Now that Thanksgiving is past, it’s perfectly acceptable to break out those holiday decorations (since we’re in the holiday spirit, we’re not going to cast aspersions upon those of you who jumped the gun) in your luxury apartment home. As much as we adore our family heirloom decorations, each year, prevailing trends bring us fascinating and, sometimes, unable-to-resist-buying holiday decorations.
This year, blues, purples and grays are the hottest colors in holiday decorating, from trees to ornaments to lights. Also popular are metallic decorations in copper, brass and platinum. Want to be on top of this trend? Mix metal hues of gold, brass and silver for a contemporary holiday theme.
Yet vintage glass decorations, whether they’re from your grandparents’ collection or newly recreated, are trending. Designers say minimal decorations, from a clear vase displaying ornaments to a tree with just a few sparkling lights and ornaments, are hot now, too.
Some other trends include classic chic (red and gold accenting tablecloths or wreaths in minimalist ribbons) and country chic (a combination of natural materials, greens and tree branches accented with lots of candles in different shapes, sizes and colors); and replacing the traditional tree with do-it-yourself “trees,” creating tree-shaped focal points that hang on the wall or ornaments that drape from a rod.
Branch out
The practice of using pine branches or small, living trees continues to be popular. Try mixing them with other kinds of branches or berries—or evergreens such as spruce and juniper—accented with reds, greens and whites for a traditional look or blues and purples for a contemporary feel.
Maximize this trend by hanging a branch from the ceiling or above the dining room table with simple ornaments in bottle green, white and black. Pastel ornaments are also trending in pink, fuchsia, blue, green and white. Or you can use the colors of your home in shades of white, beige and gray. Plaid stockings in green and black add a rustic touch.
One of the biggest craft trends this year is those comfy, chunky knit blankets. What better (and trendier) way to dress up your tree than wrap the trunk of it with a knit blanket in your choice of accent color?
If your home is dominated by white, use warm accents in earth tones to decorate for the holidays, whether you choose a gingerbread house or make a branch chandelier with white lights and cinnamon cookie ornaments. Or keep the holiday decorations—from stockings to flocked trees—in white hues, but use subtle hints of green as decorations as a contemporary, trendy look.
Ready for lots of color?
OK, brace yourself for one of the liveliest trends of the 2018 holiday season: rainbow trees. Whether you choose bright, rainbow ornaments and lights on the tree or give it the full rainbow effect as the famed department store John Lewis & Partners displays, your holiday guests won’t soon forget your colorful display. You can achieve the John Lewis rainbow tree by going through the spectrum of rainbow colors from the bottom of the tree to the top (remember, you’ll need more ornaments of the same colors for the lower areas).
“The trend originates from social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, where a colorful post means more likes!” said Scott Bartle, junior Christmas buyer at John Lewis. “We wanted to capture customers’ imaginations by showing them how to create something truly different this Christmas, and we believe that we’ll see a lot of customers giving it a go.”
Other hot trends for trees this year are ultra-minimalist, letting the tree speak for itself with few decorations, to a neon pink tree complemented by coordinated ornaments to “opulent holiday glam with young and quirky accents” to a tiny potted tree when space and decorating time are limited to a sports-themed tree.
Other decorating trends include: Oversized ornaments (both inside and outside the home); pom pom wreaths (buy them or make your own!); pre-lit, icy and glittery crystal trees; modern farmhouse accents; geometrics from menorahs to wreaths to ornaments; gold wreaths and garlands with gilded greenery; and embellished plaid.
Two trends that continue to be popular are a snowflake theme and plaids—so don’t be shy about spreading them throughout your holiday decorations.
Display holiday cheer outside
For outdoor decorating, trends include plug-in LED strands of small stars that vary from slow fade to twinkle; multi-colored, mini-globe LED lights with wireless smart control feature for flashing pattern, timers and brightness controlled through an app; LED multi-colored ball lights with a battery-operated option (no extension cord needed!); solar-powered reindeer string lights; battery-operated, flameless LED taper candles for the windows; plastic, battery-operated luminaria bags; classic icicle lights; snowflake icicle lights; old-fashioned string lights, but LED; and a cordless, pre-lit, battery-operated wreath with a timer.
There’s even an LED Moravian star light, which could be displayed all year, but is especially pleasing at the holidays. It folds flat for easy storage. You can also find strings of Moravian lights very easily this year.
Simple white lights (like the kind you think of when you go to a classic Italian restaurant) are also hot this year, either in the old-fashioned bulb shape (but LED) to geometric patterns, which carries out to other strands of lights you can find in stores now.
LED the way
Speaking of lights, it’s easier on the budget and energy grid now to string them up. Sales of LED lights surpassed incandescents for the first time last year. A string of LEDs is more expensive than the same size of incandescent bulbs, but because LEDs are so long-lasting, the price differential is wiped out after a couple or more years of use.
Another bonus for using LED lights: the technology used produces little heat, so there’s less risk of fire.
In terms of brightness, incandescents are tops, but LED lights usually have more bulbs per string and we’ve seen some in the stores advertised as super-bright. LED lights are generally made from lightweight plastic, so they’re less likely to break than glass bulbs.
OK, we’ve saved the best for last. Who among us is ready to buy the snowfall tube, a 15-inch-long plastic cylinder whose light travels the tube’s length. If you hang it vertically, it looks like a giant, glowing snowflake falling. Get a bunch of them and you’ll have an impressive holiday attraction.