Deck Your Halls: Ideas for Simple Holiday Decor Inside and Out

The tastemakers are predicting a low-key, traditional vibe for the 2021 holiday season. Trending searches for holiday decor are using terms like “boho”, “buffalo plaid”, “Scandinavian”, and “farmhouse”. The mood this year is less glitz and tinsel and more homey and cozy, so here are just a few suggestions for incorporating simple, natural decor into your spaces this season.

Winter Planters

Your spring blossoms might be long gone but the planter box is still a useful decorating space. Make a winter-friendly bouquet that can stand the cold and keep your entryway looking festive.

Gather some loose fir and spruce boughs from your corner Christmas tree lot and arrange them in your planters around a framework of thick birch branches. Accent the arrangement with pinecones, decorative gourds, or dried pomegranates. Dramatic red branches of winterberry keep the decor dazzling when it snows.

Scandinavian Farmhouse

The must-have look this season leans into earth tones, natural fabrics, wood accents and cozy textures. The Scandinavian farmhouse style is perfect for the holidays, especially when displayed in those minimal living rooms that have been fashionable for years.

Layer your gathering space with whites and off-whites, knit fabrics, candles, and wools and furs. Find some rustic wood crates for holding soft wool blankets and throws. Make sure there’s lots of plush seating, especially facing the tree or fireplace (no Scandi farmhouse is complete without a stack of wood.) Have a coffee or tea service at the ready.

Decorate with Food

Food-as-decor is meant to evoke feelings of abundance and security. It’s a very Scandinavian move this time of year to accent a mantle or wreath with fruit, and we love the ombre effect that strings of dried oranges have when arranged with deep green garlands.

Slice up a sack of oranges and bake them on sheet pans at a low temperature until the moisture is gone. They look great on a string of twine with wooden beads, dried eucalyptus, bay leaves, and other soft greens. Try it in a place that doesn’t usually get much decorating love: a banister, kitchen, or hallway.

Those dried pomegranates outside in the planter boxes also do well arranged around candles and nestled in the branches of your tree. If you have any bunches of herbs left over from your garden this fall, hang them up to dry in bouquets that will look lovely as they shrivel. Leave bowls full of chestnuts and nutcrackers on side tables. Roll up napkins and tie them with twine and a cinnamon stick for a simple and fragrant table setting.

Wrap It Up (Nicely)

If you have gifts sitting around the room all month long, make sure they look good in your space before they’re opened. Instead of buying the cheapest roll of red-and-green wrapping paper, wrap your gifts in simple brown paper and continue the natural décor theme by accenting them with twine, twigs and pinecones. You can also source an inexpensive bolt of festive fabric to wrap your gifts---it’s a thoughtful and stylish touch, and the recipient can reuse the wrapping. A stack of those elegant parcels near the tree will make fine decorations themselves.

What’s on your holiday décor wish-list? Tell us and tag us at #LLStyle! Don't forget to follow @LLFlooringOfficial on Instagram and Facebook for more style ideas and trends.