F E STI V E CHE E R ANYONE ? ? ? CHRISTMASIFYING THE HOUSE
This time last year I began my editorial by mentioning the many challenges and mixed emotions that Christmas 2023 brought with it. And to be totally frank, not much has changed. Mortgage rates are still high (albeit a little lower than last Christmas), the cost of living squeeze seems to be almost as tight as it was, and more than ever, hatred and bloodshed abound in the land of Jesus’ birth. It seems almost glib of me to witter on about how best to make your house look fabulous at Christmas.
That being said, you could argue that a good antidote to these grim times is to throw ourselves into the Christmas spirit as best we’re able, while trying not to over-stretch our limited resources. And the good news on that front is that apparently, if you run a 5 metre set of lights for 6 hours a night it will cost you less than a pound a month. A bargain. Mind you, in my own case I think I’ll be in for a bit more of a bill, as when it comes to Christmasifying the house I do rather tend to over-indulge. Let me explain.
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Every year we at Biddell Towers (as it’s laughably referred to by our musical theatre buddies) embark upon an expedition the like of which Bear Grylls would be proud. Usually, on a Sunday afternoon around the beginning of December off we trot to one or more garden centres and / or home stores in search of the perfect addition to the Christmas house. Sometimes it’s something as simple as a few tree decorations, a garland or two for the stairs. Last year we went to the Festive Gift Fair at the NEC and came away with, among other things, a door stop comprising 3 grinning reindeer standing precariously on each other’s shoulders. I should probably say at this point that we don’t actually have a door that needs propping open.
A few years ago it came down to a choice between a five-foot-high singing Santa, an equally tall lantern that sprayed fake snow and also played tunes, and a hanging model of a bi-plane piloted by Rudolph himself singing “Santa Claus is coming to town”. And what did I do? You’ve guessed it . . . I bought them all !!!!!
When we were last at the Boldmere Christmas festival, freezing cold and soaking wet, I noticed an outdoor tree, emblazoned with built in lights, being sold by one of our fabulous local traders. “That would look amazing in our front garden !!!” I said to my wife. “But you already put lights along the fence, in the Eucalyptus tree and the shrubs, and we do now have 4 Christmas trees” she helpfully reminded me. A good point, well made – however I bought it anyway.
It’s not that good taste is totally to be abandoned at Christmas (although some would disagree in the above-mentioned cases), but the rules of good interior design can certainly be relaxed.
So . . . real or false, themed or random, uncluttered or stuffed to breaking point? I’m talking of course about the tree, and it really is up to you. There is no right or wrong answer. For many years now I’ve always had a real tree, and am happy to put up with the inconvenience of a few dropped needles in exchange for that wonderful smell of pine when you enter the room each morning.
As for whether to theme it or not, well I suppose you really should, taking two or possibly three colours from your decor and majoring on them for your tree ornaments and other assorted bits and bobs around the room. But here once again I have to admit to being a non-conformist. My tree is a completely random collection of ornaments and baubles of every shape, size and colour, collected over a number of years from cities and countries we’ve visited, or that I’ve bought just because I like them. The crowning glory of which is a somewhat tousled silver and gold cardboard star that my elder daughter (who is now my chief designer and who runs my showroom) made when she was in infants’ school. This is much to the annoyance of my wife, who thinks I really should know
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HOME S & INTERIORS JOHN BIDDE L L - INT ERIORS EXPER T
John Biddell - John Charles Interiors
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