Tartan Meet Chinoiserie Traditional Christmas Look
Plaid ribbon, red velvet, blue and white Chinoiserie, pine, ivy, and needlepoint mingle merrily in my den for a Tartan meets Chinoiserie traditional Christmas look.
Deck the halls with Chinoiserie ? fa la la la la la la la la ??
Tis the season to be plaid ✨ fa la la la la la la la la ??
Don we now our blue and white ? fa la la la la la la la la ??
Tie the ancient Yuletide big bow ? fa la la la la la la la la ??
Welcome to my den all decked for the holidays in what I’m calling my tartan meet Chinoiserie traditional Christmas look! Wow! I know that’s a mouthful, but I think it perfectly describes the festive, cozy decor I created in our family den.
This is the room we watch T.V. in and hangout to relax. It is a preppy space with navy blue sectional, pale blue walls, and chocolate brown accents. To coordinate with the decor of the room, I went traditional Christmas in here, so plaid, rich textures, and Christmas motifs with a classic red, green, and blue color scheme.
Tartan Meet Chinoiserie Traditional Christmas Mantel
For the fireplace mantel area, I hung faux pine garland from the top central point above the mantel draped down over the ends of the mantel board. Real ivy vines are twirled around the pine to add texture. I choose ivy because it is a traditional greenery to bring indoors going all the way back to the Tudor period. Ivy as a perennially green plant is supposed to symbolize immortality through belief in Christ our Savior and the fidelity and support we receive from faith.
We have an ivy covered fence in the backyard, so I clipped several long vines to use in the garland, and plan to change it out over the holidays as it dries. But so far it has been up 2 weeks, and still looks beautiful. Mixing fresh and faux greenery or florals is a budget friendly approach to decorating because you can extend the life of your arrangements, but also forage for plants available in your yard or neighborhood.
A beautiful multi-loop bow mixing red velvet and plaid ribbon (similar here) tops the central point of the garland with streamers cascading down the swags and center.
A Fitz & Floyd reindeer (similar here) and blue and white double happiness ginger jars decorate the mantel board with a pair of red tapered candles at either end. Unfortunately, we need to have our chimneys repaired, so we are unable to use them for fires currently. The candlelight adds a similar ambiance and feels so cozy and festive at night.
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Our navy sectional gets a few Christmas pillows for some added festivity, and I set a large vintage brass tray on the coffee table with a large pagoda lantern and silver and gold bottle brush trees. I can special order these pagoda lanterns ($115 for large and $90 for medium), although color stock is low. If you are interested, email me!
Tartan Meet Chinoiserie Traditional Christmas Tree
Decorating Christmas trees is probably my favorite part of holiday decorating. I love how you can take a beautiful faux or real pine tree and create Christmas magic with ornaments, florals, sparkle, and memory. While I love a good non-traditional themed tree, I also have many cherished family ornaments that S. and I have collected over the years and that have been handed down to us, and I love to display those altogether on a traditional Christmas tree like the knit mini stockings above that were made by my great-grandmother!
The secret to decorating a beautiful tree is layers. I start with lots of twinkle lights, then add florals and sculptural elements. On this faux Virginia pine tree, I used sprigs of flocked pine with pinecones, white and gold paper stars, and red velvet magnolia blooms with Hawthorn berries for dimension. Then I added a layer of this Stewart style plaid or tartan ribbon. Next come all the special ornaments, and to finish the tree I used a gold ball garland.
This plaid ribbon is made by D. Stevens who makes the most beautiful fabric ribbon out there! I’ve actually been using this exact ribbon for about three years now, and it is still in great shape. I’ve included several similar styles in the shopping widgets. Lots of his ribbons are available here and 30% off right now with Black Friday deals!
Our topper is a snowy white owl that reminds S. and I of Hedwig from Harry Potter one of our favorite series to watch in the fall and winter! Below him nestles a simple plaid bow and a few sprigs of the red berries.
You can have a beautiful designer tree that looks gorgeous and showcases family memories with collected and heirloom ornaments!
Henry and I plan to kick back and enjoy a few good books beneath the pine and ivy by the twinkle of the Christmas tree!
I hope you enjoyed my Tartan Meets Chinoiserie Traditional Christmas look! For more inspiration check out this post, and I’ll be sharing my formal living room Christmas decor next Monday November 30th as part of the Colorful Life Tour series!
I’ve also linked to more Christmas and holiday decor available on Amazon & Etsy in this post.
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