It’s that time of year again when we start thinking about decorating our homes ready for the festive season.  At VIVA we love a bit of sparkle and festive cheer. Whether your style is classic and traditional or cool and contemporary let our experts at Luci Living Design help you to create a beautiful interior for your home with tips and trends for the season.

White & Wonderful

For a dreamy, stylish and sophisticated ‘winter wonderland’ look, stick to the ‘White Christmas’ theme. Stunning yet adaptable it works with any interior regardless of room size. Add plenty of variety and texture to your design using a wide range of materials and finishes. Mix matt white with shimmering, reflective decorations and crystal pieces to reflect the lights on your tree adding depth and a touch of glitz and glamour. Our designers love the Housing Units festive department this year. www.housingunits.co.uk

A white tree, white lights, frosted pine cones, iced twigs, glittered snowflakes and fake snow will create a ‘winter wonderland.’ Break up this scheme with a splash of colour; try natural green or silver and gold. Group various sized white candles together to create a simple yet effective focal point; ideal for the mantelpiece or a coffee table centrepiece. Finish with lots of baubles and sparkly bits!

For handmade, hand-drawn beautiful cards and baubles check out Ink Inc www.inkincillustration.co.uk at Manchester Craft & Design Centre – a great venue  for all things seasonal and crafty  www.craftanddesign.com

Glamorous and Gorgeous

Create a classic traditional home this Christmas with festive colours such as red, gold and dark green. Introduce natural materials to create a real festive feel. Dress your pictures and mirrors with sprigs of holly, add an ivy garland across your mantelpiece and complete with mistletoe above the door. Make your focal point your Christmas tree. Stick to reds and golds for your baubles and decorations for a classic festive finish.

Home Sense has lots in the way of traditional and unusual decorations www.homesense.com. Complement the natural with longer-living and more brightly-coloured imitation decorations like berries, cones and pine garlands. Incorporating alternative decorations to your tree such as red and gold ribbon and bows adds extra charm to your décor which, matched to your mantelpiece or table will help to bring the room together. Accessorise with centrepiece candles on an attractive platter or mirrored tray to finish off.

Bold & Beautiful

A non-traditional monochrome makeover effects a more contemporary style. Black works well if used correctly – simplicity is the key. Use white as the base colour for your decorations, integrating black sporadically. Use simple white lights on your tree and mix in a limited number of black baubles adding feathers and elegant decorations. Introduce some black glittered decorations to your tree to reflect your lights and add a little sparkle. Fill a bowl with black and white baubles and invest in a black candelabra as striking centrepiece. John Lewis have a great selection of striking decorations in bold colourways visit www.johnlewis.com To complete this look, wrap presents with simple white paper and finish with extravagant black bows for a bold Christmas look.

Colourful & Creative

Give your interior the Lapland treatment by injecting festive fun and vibrant colour into your home this holiday season. Use strong contrasting colours for your decorations and gift wrapping. This style works particularly well in a young family home and it is a great opportunity to get everybody involved by choosing décor that incorporates favourite colours. You can also make edible treats, Christmas crackers, colourful paper garlands and fabric bunting decoration to add to the scheme.

Keep in mind that this scheme will have the most impact in a neutral setting as adding multiple colours into an existing colour scheme will not have the same ‘wow factor.’ Garden centres tend to be a great source of decorations in a huge variety of styles. Check out Newbank Garden Centres www.newbankgardencentre.com and Bents www.bents.co.uk

Raw & Rustic

To achieve a Scandanavian look, try a mixture of rustic, shabby chic pieces and traditional decorations made from natural materials where possible. Take a trip out into nature this weekend to hunt for items for your design; look at incorporating woodland creatures, such as reindeer, foxes, owls, deer, squirrels and bird decorations.

Use wood, hessian, jute, twigs and tree branches and add glittery icicles, frosted pinecones, twinkly lights and shimmery snowflakes for extra sparkle. Wooden log cabin decorations, woollen stockings, faux fur throws and Christmas cushions will also work well and are available, along with lots of other rustic seasonal swag from www.notonthehighstreet.com

Top Tips

When decorating start with your tree, this will give a base to your colour scheme and style that you can continue throughout the rest of your home. 

Invest in or make a Christmas wreath for your front door. Use greenery for a traditional look or coloured baubles for a more contemporary style.

Unleash your creativity and personalise this Christmas by making, recycling and reviving dated decorations; mix them with your new ones to give an eclectic look. Check out the stunning range of crafts, gifts and design at The Makers Market with various locations across the Northwest www.themakersmarket.co.uk

@Luci Living Design Interiors

www.lucilivingdesign.co.uk