I love decorating the house for Christmas, don't you?
My sister always teases me about how 'minimal' my decorations are. Living in Sweden, I've been influenced by the Scandi style of 'less is more' quite heavily I think. If I'm honest, I feel like I may be allergic to tinsel đ....now that doesn't mean I don't LOVE me some kitch and appreciate others more colourful Christmas decor, it just means I don't really do that here.
Things I love about Scandi design are the limited colour palette and traditional 'bringing nature inside' folksy aesthetic.Â
If you're going for a Nordic style this year, I thought I'd make it easy for you, here's 4 top tips to doing the Scandi theme authentically đČ |
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1. The four candles of advent are a staple of almost every Swedish Christmas household. One is lit each Sunday in the four weeks up to Christmas. Each candle symbolises Hope, Love, Joy and Peace in that order.
TOP TIP - Do not, as I almost did my first visit here, light all of them on the first advent! - you will be chastised with ''what are you DOING?!'' and you will feel like an utterly clueless foreigner đ -thank me later.
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DIY ideas and Inspiration - I've collected some imagery to show what we're going for above.
There's also a lovely collection of DIY Scandi decorations here
and beautiful, natural looking wreaths here. |
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2. Less colour.....try to keep the busyness down by sticking to a strict monochrome, or something close.
Your 'colour' is the dark greenery, make sure it's kept natural looking (avoid those perfect tree shapes, you're going for the idea that you just went out to the forest and chopped it yourself!)Â
Warm white lights, yep sorry, pack those multicoloured ones away for the kitch Christmas theme you'll go for next year đ
Candles, candles, candles, get as many as you can, this is your warm yellow colour that makes the whole scene cosy as hell.
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3. Star lights in the windows - almost every window here has some kind of candle or light in it, these paper stars are my favourites. You need a low watt light bulb on a long lead, these are easy to find here in Sweden, but I found some good battery operated lights HERE on eBay that look like they'll do the job.
Last year my friends and I had a little crafty get together at the house and made some paper stars, click the video below for a great 'how to' for some similar. Maybe group a few of these together on the wall with some greenery, or hang them over a table, perfect! â„ïž
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4. Gingerbread and lots of it! (we can buy ready made dough from the supermarket here, so simple!)
Gingerbread biscuits aka 'Pepparkakor' are served together with the Swedish version of Mulled Wine called 'Glögg' (pronounced Glerg). This is a sweetish drink, it's more like a kind of warmed juice if I'm honest, but alcoholic and with similar spices, they also add whole almonds and raisins which you fish out at the end with a little spoon and eat...If you'd like to try it, get yourself to your local IKEA, I'm certain they have some.
*I personally don't love Glögg and prefer Mulled Wine, but don't knock it till you've tried it.
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- Less is more when it comes to design, clear space for each element to look naturally beautiful.
- Bring colour in with greenery, dark evergreen garlands over doorways and wreaths on doors or walls.
- Natural materials like paper and wood for decorations.
- Stick to geometric or minimal designs and patterns.
- Bring different sources of light together, candles, lanterns and string lights.
- When in doubt, it must be cosy, Scandinavia is the place of Hygge after all!
- Keep it simple. Don't over-do anything!
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I'd love to see your Christmas decorating, tag me @ekawear on instagram if you use any of my tips đ
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