideas together so you can decorate your home with something a little more personal and individual. Some suggestions could also work as a small personal gift for a friend or family member.

You may have some old decorations and want to reuse them in a new and more modern way instead of just throwing them away.

A homemade wreath on the front door is a perfect seasonal welcome to your home – just a simple wreath made from fir branches, pine cones, dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks. A bit of red ribbon or some holly berries finish it off – hang it on your door and you give your door a bit of Christmas cheer for passersby and for any visitors.

It is lovely to create a welcoming hallway when you come in from the cold – it’s generally a small space so Christmas decorations should be sized so people can easily walk past them on their way in and out of the house. You can make a small twig tree to fit on a narrow console table, add fairy lights and just a few decorations. If you have a hallway storage bench you can add a wall-mounted decoration like a twig tree above it and hang fairy lights around that to give a bit of Christmas cheer as you walk in and take your boots off.

You can also make a twig tree for the dining room – this is perfect for next to a rustic dining table. If you have a nice large sideboard you can place a wreath on it with one or more candles to create a more festive atmosphere. There is so much in nature that you can use, the kids would love foraging for pinecones, twigs, leaves and the many other things they would find to incorporate into your masterpiece.

We love this simple and effective Christmas display – this is so simple to achieve and would look brilliant on a wood bookcase in the living room or as a centrepiece, arranged on a silver tray or plate, on a rustic coffee table, you could add some more candle holders to turn it into a real feature.

Our team share their favourite Christmas traditions

Close up of white box with red ribbon with cookies

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here at Modish Living HQ! This year may be a little different to others, but that’s not stopping us from getting into the festive spirit. We asked some of the team to share their favourite memories and traditions with you to help spread the seasonal joy..!

Brigit

Christmas is really busy for me as we have three birthdays in December as well- one on boxing day! My favourite tradition is putting up the last of the decorations on my dad’s birthday, which is on 20th December. We like to change the decorations up every year – we’re all really crafty and we tend to make our own. This year, we’re going for a silver and white origami theme, with wild mistletoe from the garden.

Three images of white paper origami Christmas baubles

Candy

I love the build up to Christmas more than the day itself and my all time favourite tradition is decorating the Christmas tree. We always do this together with my children and pick an afternoon over a weekend, preferably a Sunday. We’ll have a traditional Christmas movie on in the background and we open a tin of Celebrations or Roses and warm some mince pies. As well as the tree, we have a lovely fireplace and old rustic coffee table, which we always decorate with candles and other Christmas ornaments. This year I’m planning on foraging for lots of greenery and berries to weave amongst the scented candles. Whilst the deccies are going up, we’ll have a roast in the oven, filling the house with its comforting and delicious smell, and we’ll sit around our wooden dining table to eat once the tree is finished.

Traditional decorated Christmas tree next to large stone fireplace with open fire

Hellen and Chris

Christmas is a time for us to switch off, recharge and enjoy time with family and friends. Our Christmas traditions are a mix of old and new, much like our reclaimed wood furniture. On Christmas Eve if we’re in Norway (Hellen is Norwegian), we’ll ski and have a special Nordic supper and open presents with family. If we’re home in the UK, we still have a celebration on Christmas Eve, but we will open our presents on Christmas Day. A new tradition we enjoy is to walk along the seafront on Christmas Day morning with our dogs, Masey and Dave, together with whoever we have staying with us. We’re so lucky to live near the sea and it’s a lovely way to start the day. Once home, Hellen will beautifully decorate our reclaimed wood industrial dining table and we’ll have a late and long lunch of traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings.

I’m super into Christmas. My golden rule is the decorations don’t go up until December (even in lockdown!). Once December hits, there’s a Christmas explosion in my home! As my partner is Norwegian we celebrate on both the 24th and 25th December, and last year we spent it in Norway, which was amazing. Sledging, cooking dough over an open fire and loads of wonderful food! Something my parents did and now we have started to do is have a real tree. There’s something about the smell that just screams Christmas. A tradition I miss from when I was younger is table presents. My grandparents had a large reclaimed wood dining table and would put a homemade cardboard snowman on it which they hand filled with small presents, one for each person at the table.

Wooden sledge stuck in snow with snow covered pine trees and blue sky

Esta

When I was younger we lived in Germany – my favorite Christmas tradition was going to one of their world famous Christmas markets. We would get all wrapped up and go with some friends and spend a few hours walking around and taking in the atmosphere, sights, smells and sounds. After this outing we would go back with our friends and enjoy a Christmassy evening at their house – the highlight of this was the bottom shelf of the large sideboard they had in their living room – it was always brimming with traditional German treats – it was a bit like being able to choose anything you wanted from a sweet shop. To this day I still love all the German traditional Christmas treats that are now much more available

Delightful Table top Decorations for Every Room

Gift tags spelling out 'merry' on a wooden surface with Christmas berries and green twigs

With well-chosen festive accessories around your home, you are spreading Christmas spirit! The dining table is important at any time of year but at Christmas, it is extra special. How can you create a Christmas dining table with timeless, festive elegance?

Setting the canvas

Like a painter, stylists will often spend time getting the backdrop right before they start adding structure with accessories and pretty festive objects.

Reclaimed wood furniture offers a superior blank canvas from which to start and so consider all the tabletops you have in your home and which ones are ripe for a touch of festive elegance.

And so, as well as the reclaimed wood dining table, don’t forget the reclaimed wood console table in the hallway and on the landing. Festive aplomb on the coffee tables wouldn’t go amiss either. And the reclaimed wooden sideboards also make a great space for scented pillar candles and festive delights.

Go minimal

Reclaimed wood has a delightful rustic edge with character a-plenty but if you want a more minimal look, then turn to the Scandinavian style for inspiration. Using pale oak furniture with rounded edges, this style makes a clean and minimal statement, perfect for when you want to bring a Nordic style to your festive decorations.

Welcome in winter

Take a walk in your local woods and snip a few sprigs for the table, along with other evergreen shrubs that you may find. And don’t forget that pinecones, sprayed with environmentally friendly glitter, make a fantastic centrepiece clustered in a bowl on the coffee table.

Make a wreath of it

As well as clustering evergreen sprigs of holly and the like in vases and small pots, making a wreath can keep more order to your displays as the festive season wears on.

You can buy the frame of the wreath online for a few pounds and then add your own foliage, fresh or fake. Add a speck of colour with fresh flowers or berries for the big day itself.

Wreaths are great additions for the dining table and for the rustic coffee table too. For more elegance, add candles to the wreaths laid out on the sideboard.

Festive cheer in the hallway

The small console table is often overlooked but in the hallway at Christmas time, but a few festive touches set the Christmas spirit from the moment people walk in the door.

Replace your normal vase of fresh flowers with a small Christmas tree, for example. Opt for a live, growing tree that once the season has passed, can be planted in the garden.

Don’t throw old or broken baubles

We all have one eye on fixing rather than throwing and baubles no longer fit for the tree do have a second life. As well as adding pops of colour to your wreath and table-top displays, give them an extra dusting of eco-friendly glitter and then bundle them all in a large glass bowl or jar.

Add battery-operated wire lights for extra glint and place the bowl or jar one of your wooden sideboards or the console table in the hallway.

Small details can make a huge difference to your home, and this is certainly true of Christmas decorations and accessories that set off your reclaimed wood

Christmas closure dates 2022

As Christmas draws near, our warehouse and office will be closing to let the team spend quality time with their families.

During this period orders can be placed on our website, but they won’t be processed or fulfilled until our service fully resumes on January 3rd 2023.

Full list of closure dates over Christmas:

23rd December – No production or dispatch. Customer service will be available until 12 PM.

24th to 31st December – Closed for Christmas.

31st December to 2nd January – Closed for New Year.

3rd January – Re-open with all services fully resumed.

We want to thank you for your support throughout the year and wish you a very Merry Christmas!

All the best,

The Modish Living Team

Preparing for Christmas – get an organised home

get your home Christmas-ready like a pro blog

With the Christmas holidays nearly upon us, how ready do you feel? Most of your gift shopping will be finished and wrapped (hopefully!), so it’s time to turn to other matters, the home. When it comes to preparing for Christmas, now is the perfect time to get an organised home and have a sort out, ready for guests and to make room for the lovely new gifts you may receive. Take a look at what you can do now to make your home merry and bright all year long.

Organise the children’s bedroom

Clothes are a popular gift choice for children, so as part of your preparing for Christmas routine, get organised and have a sort out of their wardrobe or even upgrade to a bigger solid wood wardrobe if you need more storage. Go through old jumpers, jeans and t-shirts to donate or recycle to make way for new clothes. For younger children, it’s highly likely they will receive a stash of new toys too – it’s worth making time to sort through their wooden toy box to make room for the new favourites. According to expert organiser, Vicky Silverthorn of You Need a Vicky, this is best done when younger children aren’t around. Create three piles of ‘definitely’, ‘maybe’ and ‘keepers!’. If you have a children’s dressing table in the bedroom or a reclaimed wood desk then sort through the drawers and have a declutter. Give any unwanted toys to charity or school raffles – your child may have outgrown their cars or dolls, but there will be plenty of children who would love to give them a new home.

Plan your dining room

The dining room is a place that tends to accumulate items when you’re preparing for Christmas – packs of paper serviettes with a few left in them, serving plates and bowls that you no longer use, you may have even been using it as a wrapping station for your Christmas gifts. Now is the time to sort through and check what you have for the dining room and what you need to buy or replace. Maybe treat yourself to some new linen napkins or a festive table runner, perfect for styling a rustic dining table? Or how about some new Christmas serving platters? If you have a wooden sideboard, re-organise and declutter to make sure there is enough room for everything you need for a seamless Christmas lunch – the rustic top also provides the ideal surface to create a wonderful festive scene to continue the Christmas theme.

Preparing for Christmas – hallway decor

The hallway is the place you and your guests see first, so you want it to look its festive best. If you have a hallway storage bench then chances are it contains a few things that aren’t supposed to be in it! Get rid of old scarves, hats and odd gloves. Donate any shoes you no longer wear to a local charity and stash away any summer shoes and flip flops – your guests will need space to leave their shoes when they visit.

Related: read our blog on how to bring character to your hallway, not clutter for more entrance hall ideas.

Decorate the hallway to give a cheery warm welcome with some fairy lights around a hallway mirror and of course, a sprig of mistletoe for a stolen festive kiss. If you have a wooden console table a real or faux small tree adds to the Christmas mood, especially with a few carefully placed scented candles and other Christmas decorations.

In the modern living room

Just as you have in other rooms in the home, take the opportunity of preparing for Christmas to declutter and have a clear-out in your living room. Go through the drawers of your coffee table and make room for items you want close at hand over the holidays – chocolates, drinks coasters, remote controls, games etc. You may also want to move your rustic furniture around to make sure there is enough room and seating for everyone. Seating or having enough seating can be a problem at Christmas – see our guide on the best seating solutions to ensure you have enough room for everyone to be comfortable.

But remember, the most important part of preparing for Christmas is to enjoy it and everything else will fall into place. If you’re looking for some festive home inspiration, check out our blog for ideas on how to create an insta-worthy home this Christmas.

Take the stress away with our last-minute checklist

With only a few days left to get ready, you won’t be alone if you still have much to do before the big day. To help you stay calm and organised, making a checklist is a great way to make sure all those little jobs get done in time. Once you’re all done you can sit back, put your feet up and relax wit a festive drink under your twinkling decorations. Here we have put together a list of things that you don’t want to forget!

Last-minute Christmas check-list

1. Have a tidy up

There is nothing quite like sitting down with a sparkling festive drink in a sparkling clean house, knowing it’s all done. Now is the time to tackle the housework and give your house a thorough clean.

Clear away as many things that you can, it’s amazing how quickly a room can get filled when you have even a few guests around – all those gifts and that wrapping paper, not to mention cups, glasses and nibbles dishes! Clear your rustic coffee table, put the remotes away in your industrial tv stand and move a wooden side table so it is more useable for your guests to put their drinks on. Make full use of an industrial sideboard if you have one in your living room – put as much away as you can in there and also put some coasters on the top so this can also be used as a surface by any visitors. The hallway is another place that soon gets cluttered, who wants to be tripping over shoes? Clear some room for your guest’s shoes in the shoe storage bench and make sure you have thought of where to put their bulky winter coats.

2. Prepare the guest room for overnight visitors

Be ready for planned and unplanned overnight guests by tidying and cleaning the spare room. Have some fresh bedding on the bed and put a couple of towels out for guests to use; you can even make some space in a wooden chest of drawers for their overnight belongings. It will make your them feel more comfortable if they do end up staying the night, as they’ll not feel that they have put you out in any way.

3. Think about seating

A wooden dining table with bench is a great investment for your dining room and even better if it’s a wooden extendable dining table. Check around to see if you have enough seating available – not just for the dining room but in the living room too. Do you have an office desk chair that can be bought down for Christmas dinner? A wooden blanket box will also make a great temporary seat for the living room or dining room.

4. Do you have everything for the table?

Get out and wash any serving dishes you plan on using, whether for the Christmas dinner or for nibbles. Put them on a shelf in your wooden sideboard so you know exactly where everything is. This is also a good time to write a timeline for getting Christmas dinner cooked, check you have everything in that you need, you can also prep and pop things in the freezer so you have more time to spend with your nearest and dearest. Just remember to get them out to defrost in time! If you don’t plan on using the dining room in the next few days – then go ahead and set the table, not only is this another job off the list but it will also look lovely every time you walk past the room!

5. Last-minute household essentials

The little things make all the difference – avoid last-minute stressing and dashes to the shops! Check now that you have everything you need. Some of the most forgotten items are – batteries, milk, bread, wrapping paper, sellotape and tinfoil!

6. Treats to offer any unexpected guests

Do you have enough drinks and snacks to offer to any unexpected or last-minute guests? Keep some extra mince pies, sweets, nibbles and soft drinks in the back of the cupboard, just in case……if they don’t get used then you can eat them all yourself!!

Easy ways to make your guests feel extra welcome

This year we are all looking forward to a Christmas with friends and family – we hope! A time to enjoy spending time with people we maybe don’t see often. If you have guests travelling from afar then you will want to make them feel warmly welcomed and at home in your home. Of course, you can get the living room ready for extra guests – maybe move the furniture around a little, bring in an extra small armchair or even buy a new wooden side table for your living room – but you might also want to consider giving other areas of your home some attention to get it guest ready, including the guest bedroom. We have put some ideas together of easy ways to give your guest bedroom a homely and Christmassy feel for your special guests.

Declutter

A change of bedding, quick dust and vacuum will give a room an instant refresh, but to make guests feel extra welcome, you may need to give it a good declutter. If you don’t use the guest room that much chances are that there are things in there that aren’t supposed to be. Now is the time to have a sort out and find permanent homes for these items. Maybe you need some extra storage in there like a solid wood chest of drawers or a wooden blanket box to place at the foot of the bed to help things stay tidy and organised. When you have decluttered it will be much easier to give the room a good clean, including the windows and under the bed. If you have time take the curtains down and wash them – the room will have a lovely fresh laundry smell for your guests.

Double up

If the guest room is small or is sometimes used as a home office then consider multifunctional furniture. You can put a reclaimed wood desk in your spare room for guests to use as a dressing table with storage with a dressing table chair that can double as a study chair. If you don’t have space for a bedside table move a chest of drawers or wooden chest closer to the bed. You could even take a wood small table from the living room to use as a temporary nightstand for your guests to put their drink on as well as a bedside lamp.

Make room for their belongings

No one likes living out of a suitcase, so you want to make sure you provide space where your guests can unpack and not feel like they’re in the way. Clear out a drawer or portion of your wooden wardrobe to allow plenty of room for their belongings.

Create some comfort

Just because it is the spare room and your guests won’t be spending much time in it, it does not mean it needs to be purely functional. Make it a cosy and homely place for your guests to be. A warm solid wood bed frame is the perfect centrepiece for the spare bedroom, dress this up with sumptuous throws and plump cushions to recline into. Even if the floor is carpeted you can add a rug for an extra warm feeling as your guests get out of bed.

Provide essentials and special extras

You will want to leave out the obvious items guests need throughout their stay on the bed, such as towels, face cloth and maybe an extra pillow or blanket, but to make them feel extra welcome, add some other special items to pamper to their needs. Lay out a few toiletries in a basket in case guests have forgotten anything – go through your travel toiletry bag and see if you have any nice hotel toiletries from your last trip that you can use – as well as a couple of bottles of water at their bedside.

Festive finishing touches

Why not? Give the room a festive feel by adding a Christmas display on the top of a wooden chest of drawers or add a Christmas themed cushion on the bed. Another idea is to stand some small decorations on the bedroom side tables or a Christmas wreath on the back of the door to give the room a wonderful festive feel for your guests.

How to style a Christmas rustic dining table

Discover how to dress your rustic Christmas dinner table with style. We chatted with one of our favourite Instagrammers, Rachel Hitchcock @at_home_with_the_hitchcocks, to take us through how she transformed her rustic dining table with a show-stopping nature-inspired Christmas display.

Christmas table styling with Rachel

I absolutely love the hanging Christmas arrangements that have gained popularity over the last few Christmases and knew that I wanted our lovely Derby Reclaimed Wood Extending Dining Table to have this type of feature this Christmas. However, I didn’t feel comfortable drilling holes into the ceiling – it’s the sort of thing I would do badly, so I set about finding how I could create the same look without the drill. I came across a table hanging rail which clamps onto the table, which was perfect. I decorated it with some pine cones, Christmas garlands and faux eucalyptus, berries and other foliage and had an instant eye-catching display that framed the dining table.

Decorating your Christmas dining table

In terms of decorating the table, I wanted to dress it as opposed to cover it. I have previously used a tablecloth when decorating my table for Christmas but now we have our beautiful reclaimed wood dining table and I didn’t want to hide it behind a tablecloth, I wanted to dress the table and still have the natural beauty of the reclaimed wood very much on display.

My usual dining table styling features a statement vase and flowers that suit the season, however, it’s not always the most practical as it can block the view of the person sitting across the table – not really what you want over Christmas dinner. Instead, I chose a traditional long and low arrangement using another pine Christmas garland and a faux eucalyptus garland intertwined.

Styling Tip: I placed the garland on a linen table runner, but I think for the day I’ll use a gold sparkly runner and a few fairy lights to make it even more festive.

I now had an arrangement along the middle of the table and an arrangement in parallel above the table. I wanted to make them cohesive so I played around with heights to bring them together. I added a mixture of tall, medium and small matching black candlestick holders along the table to create varying levels of height and interest. I then hung clear glass tea light holders and baubles from the hanging rail at varying heights so they would dangle elegantly between the candlestick holders. This helped the entire arrangement come together as one display rather than two different segments parallel to one another.

Styling Tip: Add some fairy lights interwoven into the hanging rail garland to give a little extra sparkle to the overall look. This is something I will do ahead of decorating for Christmas Day dinner.

I added little sprigs of faux eucalyptus, berries and other foliage into the centerpiece along the length of the dining table and I popped some pine cones and little miniature scented votive candles on the table runner and into gaps amongst the garland to fill it out.

Styling Tip: use clear empty glass candle jars with mistletoe or other festive flowers, branches or berries on your table, together with some fresh florals to add more interest and height to your table decor. This is another addition I’ll be making to my table on Christmas Day.

The best tableware and crockery

This year I’ve purchased some Christmas crockery with a discreet mistletoe pattern, but plain white works equally as well with this look. When I think of Christmas velvet always springs to mind, it brings an instant touch of luxury to the table. I found these lovely green velvet napkins and added black velvet bows for added extravagance. Once glasses and cutlery were added my Christmas table was finished! On the day, as well as fresh festive flowers, I’ll add Christmas crackers to complete the look.

Styling Tip: Add a sprig of holly with berries to place settings with a name card. You can even buy personalised velvet ribbon to tie your napkins.

For more Christmas home styling inspiration check out our ideas to impress guests this Christmas along with Rachel’s posts on @at_home_with_the_hitchcocks.

All images @at_home_with_the_hitchcocks

8 Best Christmas Decorations 2021 for a rustic home

Are you feeling festive yet? We know we are! If you’re looking to elevate your Christmas decor game this year, we’ve pulled together an edit of some of the best Christmas decorations to adorn your home with. From mini Christmas trees for your reclaimed wood dining table to gold stars hanging above a wooden sideboard, check-out our fabulous festive finds and diy ideas to give your home some yuletide joy.

Best Christmas Decorations to buy 2021

1. Alternative DIY Paper Christmas Tree Decor

We love this simple, but classically stylish idea from Lights4fun. Pages from old note pads or books, naturally yellowed and worn with a string of fairy lights entwined with the paper and a twinkling star on top – it would look perfect hanging over a rustic sideboard in a room. Dress up the top of your sideboard with candles, garlands or wreaths to make a beautiful festive display.

Photo credit: Lights4fun

2. Illuminated Gold Osby Stars

These gorgeous stars would look wonderful absolutely anywhere. Rest on a wooden sideboard, a solid wood chest of drawers, on a mantlepiece or hang from ceiling and doors. We like the minimalist simplicity of this pair of illuminated stars – simple, sparkly and stylish.

Photo credit: Lights4fun

3. Table Top Christmas Trees

These are just fabulous for a festive farmhouse dining table display. One at each end of the table with a garland or natural green foliage, fairy lights or candles and pine cones in between. The natural colour scheme will blend in perfectly with a room featuring rustic furniture and a neutral colour scheme.

Photo credit: Lights4fun

4. Totem Wooden Candle Holder

These gorgeous candlesticks from Dutch company, 5mm paper, are crafted from sustainable Beechwood – a lovely eco-friendly choice that can be used on their own or part of a larger seasonal display. They are not just for Christmas and will look great wherever you stand them, all year round. We love how they combine a minimalist design with a warm and feminine touch, especially when combined with warm and rustic coloured candles as pictured here.

Photo credit: 5mm Paper

5. Snowberry Christmas Heart

A wreath is a Christmas must-have and a perennial favourite, it was hard to choose a favourite….until we spotted this chunky “knit” one! Bright bold warm red with festive foliage embellishment – lovely for a warm inviting farmhouse kitchen. This is a really cute gift to give a friend or family member during the run-up to Christmas, if you can bare to give it away, that is!

Photo credit: Chunky Couture

6. Quirky Christmas Baubles

When it comes to baubles we like to have a bit of fun. We think this black cab and David Bowie bauble from Red Candy are just perfect for a funky, slightly retro and irreverent interior scheme!

Photo credit: Red Candy

7. Rustic Supersize Coffee Bauble

Bring elements of nature into your Christmas display with this unusual coffee bean bauble from The Urban Botanist. This impressive 20cm supersize bauble on rustic rope features a gorgeous large Arabica coffee plant planted on a bed of fragrant coffee beans – perfect all you coffee lovers out there.

Photo credit: The Urban Botanist

8. Rustic Christmas Bough on Dining Chair

If you like to go all out with your decorations then this hanging Christmas bough will add even more festivity to your dining space. Perfect for the back of a wooden dining chair, the mix of faux eucalyptus and velvet ribbon is oh, so stylish. If you fancy having a go at making your own you will need lots of faux or real pine tree branches and twigs, along with berries, ribbon and other decorations that match the colour scheme of your room. Another idea is to hang small festive wreaths on the back of dining chairs – another great way to dress up your dining space.

Photo credit: Lights4fun

For more Christmas inspiration check out our guides for holiday decor ideas and entertaining tips, together with practical solutions such as seating to fit everyone around the dining table.