Tis' the season for holiday decorating! It's the most magical time of year to transform your space, which is why I was so excited to decorate our first small apartment together as a married couple for Christmas. When I lived with my parents, I spent several years investing in timeless holiday decor to use for future home decor, and couldn't be happier that I spent those years doing so!
With a space as small as ours, we found it's important to find a balance of beautiful decorations while maximizing the space we have without making it overwhelming.
Stick to a color scheme
I've always wanted to create a gold and blue themed tree, and because our apartment has blue and gold accents, it was the perfect color combination to showcase. When creating your own themed tree, stick to two or three main colors that will be your primary color focus then complement it with patterned, beaded or smaller colored ornaments to fill in the gaps.
As our base ornaments, I had a pack of 50 varying gold and silver ornaments and added navy blue ornaments we found at Michael's and at an antique store. To match the ginger jars we have in our apartment, using these adorable mini ginger jar ornaments from Williams Sonoma really added gorgeous detail to our tree! Don't be afraid to play with shapes and sizes as well!
To 'finish' the tree, adding ribbon, tinsel and fun wreath picks brings the detail to the forefront and creates an even more magical display. I've actually never used tinsel before, but knowing it was a tradition George grew up with we made sure to incorporate it into our tree.
Maximize your surfaces
As I mentioned, our apartment is tiny! With not a lot of surface area, it's important to find ways to maximize your space without making it overwhelming. Look for areas like your table to create a centerpiece, dressers, or even an ottoman with a tray to display Christmas decor like trees or ornaments. Even making little arrangements on the floor in a corner of your apartment or small space can still make an impact.
We also found that because we didn't have room to store the presents we got for family and friends, that wrapping them right away and placing them under the tree was beautiful yet functional for us.
Another opportunity to look for is where you can hang greenery. The beauty about evergreens is that you can incorporate garland or wreaths in a natural way, such as hanging around a painting to frame it or how we placed greenery on our small balcony for an extra festive touch.
Quality over quantity
I'm a firm believer that you can never have too many Christmas trees! But I'm also a firm believer that quality over quantity, especially when it comes to home decor. I would personally rather wait for the right pieces then purchasing items that are lower quality just to decorate a space with. I spent years curating holiday items but waited until the season was over to purchase things on sale or set a certain amount of money aside to put toward a few statement pieces, especially from Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel and Williams Sonoma.
Mind you, glass ornaments from Michael's or Home Sense are just as effective, but they are also traditionally cheaper than the gorgeous mercery glass Christmas trees you would see at Pottery Barn. Which is why it's also a balance of finding the right items but also splurging on ones you know are more of a statement and that will last longer.
