Minimalist Christmas decorations in neutral, nature-inspired colours

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A couple of weeks ago I shared a look at how I’ve dressed the fireplace in our living room for Christmas, and now I want to show you the decorations in the rest of the house. This year I’ve taken inspiration from the bare branches and curling fern fronds of wintry woodland, but as always I’ve kept things minimalist, with muted colours, timeless shapes and just a hint of sparkle.

Firstly, here’s a peek at the Christmas tree. It takes up a lot of space in our little house, but I can’t imagine not having one. Decorating the tree is one of my favourite festive memories from childhood, and there’s something utterly magical about the scent of fir needles. To this day I love the excitement of heading out in search of ‘our’ tree (we always go to a charity sale run by our local Scout group) and then carrying it home. This year we managed to find the perfect tall, narrow shape for our bay window, so I didn’t have to trim it back to make it fit like I normally do.

I now have quite a collection of tree ornaments, which means I can vary things up a bit each Christmas without buying anything new. This time around, I’ve picked out dusky pink, beige and off-white paper and ceramic decorations that reflect the colours of the fireplace display, and wired some pine cones to the branches to provide another subtle link. I’ve also included some mercurised glass drops, which I particularly treasure as they were a gift from my late grandmother when I moved into my first flat. They remind me of dangling icicles and I aways think they add a lovely air of elegance.

Now, on to the dining room. I haven’t yet styled the table, but my favourite fold-out wooden star has put in an appearance on the shelves and I’ve added a sculptural pine branch to my Georg Jensen ‘HK’ pitcher. I’ve also dotted some pine cones and paper baubles here and there to tie this space in with the overall theme.

I’ve created one more festive corner by arranging some bare branches in a glass vase (Cooee Design’s ‘Gry’ model, whose textured surface reminds me of tree trunks and ice). There are some paper flower and star decorations (also from Cooee Design) hanging from them, and I’ve clustered more pine cones around the base. At the moment this display sits on the sideboard in my home office, as I wanted to add some Christmas cheer to the room I spend the most time in, but once I finish work for the year I’ll move it downstairs to the console table in the hallway.

Finally, I want to show you the wreath that’s now hanging on the front door. Normally I make my own (you can find a tutorial here), but I haven’t had time this year so I asked my local Bristol florist, The Rambling Rose, to create one for me. My brief was ‘simple and a bit wild, with greenery, ferns and some twiggy bits’, and they’ve done an excellent job, don’t you think?

So, there you have it: my minimalist, nature-inspired Christmas decorations – cosy and festive, but without any clutter that might overwhelm a small house. Have you finished decorating your home yet? If so I’d love to hear what you’ve done, so please do leave a comment below!

All photography by Abi Dare