Continuing our Guest Blog Series, this time the wonderfully creative Theresa Gromski (@Theresa_Gromski) shares her tips on creating a Maximalist Christmas. Read on to be inspired by Theresa and how she introduces Maximalist Living At Christmas!

 

 

Christmas Decor and the maximalist are a match made in heaven, there is no better occasion for you to
let rip with all your decor fantasies; twinkly fairy lights, candlelight, lush foliage, sparkles, glamour and a heavy dose of nostalgia is what Christmas is all about for me.

My approach to decorating my home is all about texture, layers, greenery and plants, lush fabrics, pattern and mixing in touches of metallics for a glamorous bohemian look. All these elements can be used to add extra depth, interest and of course festive extravagance at Christmas time.

Maximalist Living At Christmas

 

I’ll be honest, I’m a planner, I like to be organised and I start thinking about how I’ll decorate my home at Christmas as soon as I’m back from my summer hols! It takes me a couple of weeks to get my hone
decorated and I like to plan certain areas that I’ll decorate and make big statements in. Plus I like to be
creative and make some of my decor myself. I love my home to be unique and personal to me (and not
look like any other house!)

So at Christmas time, I like to concentrate on a few key areas in my home to transform into dramatic
festive focal points.

 

 

The fireplace or mantel at Christmas is obviously a focal point. We all love to hunker down and gather
around a fire or log burner in the colder months and a traditional fireplace is a wonderful setting to layer
up and decorate as well as to hang your stockings on! Each year I try to do something slightly different, I’ll swap the baubles and colour scheme about slightly but it always starts off with a base of greenery.

This can be faux, dried or real. I like a mix of all three personally. Adding faux and dried will make your display last longer but you can’t beat adding real greenery for not only the look but also the gorgeous aromas of pine and eucalyptus.

So grab your secateurs and get out and forage, pine branches with pine cones still attached, eucalyptus,
ivy are all good. I also like to add twisty willow stems and dried autumnal blooms like hydrangeas and
sedums. For extra sparkle, I add a bit of gold shimmer. Then fill it in with your faux, there are so many
amazing faux stems and flowers these days and even better you can build up a collection and use them
time and time again. Rockett St George has an amazing selection, I’ve added silvery fern stems, bronze
magnolia branches and golden hydrangea heads to my collection this year.

 

 

Finally, add the essential fairy lights to your display for some sparkle and add a few dramatic show-stopping baubles or stars. I like using these pom pom decorations which you can get in an array of
colours, plus as they are light they won’t weigh down your display so you can go EXTRA with them!

Maximalist Living At Christmas

 

Eating Christmas dinner and having friends and family around to eat and socialise with is one of the best
parts of Christmas so a beautifully decorated table is a must (just try to leave some room for the food!)

I’ll start off again with a selection of greenery, start by arranging ivy, and eucalyptus branches down the
centre with either a dramatic candelabra or an eclectic selection of candlesticks at different heights for a
wonderful atmosphere of flickering candlelight. Amongst the greenery, you can layer up with more natural pieces like pine cones or add oversized statement baubles in glittering metallics. I love the look of metallic pieces and candlelight. Then add your place settings, again I like to layer it up and add my best
champagne glasses, plate chargers and napkins with more greenery to make individual place settings. A
mini wreath made from a twist of ivy with a little bauble attached makes a unique place setting and sets
the scene for a special meal even if it's just a dinner for two.

 

 

If space is at a premium then you may want to try creating a centrepiece above your table, this not only
frees up more of your space for all the food and drink but enables you to create a dramatic and festive
display at the same time. You can do this in a number of ways, one of the simplest is to suspend a
foraged branch above your table. A couple of sturdy cup hooks placed into ceiling beams does the job
and then just suspend your foraged branch above the table with strong fishing wire. You can keep it
simple with fairy lights entwined through or go for it and suspend an eclectic and fabulous mix of baubles from it.

I love the quirky baubles from Rockett St George with a variety of colourful characters from RuPaul to Frida Kahlo, it’ll certainly get your guests talking!

 

 

Another option is to create a foliage ‘cloud’ this is a favourite centrepiece of mine and is surprisingly easy
to create. Take either a block of oasis or a more eco-friendly option of straw and wire, suspend it above
your table (this will be lighter than a branch so works well if you haven’t got a strong beam to hold it in
place) Then simply stick in your dried, real or faux foliage. You can insert battery operated fairy lights for
an ethereal glow or add statement baubles or Scandi style paper stars below. A real show stopper and I
love mine so much they often stay up past Christmas!

Then finally no maximalist home is complete without the festive centrepiece of a tree. Real or faux? There are lots of really good faux (including pre-lit options) available now but I always go for the real tree. Not only does it’s smell perfectly capture the essence of Christmas but there is something so crazy and decadent about having a real tree in the middle of your lounge!

 

 

I like to add to my tree decorations every year and let my children pick a bauble each too. This is what
Christmas is about, special memories and nostalgia, I love to look at my tree and remember years past. I
have no real scheme or plan when I decorate my tree, I just like to pile it all on! Baubles, lights,
homemade pieces, last year I made garlands from wooden beads to create a Scandi style garland and
then with my children I’ll decorate homemade gingerbread stars to add to the tree.

It encapsulates everything that I love about Christmas in our home and how I decorate, layers texture,
special memories and a bit of understated glamour and sparkle!

Have a wonderful Maximalist Christmas!
Theresa x

Get The Look

Create some of Theresa's Christmas style in your own home with our pick of Rockett St George items.

Products featured:

• Snowy Pixed Pine Garland Decoration
• Gold Glitter Stripe Paper Star Decoration
• Set Of 2 Honeycomb Ball Decoration In Chocolate Brown
• Fir Christmas Tree
• Natural Pampas Grass Stem
• Faux Pecan Hydrangea Stem
• Faux Silver Fern Leaf Stem
• Traditional Inky Black Candlestick Holder
• Gold Paper Tree Decoration
• Beautiful Eucalyptus & Fern Style Wreath