[AD] Subtle Festive Style - Georg Jensen's Christmas Collectibles 2019
[Advertisment - this Nordic Christmas inspiration post has been styled with the help of Georg Jensen's Christmas Collectibles 2019]
Can you believe Christmas is less than a month away? Don’t know why I’m surprised, it comes every year yet I’m always completely in denial about it!
We like to celebrate a minimal Christmas here though, so there's not a huge amount of planning to do. The decorations go up a week before the big day and I love to decorate our home with a subtle Nordic feel. You know me, I love muted colours, nothing garish and over the top. Things like simple, delicate touches of greenery hung about the house. I'll bring in bunches of olive and scented bay tree cuttings from the garden and mix them up with pine tree clippings from the florist.
Most of our Christmas decorations are wooden too - I've learnt this lesson from childhood as all three of us gradually decimated mum's collection of delicate, glass baubles!
I do think tradition is really important though. There are decorations we bring out every year and the kids have come to know and love. I'm always neurotic about the tree which we start decorating with the kids and I do again when they've gone to bed! We bake gingerbread and Ricciarelli, Italian almond biscuits, together and on Christmas Eve I made a rich and creamy walnut pasta. The little things that mark the season make it feel special.
This year I'm giving my festive styling a lift with Georg Jensen's Christmas Collectibles for 2019. Their high shine Palladium and Gold plate bring about a reflective quality that catches the light beautifully. I love the way they cast strong patterned shadows in the winter light.
As part of their own tradition, Georg Jensen releases an annual collection of decorations every year. Each comes in its own presentation box and compliments the previous years' collections, all handcrafted in Denmark. Designed by Sanne Lund Traberg, this timeless collection focuses on love, togetherness and tradition.
With a strong connection to Georg Jensen's relationship with modernist design, the collection displays elements of geometric Cubist shape and Art Deco style. Centred around three simple heart, star and tree motifs, this collection feels fresh and contemporary. Warm up the table with a set of gold plated heart tea lights and striking Christmas trees as a centrepiece. Or, stick to cooler tones with the palladium (which I prefer).
This is such a versatile collection and there are endless ways to style them. The ornaments make sweet little gift or napkin decorations if you don't want to hang them from the tree. Speaking of which, the jury is out as to whether we get another one this year. With the best of intentions, we tried a potted fir last year but I was far too late to re-pot it at the end of the season. In the end, I had to watch it slowly die from the kitchen window. Oh, the agony! I think perhaps fir trees aren’t my forte!
I like to set the table with a crisp white cotton or natural linen tablecloth - it provides a strong base for styling the rest of the table. Using velvet ribbon in soft, neutral tones adds understated luxury to the table when tied around the napkins. I've also used it hang some of the ornaments, though they come with red or ice blue ribbon.
As an alternative to the Christmas tree, I've made a simple yew tree garland and hung a selection of the Palladian Star and Tree ornaments for a bit of sparkle. I might even make a few more to have in our living room in place of a tree. You can make a feature of it like I have, suspending it with invisible thread across the wall or wrap it around your bannisters on the stairs. They're so easy to make and once you've got the basic concept down you can make them from anything you like.
How To Make A Festive Yew Tree Christmas Garland
You will need:
- Thin, natural rope the width of the space you're decorating with extra at each end for attaching.
- Thin florist's wire for wrapping.
- A good shopping bag's worth of greenery from your florist (or foraged carefully and considerately).
- Scissors for trimming.
I prefer to hang one end of mine up high and stand on a chair to make mine, but you can lie it flat on a table if you like.
Make small bunches of greenery, tieing each securely with the wire.
Starting at the top of the rope with the tip of the leaves facing down, wrap the first bunch with the wire. Place the second bunch a few centimetres underneath the first so that they overlap and tie it with the wire to hide the mechanics under the first bunch. Continue until you reach the end of the rope, overlapping each time.
If you're hanging the swag across a doorway or wall, you may want to secure some of the bunches with more wire to get them to sit the way you want them to.
To suspend it across the wall, use some really strong, fine thread. Loop it around the garland and pin it discretely into the wall. You might need another set of hands to support the weight...and your own sanity. And that's it, you're set for the season!
If you'd like to explore more of Georg Jensen's Christmas Collectibles, take a look at their website. And for inspiration on entertaining with Georg Jensen, check out my styling of the Bernadotte and brand new Helix collection.
Photography and styling © Tiffany Grant-Riley