Western Living Magazine
8 Times Skylights Helped a Space Go from Drab to Fab
Trail Appliances and Bertazzoni – A Partnership Rooted in Family and Innovation
7 Home Offices That Make Us Want to WFH Every Day
6 Delicious Squash Recipes You’ve Got to Try
5 Market-Fresh Recipes for Cozy Fall Dinners with Friends
Recipe: Creamy Butternut Squash Pudding
Local Winter Getaway 2024: A Non-Skier’s Guide to the Perfect Whistler Weekend
Winter Getaway 2024: Take In Old-World Bavarian Charm in Leavenworth, WA
Local B.C. Getaway 2024: Sip Vino in Langley’s Scenic Valley
More Flexibility. More Space. More Personalization. Refrigeration Envy is Born.
Miele Moments: Rethinking the Hidden Role of Appliances in Our Lives
The Benefits of Using Custom and Standard Cabinetry in the Same Kitchen Design
Announcing the Finalists for the 2025 Western Living Design 25 Awards
The Western Living Design 25 People’s Choice Awards: Voting Is Now Open
PHOTOS: Party Pics from our 2024 Western Living Designers of the Year Awards
Interior designer Kendall Ansell shares her easy DIY ways to bring a little bit of nature into your holiday home look.
The season’s coolest ornaments might just be found in the woods, not the mall. With more and more designers turning to the great outdoors for holiday-decor inspiration (see Carrie McCarthy’s minimalist winter cabin, or Ami McKay’s beautifully natural mid-century home), this au natural look is creeping into homes across the West.The good news: it’s easy to get the look. Just step outside. “We are so blessed here on the West coast to have nature right at our door step,” says Kendall Ansell, principal Kendall Ansell Interiors.“Next time you go out to the beach or for a walk in the woods, grab a bag or basket and fill it with driftwood, fallen twigs, branches and pinecones. Cut greens, from a fir, pine, and/or cedar, to create a beautiful organic festive look for the mantel, table, or door.” Now you’ve got everything you need to create an amazing, earthy holiday scene.Here are Ansell’s favourite nature-inspired holiday décor ideas:
Grab some cedar or evergreen foliage (or mix and match!) and twigs, then, attach the sprigs by using floral wire in overlapping layers to a wire wreath form. To add a little more eye-catching element, add pinecones and red berries.
Put those fallen pinecones to use to add holiday cheer to your home. Give cones a fresh new look with a little eco-friendly paint (we’re loving soft teals and wintery whites right now). For a more wintery natural look, spray paint them white to create a frosted look; to go a little glam, tie on a sparkly ribbon.
For that woodsy mantel or banister look, you can craft garland by twisting together evergreen and cedar foliage and tying together with some thin metal wire. Ansell also recommends looting your kitchen cupboards for the stale popcorn and cranberries, which when strung together, produce an old-fashioned garland. For another festive look, why not thread together some pinecones?
Display pinecones, twigs or branches in huge glass bowls or hurricane lanterns or cast any one of nature’s bounty and candles on your table. Lacking table space? Try hanging a cluster of pinecones tied with some twine on the back of doors. Ansell recommends using tape-hooks to avoid damaging your doors—grab some at your dollar or hardware store.
Turn an ordinary name tag into a piece of art. “A girlfriend of mine found chards of driftwood on the beach and took the smaller pieces, sliced a razor-thin line in the centre and created name card holders for her Christmas dinner table… they looked gorgeous.”
Rather than store-bought napkin rings to bedeck each table setting this Christmas, simply use a piece or two of twine and add a sprig of rosemary in the middle for beautiful, organic look. Pinecones don’t have to be relegated to trees: toss them in a bowl on or a platter for a natural touch to the table.
Are you over 18 years of age?