Interiors | WESTLOFT Magazine

How to Style Your Home for Christmas

First Published:

Last modified:

Discover how to style your home for Christmas with framed wall art, furniture, lighting, greenery, colour and seasonal details for a warm, layered and considered festive interior.

We have always thought the best Christmas interiors still look like the people who live in them. The tree goes up, the lighting changes and greenery begins appearing on mantels and tables, but the artwork, furniture and objects that give the room its character should still be doing most of the work.

When we style interiors for Christmas, we normally start with what is already there rather than immediately adding decorations. A framed print might already contain the colour we want to repeat through the room. A vintage sideboard might become the natural place for candles and foliage. An occasional chair might simply need moving slightly to make space for the tree.

Here is what we have learned: Christmas decorating tends to look more convincing when the seasonal pieces respond to the existing interior rather than covering it up.

Christmas Home Decor Ideas: Start With Wall Art, Furniture and Colour

Before opening the decoration boxes, look at the permanent elements that define the room. Wall art, furniture, lighting and existing materials can give you a much stronger starting point than choosing a completely separate Christmas theme.

  • Use colours already present in your artwork to guide the Christmas palette.
  • Style a console table, sideboard or mantel beneath an existing framed print.
  • Move occasional furniture before deciding where the Christmas tree should sit.
  • Repeat finishes such as walnut, brass, glass or black framing through the seasonal styling.
  • Keep favourite furniture and artwork visible rather than hiding them behind Christmas decorations.

In our own interiors, we usually find that one strong wall, one well-styled surface and good lighting have more impact than decorating every available corner.

For more interior design ideas and home styling inspiration, explore the Interiors section of Westloft Magazine.

Christmas Wall Art Ideas: How to Style Framed Prints for the Festive Season

Wall art is one of the first things we look at when changing the mood of a room for Christmas. It introduces colour at eye level, creates a focal point and can make an interior feel more seasonal without adding another object to the floor or furniture.

We have also found that the most useful Christmas wall art is not necessarily covered in snowflakes, slogans or obvious festive motifs. Dark botanical prints, still lifes, dramatic contemporary artwork and richer colours can create a winter atmosphere while remaining on the wall well into January.

  • Use one large framed print above a sofa, sideboard or console table as the main wall feature.
  • Choose botanical wall art containing forest green, olive or darker natural tones.
  • Introduce burgundy, brown, gold or oxblood through artwork rather than redecorating the whole room.
  • Add one or two darker framed prints to an existing gallery wall.
  • Mix contemporary artwork with vintage furniture to make the room feel more collected.

Our Wild Things botanical and floral wall art collection is particularly easy to style at this time of year because the natural imagery works alongside greenery, timber and richer winter colours.

Christmas Gallery Wall Ideas and Seasonal Art Swaps

One of the easiest seasonal changes we have used is simply swapping the artwork inside an existing frame.

If you already use standard print sizes, there is no need to rebuild a whole gallery wall for Christmas. One or two different pieces can change the balance of colour across the entire arrangement.

  • Keep the existing frames and change only selected prints.
  • Introduce one darker artwork into an otherwise lighter gallery wall.
  • Mix botanical, figurative and graphic artwork rather than using one subject throughout.
  • Use different frame finishes if you prefer a more collected appearance.

For a more fashion-led or graphic gallery wall, browse Objects of Desire. For a more eclectic mix of vintage-inspired artwork, explore Haute Bohème.

Christmas Sideboard Decor and Console Table Styling Ideas

When we are styling a room, sideboards and console tables are often where everything starts to come together. They give you a horizontal surface for lamps, books and objects, while the wall above provides space for framed art or a mirror.

At Christmas, that same combination becomes an easy place to introduce greenery, candlelight and a few seasonal details without changing the whole room.

  • Hang or lean a framed print above the furniture first.
  • Add one taller element such as a lamp, branch arrangement or candlestick.
  • Use greenery to introduce seasonal texture.
  • Leave some of the furniture surface visible.
  • Repeat a colour from the artwork in one or two smaller objects.

When we style vintage furniture, we usually avoid covering the entire top. If a sideboard has good timber, grain or patina, that material should remain visible rather than disappearing beneath decoration.

Christmas Furniture Styling With Sideboards, Coffee Tables and Occasional Chairs

Furniture provides the structure around which the Christmas room is built. We have noticed that a room often needs less seasonal decoration when the furniture itself already has character.

  • A vintage sideboard can anchor a large framed artwork and a small Christmas display.
  • A console table can create a focal point in a hallway or entrance.
  • A coffee table can be styled with art books, candles and one seasonal object.
  • An occasional chair can balance the visual weight of a Christmas tree.
  • A dining table naturally becomes a focal point when entertaining during December.

On vintage buying trips, the pieces we tend to notice first are the ones with interesting timber, proportion or shape. At Christmas those qualities become even more apparent beside greenery, candlelight and richly coloured artwork.

Christmas Colour Schemes for Living Rooms With Wall Art and Vintage Furniture

Rather than choosing a Christmas colour scheme independently of the room, we normally start by looking at the artwork, timber and upholstery already there.

This is particularly useful in rooms containing vintage furniture because the natural colour of walnut, oak, brass and aged finishes can already provide much of the warmth associated with Christmas interiors.

  • Forest green works naturally with botanical artwork and dark timber furniture.
  • Burgundy and oxblood sit well beside walnut, brass and warmer framed art.
  • Chocolate brown can connect timber furniture with cream and neutral textiles.
  • Black frames can give richer Christmas colours a cleaner edge.
  • Gold and brass can be repeated through lamps, mirrors, hardware and decorative objects.

We have found that pulling even one colour from a framed print and repeating it elsewhere in the room can make the whole Christmas scheme feel more deliberate.

For entertaining spaces, the After Hours cocktail and drinks wall art collection works particularly well with darker colours, brass, walnut and evening lighting.

Christmas Wall Decor Ideas With Framed Art, Mirrors and Decorative Objects

Christmas wall decor does not need to mean replacing artwork with seasonal signs. In many rooms, framed art and mirrors already provide the strongest wall features.

  • Hang framed artwork above a sideboard or console table.
  • Use mirrors to reflect Christmas tree lights and candlelight around the room.
  • Lean smaller framed prints on furniture for a more relaxed arrangement.
  • Combine artwork with books, ceramics and sculptural objects.
  • Use walnut, black, gold or darker wood frames to add depth to winter interiors.

From our experience, artwork that works throughout the year usually creates a more convincing room than buying something solely because it contains a Christmas motif.

Christmas Living Room Decor Ideas With Wall Art and Furniture

The living room is normally where the Christmas tree, the largest pieces of furniture and the strongest artwork all meet, so balance becomes particularly important.

When we style a Christmas living room, we try to avoid making the tree the only thing worth looking at. The artwork, furniture and lighting should still create other focal points around the room.

  • Use the Christmas tree as one focal point and a large framed artwork as another.
  • Style the coffee table with books, candles and one smaller decorative object.
  • Use an occasional chair or side table to create a secondary visual anchor.
  • Style a mantel or sideboard beneath framed art with greenery and candles.
  • Repeat colours from the artwork through ribbon, cushions or tree decorations.

For a living room with a more layered or vintage-inspired look, explore Haute Bohème eclectic wall art.

Christmas Dining Room Decor Ideas With Art, Furniture and Table Styling

We have found that dining rooms look more complete at Christmas when the styling continues beyond the table itself.

A beautiful tablescape can still feel disconnected if the walls and surrounding furniture have been ignored. A framed print, interesting dining chairs and a styled sideboard help the whole room feel intentional.

  • Use framed wall art to introduce colour behind the dining table.
  • Style a sideboard with glassware, candles and greenery.
  • Allow vintage or characterful dining chairs to remain visible.
  • Repeat colours from the artwork in the table setting.
  • Use cocktail and drinks artwork in spaces designed for entertaining.

Our cocktail and drinks wall art is particularly suited to dining rooms, kitchens and home bars because it works during Christmas entertaining without becoming redundant once the season ends.

Christmas Hallway and Console Table Decor Ideas

Hallways are easy to overlook, but they are also where guests get their first impression of the home.

  • Place a console beneath a framed print or mirror.
  • Add a table lamp to make the entrance warmer in the evening.
  • Use one arrangement of greenery rather than several small decorations.
  • Choose artwork that establishes the mood of the home immediately.

How to Make Christmas Decor Look More Expensive and Considered

From our experience, expensive-looking Christmas interiors are rarely the ones with the most decorations. They are usually the rooms where scale, lighting, materials and composition have been thought about carefully.

Here is what we have learned:

  • One large framed artwork usually has more impact than several small decorative signs.
  • Furniture with visible timber, patina or strong shape gives the room more character.
  • Repeating a small number of materials creates visual consistency.
  • Layered lamps and candlelight make artwork and furniture look better after dark.
  • Leaving some empty space around important pieces makes them easier to notice.

Christmas Decorating Ideas for a Collected Interior

A collected Christmas interior is not built from one matching range. It comes from combining things that already have a place in the home with a smaller number of seasonal additions.

  • Keep favourite framed art visible throughout December.
  • Mix contemporary prints with vintage and antique furniture.
  • Use sideboards and consoles as changing seasonal display spaces.
  • Introduce Christmas through greenery, lighting and colour.
  • Choose artwork and furniture that will remain relevant after Christmas.

This is one of the reasons we like mixing contemporary art with vintage furniture at Westloft. The contrast prevents a room from feeling too coordinated, while the Christmas layer can come and go without changing the underlying character of the interior.

How to Style Your Home for Christmas With Wall Art and Furniture

After styling plenty of rooms over the years, our main rule is simple: style the home first and Christmas second.

A framed print can transform an empty wall. A vintage sideboard can give that artwork something to sit above. A statement chair can alter the balance of a living room. A console table can turn an overlooked hallway into one of the strongest spaces in the house.

Christmas then becomes another layer — greenery, light, colour, textiles and objects added around pieces that already belong there.

Explore more interior design and Christmas decorating ideas in Westloft Magazine, or browse botanical wall art, fashion and editorial art prints, eclectic wall art and cocktail and drinks prints to find artwork for Christmas and beyond.

Selected for this story

Shop the Editorial

Swipe or scroll to explore

Written by

Hannah Fraser

Hannah Fraser writes for Westloft on interiors, art, vintage furniture and seasonal living. Her features focus on practical decorating ideas, collected homes and the ways artwork and objects shape how a room feels.

Further Reading

Liquid error (sections/westloft-editorial-article line 627): Array 'metaobjects.glossary.values' is not paginateable.

← Back to Interiors | WESTLOFT Magazine