Interior designers may find it more challenging than usual this year to buy what they need to decorate homes over the festive season. However, there are plenty of homemade, cost-effective alternatives which you can source yourself.
Here Xylo Flooring, providers of luxury wooden flooring to the retail sector and building trade, outline five areas where resourceful home-makers can create some early festive cheer.
Go Back to Nature
A lot of gardens and parks have holly growing in them, even if the owners and gardeners don’t want it there. This holly can be used to make a festive wreath for your front door. Pinecones, nuts, and berries, can all be used to make attractive festive displays as well.
Brushing Up the Paintwork
Christmas is a time when we all have a lot of visitors, and we want our homes to look at their best. A fresh lick of paint will certainly do that, and lift your spirits too.
Pastels go really well with other pastels, for example, pink, peach, and lighter shades of blue can all be mixed together, as can deeper shades such as navy blue, hunter green (which would match your Christmas tree perfectly) and deep red.
Metallic colours, such as silver also work very well, matching decorations on your tree, as well as some of the wrapping paper of the gifts under it. You can also consider painting a feature wall in a brighter colour; however, this could be a little overpowering all year round.
Corking Ideas
Most corks find their way straight into the bin after the wine has been drunk. However, they are one of the most versatile items that can be repurposed into almost anything you can imagine, including Christmas decorations such as reindeer, miniature Christmas trees, and even as the basis for a wreath.
A Lot of Bottle
Over the festive period, it is almost certain that homeowners will amass a lot of bottles, both glass and plastic, that will usually find their way to the recycling bin. However, these can also be put to a variety of new uses. For example, glass bottles make stylish candle-holders, particularly if you cover the original label with wrapping paper.
Both glass and plastic bottles can easily be transformed into snowmen by painting the outside white and adding facial features. You could also fill the inside of the bottle with a white material like cotton wool or create a head using a ping pong ball. If you have enough bottles, you could even create your own white Christmas tree.
Recycling on the Cards
Interior designers don’t need to through away old Christmas cards either. Normal cards made from paper can be easily made into gift boxes, gift tags, festive chains, and even bookmarks if you want to use them all year round.
Repurposing these for next Christmas may seem a little too far in the future for some you. For that reason, you could also use them as an integral part of your New Year decorations.
Do bear in mind though that if the cards have any glitter, sequins or plastic decorations, you may have to throw these away because they aren’t so easily recyclable
It All Works with Quality Wooden Flooring
Quality vinyl, laminate and wooden flooring makes for the perfect festive backdrop, especially if you are opting for the natural look with a woodland-inspired theme. Our oak flooring includes the rich tones which can be found in our Hampstead, Fulham and Belgravia Herringbone ranges – all of which are ideal for creating the impression of winter warmth.
By choosing vinyl, laminate or engineered wood flooring, you don’t have to worry about damage from pine needles like you would with carpets. All quality wooden floors need is the occasional few minutes with a dustpan and brush and the odd wipe down. They are also much more hardwearing, meaning they will handle all those extra guests over Christmas and New Year without any undue wear and tear.
We are still open and delivering luxury wooden flooring during lockdown. To find your nearest Xylo stockist, email us at sales@xyloflooring.com.
