Stacey Sheppard is a freelance writer and award-winning interior design blogger. She started her blog - The Design Sheppard, in 2009 and is now ranked as one of the top interior design blogs in the UK. We are thrilled to have Stacey as a guest blogger for us. This month, Stacey turns her attention to Christmas and how we can prepare our living room for the festive season to come.
The festive season is almost upon us once again and that means preparing our homes for the influx of house guests and visitors that we will no doubt receive. And even if you’re not expecting to entertain friends and family, preparing your home for Christmas is all part of the festive fun.
The Christmas living room is where most of us spend our downtime over the holidays and is traditionally where a large part of the effort goes when it comes to Christmas decorating. There is nothing quite like that magical feeling of seeing your living room frosted in twinkly lights and shiny decorations.
If you need some Christmas living room ideas this year, read on as we share five quick and easy Christmas living room ideas that can give your lounge the Cinderella treatment.
1. Declutter your space
Okay, okay. So, this may not be a quick activity and isn’t the most fun to start with. But I promise that if you spend a bit of time decluttering before you start to prepare your Christmas living room, you will almost certainly save yourself time when it comes to the following steps.
In general, when it comes to preparing the Christmas living room, we tend to add a lot more stuff. We add decorations and ornaments, a massive tree, and a whole heap of gifts, not to mention yummy edible goodies, and festive drinks.
If we don’t declutter first, there is a risk that there is no room for all these festive additions or worse still, we end up with a space that is overfilled and overwhelming. So, take a look around the living room and ask yourself what can be removed or repositioned for the next few weeks.
Can you move that armchair to another room to make way for the tree? Can you remove the decorative objects that are normally housed on the mantlepiece to make room for the Christmas ornaments? Pack what you can away or move to a different room to give you the space you need in your Christmas living room.
2. Settle upon a sumptuous sofa
The sofa is one of the key elements in any living room, and probably the largest expenditure that you will make. You should have put a lot of thought and consideration into this purchase to make sure that it suits your lifestyle well.
If you’re starting to think that perhaps you got it wrong when you bought your sofa, now would be a good time to re-evaluate and correct that mistake. You could have a new, sumptuous sofa in your Christmas living room if you act now.
Think about how you use your living room throughout the whole year to help you narrow down your choice. Is your living room mostly used for more formal entertaining or is it the main family room where you all relax? Will the sofa be used for watching TV, reading, relaxing, napping, entertaining or snuggling? This will help you to work out the style, shape and comfort levels required.
Bear in mind those times of year like Christmas where you will have friends and family round and will inevitably need to seat more people. Would a corner sofa or U-Shaped sofa be more conducive to conversations than say a 4-seater sofa? Or perhaps you need two sofas facing each other?
3. Curate your Christmas cushions
Next up on our list of Christmas living room ideas is soft furnishings. Christmas cushions, and other textiles like blankets and even rugs, are a really quick and easy way to up the ante when it comes to the Christmas living room. This simple swap can make a massive impact in terms of festive feelings.
Simply gather up all the cushions and blankets that you normally have on your sofa and replace them with Christmas themed alternatives for the duration of the festive period.
Try to ensure that the Christmas choices you make still tie in, to some extent, with the style of the rest of the room. For example, if you have a really formal living room, maybe tacky light-up cushions that play Christmas songs may not be the best fit.
It’s a lovely touch if these cushions, and blankets, are full of Christmas memories for your family. Maybe you buy a new one every year to add to the collection? Maybe grandma makes them? Or maybe they are personalised for your family or feature some of your favourite Christmas quotes.
4. Remember the wreaths
Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without a wreath or two so make sure you don’t forget to bring one into your Christmas living room this year. Whether you buy your wreaths from the local florist, make them yourself or invest in reusable faux wreaths, these special arrangements are synonymous with the festive period and will bring that Christmas spirit into your living room.
They are also extremely versatile as they can be wall mounted, suspended from the ceiling, hung over the door, balanced on surfaces or used as a centerpiece on the coffee table. However, you decide to use them, wreaths will really help you set the scene for your Christmas living room.
5. Master Mantlescaping
Ah mantlescaping. Doesn’t that sound fancy? Well don’t panic, it may sound fancy but that doesn’t mean it’s complicated. Much like the other Christmas living room ideas shared here, mantlescaping is a quick way to add to the festive cheer.
Simply decorate your mantlepiece with festive foliage, glittery garlands, chunky candles, mini Christmas trees, groups of vases and a selection of Christmas ornaments. Ideally you want to create a mantlescape that looks full and makes a statement but without looking cluttered.
You can find more ideas for adding finishing touches to bring joy this Christmas here.
I hope you have found plenty of Christmas living room inspiration in this post. If you’re looking for even more Christmas living room ideas, you can search, discover, compare and love furniture from 110+ furniture retailers and over one million products with easy-to-use filters and expert advice so you can easily find your perfect item with ufurnish.com.
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