Here, interior designer, Faye Robinson-Hey, of Robinson King Interiors shares some snaps of her festive interiors and gives us her tips for creating your own ‘mantlescape’ this Christmas.
If there’s one time of year when I love to indulge my ‘more is more’ mantra, it’s Christmas, a time to be generous — in both spirit and decoration!
In the weeks before Christmas, I often find Instagram and Pinterest are full-to-bursting with seasonal styling tips, and it seems everybody is getting extra creative this time around — possibly as a result of our increased time spent inside in recent months. Naturally, we all want to bring some added festive cheer into our humble abodes.
So, for a little inspiration, I thought I’d share my tips for creating a festive, faux floral ‘mantelscape’ — without bothering with foam or wire.
To get this look, I used a large, dense garland as a base and then basically intertwined plenty of artificial florals and eucalyptus — these are great because they mostly contain wires, so are easy to manipulate.
I layered all the foliage and added a few baubles, handmade twisted candles from Etsy, and some fairy lights for good measure. The mirror was then wrapped in chicken wire, and I added dried eucalyptus and pink flowers to create a sculptural look. A green and white colour scheme would look beautiful, although I decided to vamp it up with some pink which I find effective against green and inky blue. It’s nice to carry an accent colour, though try not to overdo it.
This whole process took me just 25 minutes.
You can source beautiful faux florals from various suppliers — some of my favourites are Abigail Ahern, Bloom, Cox and Cox, and Fox Flowers. Etsy is also an excellent place for dried pieces — which can add an extra dimension and softness when paired with faux. Also, feel free to add some fresh flowers and branches — gypsophila is a great flower as it is beautifully delicate, adds volume, and will last as it dries out slowly.
Another much simpler, cost-effective Christmas decoration that I love is paper decorations — especially large, oversized ones. Ikea has launched some fabulous pieces this year which I have suspended above my dining table. I like to use command ceiling hooks, which are a simple way to temporarily hang festive decor from the ceiling.
And finally, moving onto one of my favourite seasonal tasks — setting the table. This is a great opportunity to get the creative juices flowing, and although I’m not typically a ‘theme’ kind of person, I did enjoy crafting different styles for place settings last year. Whatever your design, using charger plates and varying height candle sticks always add a touch of elegance to your arrangement. Set with a tablecloth for softness, add some flowers, and finish with some beautiful glistening glassware. All that’s left to do is light your candles, stick Michael Bublé on — it’s Christmas law — fill up your prosecco glass and step into Christmas…
Have a wonderful one, everyone!
