Best Christmas Decorating Ideas 2022

Decorator Alessandra Branca may not have painted the walls of her Chicago dining room red with the holidays in mind, but she isn’t afraid to admit they, “lend themselves perfectly to this time of year.” Fresh greenery and freshly grown amaryllis dress up the plaid-covered table for the season.

Floral designer Lewis Miller believes flowers belong on the table and above the table during the holidays. At his Hudson Valley home, the flower bandit festooned his own chandelier with a variety of yellow and white blooms. “This chandelier arrangement is a very simple design, but I turned up the drama by packing it with mimosa, begonia leaves, cedar, and white amaryllis,” says Miller.

Red candles embellished by Oaxacan artists paired with pale green Talaveran pottery and floral chandeliers subtly bring the classic Christmas colors to the outdoor dining area of Jeffry Weisman’s San Miguel retreat.

A holiday party at Alessandra Branca’s historic Chicago townhouse lacks any pretense. The designer prefers to keep the decorations relaxed with cut-pine greenery, vintage ribbons, and delicate paperwhites that usher in a joyful spirit.

Los Angeles-based designer Suzanne Rheinstein adores decking her Colonial Revival home with fresh firs and white flowers in celebration of Christmas. Here, swags of greenery embellish the mantel as roses top a 19th-century dolphin-base table nearby.

For a soulful holiday get-together, designer Joy Moyler chose a deeper burgundy palette that allows for her Deco-inspired plates (her own pattern) and Saint- Louis and Nason Moretti glassware to pop.

Lustrous peacock blue walls serve as an exuberant background for holiday cheer and fun in this Connecticut dining room. A mix of bronze, gold, and silver bulbs sparkle on a fresh fir garland surrounding the fireplace mantel.

Instead of traditional reds and greens, floral designer Lewis Miller chose a sunnier palette for his Christmas decorations as it “complements the blue walls beautifully.” A garland of weeping willow, pine cones, strawflower, and yarrow dress up his Hudson Valley living room mantel.

Every holiday season, Alessandra Branca’s children and godchildren like to dress up the 19th-century bust of Julius Caesar guarding her Chicago home. “This Christmas, with mistletoe dangling above him, he wears a note that says, ‘Kiss me, I am Roman.’ ”

“I try to show people that you don’t have to have red-and-green everything just because it’s Christmas,” says artisan Christopher Spitzmiller. A riot of color and pattern takes over the dining room at his Hudson Valley home during the holidays. The tablecloth is made of Brunschwig & Fils’ LeLac chintz while colored glass bulb and bud vases hold narcissus and anemones.

At Jeffry Weisman’s San Miguel de Allende home, a fragrant cedar and chrysanthemum garland directs guest towards the courtyard where a festive gathering awaits for them.

What are the holidays without dessert? On Joy Moyler’s treats table, a coconut cake from a recipe handed down by her grandmother, with a toasty apple crumble served on crisp black and white china.

Festive joy erupts greets guests the moment they step foot into Lewis Miller’s Staatsburg, New York cottage. The event designer allows for leggy paperwhites to tumble from the entry console while a mixed foliage wreath decorates the mirror.

A towering cypress decked in fresh cut flowers and baby’s breath welcomes guests into the breakfast room at this San Miguel holiday retreat.

It was all about the subtleties when it came to the tablescape of the festive dining table at this Miles Redd-designed Greenwich home. Deep red anemones with greenery bring the classic tones of Christmas to the table in an understated way. Emerald bows acting as napkin rings complete the jolly look.

For this winter soiree, author Jon Meacham and his wife, Keith favored jewel tones over the usual holiday palette for a more relaxed yet still sophicatied look. The emerald dinner plates by Ginori 1735 are paired with violet votives and goblets from Keith’s shop Reed Smythe & Company.

Decorator Richard Keith Langham trims a soaring tree in his New York atelier with silver tinsel, red ribbon, and tons and tons of globe ornaments. It doesn’t get any merrier than this!

Raw silk garlands and mercury glass honeycomb globes add an artful dose of patina to this Christmas tree, exuding old-fashioned charm cherished by all family members.

This celebratory meal in the dining room of London-based designer Alidad takes a dramatic turn thanks to hand-painted and embossed leather walls and an iron and gilt wood chandelier lit with tapers. The table is set with a variety of glassware, from Chippendale to contemporary Mexican. The dining chairs were designed by Alidad.

In the great room of their Falls Village, Connecticut, farmhouse, designer Bunny Williams and her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli, complement the home’s natural beige-and-red palette with subtle holiday decorations, such as garland and stockings. The German wood stag head and a Regency convex mirror, both from Rosselli’s showroom, hang over an English mantel.

A refitted window frame at the stables of this Georgia country home is decked with pinecone, cedar, and evergreen garlands.

Narcissus in pinecone baskets and amaryllis are prepped in the tack and gift-wrapping room of Dan Belman and Randy Korando’s Georgia home.

Tartan wrap and ribbon festoons the gifts under the tree, which is decorated with ornaments from the Jim Marvin Collection, in the Georgia country home of Dan Belman and Randy Korando.

In the living room of this Greenwich, Connecticut, home, a French 18th-century gilded mirror, screen, finials, and portrait get a Christmas makeover with festive garland dotted with limes and pinecones.

Neutral and marbled gift wrapping get sumptuous finishing touches with pinecones that also pop up in the stairwell garland. Narcissus in bloom add to the seasonal, lush display.

A place setting in the dining room of interior designer Charlotte Moss‘s Manhattan brownstone features apples cushioned by moss inside a julep cup. Cascading ribbon and a personalized place card up the elegance factor.

The Christmas mantel decor in the Manhattan pied-à-terre of designer Alessandra Branca is decorated with evergreen garlands punctuated with roses from a sidewalk Christmas tree vendor and a fanciful Italian gilt-wood clock carved to look like a mossy ledge.

The living room of florist Renny Reynolds‘ home in the Pennsylvania countryside is decorated with a garland of amaryllis and pepper berry. A painting by William Langson Lathrop hangs above the blueberry-stained mantel from 1797. The pillow on the wingchair is in a Ralph Lauren Home fabric. The Philadelphia Windsor chair is 18th century.

Metallic luster enhances the festive feel at designer Stephen Sills’ country retreat, which he considers a refuge for creative recharging. “I look at color with clients all day long, week after week. For my own space, I want a neutral palette.” Even the presents under the tree are wrapped in craft paper, foil, and newsprint to keep with the achromatic theme.

“I like beautiful, real things,” says designer Stephen Sills, who is famous for his refined eye and penchant for museum-class antiques. To wit: In furnishing an intimate Christmas dinner for four, Sills dresses the table with hand-painted Austrian egg ornaments, 18th-century silver, and miniature silk wire trees he purchased at Home Depot. “I’m totally democratic. The most important thing is to live with things you love, whether they are from a top Paris gallery or a First Avenue junk shop.”

Hung between French 18th-century medallions, this magnolia wreath encircling pinecones conjures a convex mirror. Russian 18th-century chairs border the fireplace, and the custom ottoman is in Prelle velvet.

Manhattan interior designer Richard Keith Langham makes a ritual of decorating his glorious design studio and showroom for Christmas each year. He takes a down-to-earth approach to the ornaments. Here, the grand gesture depends on mass and color. “There’s nothing fancy on the tree, just old-fashioned colored lights and glass ornaments from the five-and-dime,” he says, “But we have thousands of them.”

Richard Keith Langham‘s festive dinner party features red flowers, stemware, and a tablecloth. Those accents make for a rich complement to the mint green dining room, which is furnished with English shepherd’s-crook chairs in nicely worn leather from Christopher Howe and spoon-back chairs in satin stripe from Stroheim & Romann.

Long Island’s Old Westbury Gardens is an apt setting for holiday creations, such as bare larch branches and vanhoutte spirea and a Christmas tree swirling with delicate blossoms of chamomile and Queen Anne’s lace.

Pears, lemons, limes, and magnolia branches add color and texture to an evergreen garland on the mantel of this cozy Dallas bungalow with interiors by Lisa Luby Ryan. Above the fireplace are French rock-crystal sconces from Vintage Living, and the ornaments on the tree, including mercury glass, are all vintage.

The unconventional tree accents perfectly complements the rich color and old-world elegance of designer Mary McDonald‘s Beverly Hills living room, which is decorated with custom velvet drapes, reproduction Italian lamps, and Swedish Empire daybeds.

Floral designer Michael Putnam re-creates a Federal-style mirror with bay and olive leaves, while antique delftware ginger jars are paired with a tray of pomanders.

The red-and-white tablescape in the dining room of Alessandra Branca‘s Manhattan pied-à-terre offers a fresh take on the season’s classic color combo.