We Break It Down: How to Decorate For Christmas One Vignette At A Time

Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: My First “Refined Traditional” Holiday Look…Holiday Style

Happy December Ya’ll! On Friday, way back in November, we talked about the “new” ideas on the Christmas decorating scene. But you know what? Emily and past EHD team members have decorated some pretty beautiful holidays spaces over the years that are chock full with beautiful and useful tips. So to help you maximize your Christmas style, I am going to dissect some of our favorite vignettes to help you further get inspired and maybe attempt some similar looks. Now first and foremost…the tree.

The Traditional Tree
Left: Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp, From: My First “Refined Traditional” Holiday Look…Holiday Style | Right: Photo by Zeke Ruelas, From: At Home With Ginny For Christmas

There are lots of ways and color schemes to choose from when decorating a Christmas tree. But there is something truly wonderful and extremely nostalgic about a traditional red and green color combo.

Emily’s Portland tree (left): She went a bit more modern with a tree that isn’t as full (more sparse and Scandi) and with hits of black to ground the red and green. It looks “cool” but happy.

Ginny’s traditional tree (right): She went more cozy with a fuller tree and hits of gold instead of black. What is also fun about her tree is that she used both a basket for a stand AND a faux fur tree skirt to give it a maximum cozy look.

Now, in terms of ornaments, both of them evenly spaced out sizes, colors and textures to make sure the tree felt visually balanced. Man, I would love to come home to either of these Christmases.

The Modern Tree
Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp, Left to Right: Brady’s Holiday Decor | How We Decked Our Halls for Christmas | Our Living Room Holiday Reveal

I’m sure it’s no surprise (if you know my general aesthetic) but this is the type of tree that speaks to me…the modern tree. Nothing too crazy here, just three different color schemes that don’t involve red but still knock your holiday socks off.

Brady’s monochromatic tree (far left): What makes it awesome is that the tree itself is perfectly imperfect. Not a sparse Scandi type, but a tree that has some excellently placed “bald” spots. Brady kept his color palette 100% neutral, letting the greenery of the space be the star and the ornaments adding the perfect amount of glitz.

Emily’s 2018 warm neutral tree (middle): This is my dream tree. I love how “pleasantly plump” it is and goes against the traditional, more slender conical shape. Then Em still kept it neutral with the ornaments but with happy warm tones like copper, gold and blush. She also kept it kid-friendly with little animal ornaments and personalized frames (all within that same color palette). It’s just such a good tree.

Emily’s 2017 neutral and navy tree (far right): This is the perfect tree and color palette for someone who wants a neutral-toned tree but still wants a bit of a traditional feel. I’m talking navy blue. This tree has a ton of playful kid-friendly ornaments and is made even more playful by the hits of dark blue. Modern but so darn cute.

The White Tree
Left: Photo by Jayme Burrows, From: California Winter Wonderland Glam | Right: Photo by Tessa Neustadt, From: Decorating For The Holidays – Family Friendly Style

I wouldn’t say I’m a white tree kinda gal but when they are done right, they are pretty undeniably wonderful. They call for happy colors and a big dose of playfulness and that is exactly what Emily and team did for these two beauties in her old house.

Emily’s warm metallic ribbon tree (left): This tree is proof there is no one way to decorate a tree. If you like just ornaments, great. If you love garland, wrap that tree up. And if you love bows, then you go for it and adorn oversized bows onto your tree. Tell me that’s not fun and straight-up delightful?! But the reason why it works is because the rest of the ornaments are pretty simple in texture and strategic in color. There aren’t a ton of animals, frames, wood objects etc. Just a handful of slightly differently shaped, metallic balls.

Emily’s kid focused red and green tree (right): Tell me this tree doesn’t make the kid inside of you light up. The key here is to keep the reds and greens bright! This way they really pop off the white of the tree. Then from there, it’s just about fun. Adding in little Santas, candy canes, hot chocolate mugs and a red beaded garland help to give some visual breaks for your eye to rest. Because otherwise, it’s happiness overload.

***Side note Emily prefers the “warm light” color for her string lights. It just makes everything feel cozier.