SOURCE: J’adore Lexie Couture
Remember when you were a little kid and the excitement of the holiday season was almost too much to contain? What did we love so much aside from presents and the endless baking? Most of us remember the holiday decorating – the lights and the colours and just the joy that permeated everything at that time of year.
SOURCE: Pinterest
Red and green are the most evocative when it comes to Christmas colour palettes but you’re not limited to those colours. There’s really nothing that’s off limits, either in terms of colour or theme. We see everything from black skulls to colourful candy themed trees. That means switching up your holiday decorating and using non-traditional colour palettes can become a new annual tradition for your home. It’s the logistics of how to use these new palettes that seems to cause confusion. I’m going to break down how to embrace holiday decorating using pink, silver and white but you could use the same principles for any colour palette.
HOLIDAY DECORATING USING PINK, SILVER AND WHITE
1/ Consider the 60/30/10 Rule
SOURCE: Pinterest
In design there’s a basic rule that applies to how we bring colour into any space. The palette is created in 3 tiers and the colours account for 60, 30 or 10% use.
When decorating with pink, silver and white there are a couple of options. There’s the safe route and the more playful route. Let’s start safe in which we’ll use white as the 60%. Using a white tree will prevent the pink from overwhelming your home and will give you a more sophisticated version of this colour palette. Next you’ll use the pink and that will be your 30% tier. The last colour is silver and because it has shimmer and sparkle, 10% will be enough for a big impact.
If you’re ready to embrace the joy of the holidays then go big and make pink the 60%. There are so many options for pink trees that go from the palest pink to fuschia so you’ll definitely find one that you love. And the benefit of this route is that you won’t need a lot of other decorations in your space because the tree will be the centre of attention.
2/ Holiday Decorating Starts With Your Tree
SOURCE: The View from Tobacco Road
Your tree is probably the most significant holiday decor item in your room so it makes sense that you would consider this first. This colour palette will be set in stone and immediately obvious if you use a white or pink tree.
If you love this colour palette but also really want a real tree, it can be done so don’t worry. Obviously you’ll get a more immediate impact with a white or pink tree but if you’re using a real tree you’ll rely on the ornaments to set the scene.
The tree in the image above is another great option and that’s to either buy a flocked tree or flock your own. I will not be advising you about how to do that because that’s above my pay grade but I know that other more hands-on and crafty designers have been successful at it so it can be done.
So you’ve chosen the colour of your tree. Now you can decide which of the remaining colours will be the statement and let the other one be the accent.
2.2/ Have Some Fun With Your Tree
SOURCE: A Beautiful Mess
Since this colour palette is all about fun you want to make a statement with your tree decorations. You can stick with simple round balls but if you do that, go big on the number you use. This isn’t a time for minimalism or simplicity. Load this baby up and go big. You can alternate the size of the balls and include small, medium and large for an extra bit of interest.
If you decide to add some playful shapes to your tree you won’t need as many but make sure they still make a big statement.
And don’t forget about garland, ribbon or tinsel to finish it off. I can’t stress this enough, have fun with it!
3/ Use Your Favourite Colour for the Decor
SOURCE: The Pink Dream
Now that you’ve decorated your tree you can start to think about the rest of your decor that you’ll add to your space. Again, rely on the 60/30/10 rule. Do you want 60% of your decor to be pink? If that’s the direction you go, you don’t need that much to create a strong statement.
SOURCE: Pinterest
I would recommend using the same technique that was used on the tree and add white for the main decor colour. Now you pop in your pink and lastly, add the silver. You may find that if you use pink it becomes overwhelming and takes away from the sophistication of the decor.
4/ Include the Outdoors
SOURCE: Pinterest
If you want to create a remarkable experience with your holiday decorating consider adding the same palette to the outside of your house. You may find it challenging to find pink lights but if you do a little surely will go a long way. It’s likely you’ll end up using white lights on your house and your trees but who doesn’t love white lights?!
Next, add a beautiful and bold pink wreath to the door. This may not seem like a lot but using a non-traditional colour on your door will create a big impact. Now just imagine taking in all the fun outside of your house and realizing it’s an extension of what’s behind the door.
Lastly you’ll throw in little hits of silver. That could be a metal snowman on your porch or an oversized planter with your festive greenery.
5/ Wrap It Up
SOURCE: My 100 Year Old Home
The final part of the puzzle is the packaging you use for the gifts under your tree. You don’t want to spend all this time and energy getting the tree and decorating perfectly arranged and then throw a bunch of mismatched packages under your lovely tree.
Keep the theme consistent with your paper, your gift bags, the tissue, the ribbon and the bows. Simple white paper with some pink ribbon and bows would be the easiest but there’s no limit to what you can with these colours.
I’d love to hear what you have in mind for your holiday decorating this year. Do you go the traditional route or are you branching out and adding a playful palette to your home this year? Either way, I hope you have a joyful season and make some great family memories.
If you know your design style but you struggle with which paint to use, take a look at my Made-For-You paint palettes. They take the guesswork out and give you the confidence to get started.
