This modest house is full of Christmas spirit. As soon as you step over the threshold, it feels like a fairytale. There are candles everywhere, fir branches, whimsical decorations made from dried twigs, Christmas-themed arrangements and garlands. The author of all this beauty is the homeowner, who greets every December with excitement as she transforms her house for Christmas.
The house belongs to Christel Harnisch. A mother of four, she is a photographer, the author of several books and a self-taught decorator. Renovating and fixing up the old 1920s house the Harnisch family moved into in 2014 became a real passion and a new career for Christel. That’s how her blog about Scandinavian interiors, coziness and creative projects started.
How Christel Harnisch decorated her home for the Christmas season and which ideas you can take away — in the HYGGEMAG.RU review.
Make a fir wreath yourself
People across Europe often decorate their homes and flats with Christmas wreaths. Homemade wreaths look especially beautiful.
For her home, Christel made several different wreaths. One hangs on the front door, while others add a festive touch around the living room.
To make these Christmas wreaths Christel used:
- moss and fir cones collected in the forest
- dried berries from her own garden
- a velvet ribbon
You’ll also need a hot glue gun and a base (a metal ring or any round object — you can even cut a ring from a cardboard box).
The technique is simple: glue the materials — twigs, dried leaves or flowers — in a random, natural-looking order. Even if you’re new to crafting, it should still look pretty.
To make the wreath more durable, you can fix the finished composition with ordinary hairspray.
Candles everywhere, in many holders
Christel loves using candles in her decor. She lights them often, regardless of the time of day or the date on the calendar. That’s why her candle collection is refreshed every week.
To create a Christmas atmosphere, Christel makes several candle arrangements. A tray used as a candle base is decorated with little wooden houses, fir cones and sprigs. There’s even a tiny glass tree nearby.
One key rule with such arrangements is to always keep burning candles within easy reach so you can quickly attend to them and avoid accidents.
Electric candles or a disco ball
If you don’t like classic candles or worry they aren’t safe in your home, there’s a budget-friendly alternative: battery-powered electric candles or a mirrored disco ball. Christel uses both.
She especially recommends a disco ball: hundreds of tiny mirrors reflect sunlight and scatter little sun spots across the room. It looks pretty and instantly lifts the mood.
In Christel’s living room the disco ball hangs by the window, near the stars, and the light spots scatter through the apartment.
A Christmas star in the window
Christel hangs Christmas stars in almost every window — symbols of hope, joy and light.
Paper and plastic stars are common in many countries. You can make them yourself or buy them in shops. For example, a sturdy cardboard star with LED lighting is a permanent item at IKEA.
This kind of Christmas night light is easy to assemble and hang on a window, curtain, chandelier or wall with a piece of string.
Trays with Christmas arrangements
This simple but stylish idea is something Christel uses every year to decorate for Christmas. In the photos you can see a small tray with a festive arrangement on almost every table and chest in the living room.
Each tray has its own theme. There might be candles, dried twigs, little Father Christmas or Santa figurines, tiny stars, scattered glass beads, a small vase with flowers or fir sprigs — in short, anything you can find at home.
A silver tray with burning candles and a Christmas composition looks elegant and unusual, yet it’s easy to make.
These ideas are stylish, easy to copy and perfect for creating a warm, festive atmosphere at home this Christmas.
Images: Christel Harnisch
