Christmas interior design ideas: red & white christmas chic

Take the energizing colour of red, mix it up with a comfy chic décor, and you suddenly have a whirlwind of activity, laughter and good old-fashioned fun. Use white instead of green and have a white Christmas, regardless of where you live.

Let it Snow with White Fluff and Stuff

A luxurious, feathery white tree can add a startling freshness to your favourite tattered furniture pieces. The colours in that old couch will seem more vibrant and will scream for pillows and throws. If you enjoy sewing, put a new face on a fluffy square pillow with a large Christmas tree, Santa Claus, or reindeer in bold red against a white background.

Trim the Tree with Love

When you first add satin red bulbs to your blinding white tree, it may look like a polka-dotted cloud. Get creative and keep going with hand-made red stars, gift-wrapped boxes and snowflakes. Add red and white candy canes, here and there, or long glass icicles. Get out that box of favourite Christmas bulbs and select a few gold and silver bulbs to create a little twinkle.

Remember the rule with Chic; stay away from clutter. You may have to rearrange and remove some decorations (ever notice how we get carried away with cramming the tree?), but you will recognize the right balance when you see it. Keep the windows simple with white curtains, perhaps a little old lace, and cheap rugs that are a plain red or white.

Extra Goodies

Large embroidered or yarn-woven stockings are the best to send a touch of warmth down your spine. Decorate the surrounding area with clear lights, sparkling, modern red decorations and shiny silver wall hangings. Even if you don't have kids, heap the stockings with goodies that overflow. Trains, dolls, old-fashioned candy, and bows are ideas for fantasising. Last, but not least, pile on the gifts. Dress up the boxes with red and white prints, solid red and white, and plain brown wrap.

Use several different types of wide and thin, elegant ribbons and bows of white, red and silver. Mixing up the graceful items of Christmas past with new products of today, allows you to reflect on memories, while forming new ones of your own. Red and white have a remarkable ability of delivering energy, charm, and warmth, when used in just the right amounts.