No room for a Christmas tree? Embrace the unexpected
WASHINGTON — How do you make a small space feel like home for the holidays? Can it even be done? When traditional decor is out of the question (in other words, if your apartment hardly holds your luggage, let alone a Colorado blue spruce), designers and retailers say there's no reason to feel bound to the classics.
Instead, try embracing kitschy decor in the interest of keeping things festive, personal and fun.
“It's the holidays,” says Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey, an interior designer in Alexandria, Virginia. “Live a little.”
What might be seen as garish or gauche most of the year takes on a more playful, festive tone around the holidays. And because one could argue that traditional decorations such as large trees and mantel dressings are better suited for traditional homes, living in a small apartment is license to loosen up. The bonus, of course, is that glitzy, campy decor is typically more budget-friendly.
“I can't get enough kitsch during the holidays,” Cavin-Winfrey said. “I tell people, yes, take all those itty-bitty gnomes and nutcrackers and line the edge of your bathroom with them. I revel in the holidays. Why not?”
Cavin-Winfrey said the most underused decorating areas in small spaces are windows and windowsills. Even a few inches of sill is enough to create a makeshift winter scene, whether it's out of holiday-neutral decor such as chunky, light-up snowflakes or more Christmas-specific pieces such as ornaments and bows. “Go to town hanging things at various heights,” she says, “like a store's holiday display window that faces in.” As an example, Restoration Hardware sells hanging Winter Wonderland snowflake lights that measure between 16 and 24 inches ($39-$47, www.restorationhardware.com).
If you're not particularly crafty, use the area as a window garden packed with succulents and box plants, such as Christmas cactuses, amaryllis and poinsettias. “Cover every inch,” she says.
Joseph Ireland, a Washington designer, also praises eccentric holiday decor. “The tackier the better,” he says. “My philosophy is more, more, more.”
Each winter, he takes a wire tabletop tree with branches lined in little white lights (the three-foot Starlit Tree from Restoration Hardware, $99) and covers it with vibrant, vintage clip-on bird ornaments. “If you're not going to get a real tree, go completely in the other direction,” he says. He keeps it on the dining room table and stacks presents around it. “It feels almost spring-y,” he said. “I keep it up for months.”
Commitment-phobes should look to accessories. Cavin-Winfrey buys inexpensive lampshades and decorates them for the holidays with colorful fabric. And don't underestimate the power of a few throw pillows, she advised. “Pick a retro print or a fresh take on red and green, like berry and chartreuse, and toss them in the living area,” she said. “It adds instant edge.”
For lovers of modern design, CB2's holiday accessories balance silly humor with sophisticated design. “Modern doesn't have to mean serious, and fun doesn't have to mean juvenile,” said Sara Harter, the company's director of visual merchandising. “A whimsical shape in a substantial material can be very livable, and it's the best way to convey your personality and style.”
Ornaments are a perfect opportunity to indulge in a little quirk. Urban Outfitters has a series of goofy food-related ornaments for those who love sushi ($12) or hot sauce ($10), for example. Or, for something more elegant, group a handful of CB2's jellyfish ornaments ($5 each) on a thick string of garland or a wall-mounted gold tree ($35). Harter uses the tree as a place to hang Christmas cards.
But one of the company's most beloved accessories is its Disco Gnome, which combines a folklore image with glamorous disco ball-inspired materials. It was designed last year by the husband/wife design duo Cortney and Robert Novogratz and was so popular that CB2 brought it back this season in two sizes (the 18-inch version sold out on Black Friday, but the shorter, 9-inch gnome is still available for $70). Harter recommends placing it on bookshelves alongside a few heirloom nutcrackers.
“Kitsch is not about creating silly themes; it's about adding touches that are uniquely yours,” she said. “It's putting a playful twist on something traditional to give it new life.”