What’s a girl to do when a weekend beckons with no plans at all? Decorate the house for Christmas of course! So, armed with some new baubles and bits and pieces from the very pretty Homebase Heirloom Collection, and some Christmas music playing softly in the background, that’s exactly what I did.

Dear Designer's pared back Christmas with roses, mercury glass and a silver garland [1]

Now, I love all of those Scandinavian homes on Pinterest with acres of white walls and oodles of space but you just have to work with what you have. And what I have is small rooms and not much light. So this year I decided to go with a twig tree. They look so pretty lit up (in fact I was tempted to leave it just like that with no baubles at all) and they don’t take up much space. I have it sitting on a small side table in the corner of the room and I’m really pleased with how gorgeous it looks. And I absolutely love the shadows it throws on the walls. It will look even better when all of the gifts are wrapped and arranged around it on the floor.

Dear Designer's Twig Tree for Christmas 2015 complete with pink and silver hearts, little birds and a hint of black

Pink and silver hearts from Homebase

To decorate it I went with a selection of hearts in a variety of sizes and some little feathered birds. The colour scheme is silver and pink with a little touch of black to keep it grounded, and to suit the room which is mostly monochrome. The Heirloom Collection is a beautiful collection of blush pinks and muted neutrals so suited my theme perfectly. It also strongly features cut glass for a bit of grown up glamour and the complete opposite of my usual decorations which tend to be a bit more traditional.

Dear Designer's Twig Tree for Christmas 2015 complete with pink and silver hearts, little birds and a hint of black [5]

I then continued the theme around the room adding lots of foliage, a few pale pink roses and lot’s of candles. The little sprinkling of snow on the tree branches and the twinkling lights reflecting off of the glass hearts looks fairy-tale like and just a little bit magical. Certainly the best antidote to our gloomy December weather.

Dear Designer's pared back Christmas with roses, mercury glass and a silver garland

Silver garland, mercury silver bottle and tealight holders from Homebase

With such a pared back tree it was important not to overdue it elsewhere too which is exactly how I like it. I much prefer to create atmosphere with flowers and candlelight anyhow. The tealight holders create little pockets of warm light on every surface and the smell of roses is now filling the room. Isn’t the little garland with hearts and musical notes pretty?

Dear Designer's pared back Christmas with lots of foliage and candles

Pink hearts and tealight holders from Homebase

And what better excuse to plan how the table will be laid on the day. The grey linen tablecloth is the same shade as two of my living room walls so was the perfect choice to keep the theme going. Simply laid with white china, chunky wineglasses, and white napkins, all I had to add was a silver vase filled with roses, silver crackers (also from Homebase), yet more candles, some foliage from the garden, and some pretty pink hearts on each napkin. On the day every place setting will have a little present wrapped in pink paper and decorated again with a little heart.

Dear Designer's Christmas table decorations with pretty pink hearts, roses and mercury glass

Crackers, pink hearts, and tealight holders from Homebase

So that’s the table and the decorations planned. Now all I have to do is shop for presents, write cards, wrap presents and cook the food. I’d like to say that all of this was accomplished with the smell of mince tarts cooling on the wire rack. But I’d be lying.

This post was written in collaboration with Homebase.

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18 Comments

  1. Reply

    Arianna

    December 11, 2015

    This is so cute hun! Lovely styling xxxx

    • Reply

      deardesigner

      December 11, 2015

      Aww, thank you ?

  2. Reply

    Maxine Brady

    December 11, 2015

    I love the tiny copper touches and your twig tree (I have a pinterest board with over 300 alternative tree ides as it is my latest fad). I forget sometimes how good homebase are for decorations. I need to add them to my xmas list.

    • Reply

      deardesigner

      December 11, 2015

      Thanks Maxine. Yes, they have some pretty things this year ?

  3. Reply

    Ramonne

    December 9, 2015

    The musical hearts I like most, then the pink hearts and the tealight holders. But the colors look so cold.

    • Reply

      deardesigner

      December 10, 2015

      Haha, I think you can blame my photography for that Ramonne ?

  4. Reply

    Karen

    December 8, 2015

    Oh Carole, I so wanted a twig tree. Much easier to fit into a) a scheme and b) a room! Love your colour palette. Very subtle and no tinsel in sight. Love it!

    • Reply

      deardesigner

      December 8, 2015

      Thanks Karen x

  5. Reply

    Molly

    December 7, 2015

    The twig tree is beautiful, and I love the birds. I have hearts and birds on my tree, but always looking for more, so looks like I need to head to Homebase! Lovely post, looks so pretty.

    • Reply

      deardesigner

      December 8, 2015

      Aww, thanks Molly x

  6. Reply

    Sue

    December 7, 2015

    I love the hearts on that tree!

    • Reply

      deardesigner

      December 7, 2015

      They’re sweet aren’t they Sue x

  7. Reply

    Stacey Sheppard

    December 7, 2015

    Love how simple you’ve kept it Carole. The twig tree looks great. I also have tiny rooms that aren’t particularly light so I have the same issues.

    • Reply

      deardesigner

      December 7, 2015

      Thanks Stacey. Of course, small rooms come into their own at night when they turn into cosy ?

  8. Reply

    Kate

    December 7, 2015

    Glamorous Christmas chez Carole - wouldn’t have expected anything less! Look perfect xx

    • Reply

      deardesigner

      December 7, 2015

      Awww, thank you lovely xx

  9. Reply

    Pippa Jameson

    December 7, 2015

    I love the little birds Carole, so delicate. Thanks for sharing x

    • Reply

      deardesigner

      December 7, 2015

      They’re really lifelike Pips. ?

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