Natural, understated, and, at the same time, seductive: Christmas decorations appear to be just a touch more restrained this year, but demonstrate nevertheless a wonderful variety. Copper and gold remain as key features of the trend and pinks of various hues also continue to play a significant role in seasonal decoration. Moreover, reds, blues, and greys, as well as white, are popular in 2016, too. From these combinations, emotive scenarios emerge, which are guaranteed to find their fans.
The fundamental principle is: ‘class not mass’ as far as Christmas decorations are concerned – and it is achieved with high-quality products and select one-off items. In vogue, too, is traditional craftwork such as the smokers, vintage motifs, denim, checks and futuristic Christmas tree baubles, wood-effect baubles, and floral patterns from the 70-s.
Colors Ranging from the Frankly Baroque to the Everyday
Christmas is an emotional festival and red is part of that. This year, rich, saturated colors like burgundy, beetroot, and aubergine all make for an emotive ambiance. To go with them, dusky pink, as well as black, silver and gold, add effective and almost dramatic accents.
Copper again provides a certain festive elegance – it is a color that goes outstandingly well with the Christmas celebrations and has therefore stayed with us this year, be it for candles, baubles, ribbons, vases or accessories.
Silver has retrenched somewhat, whereas warm colors are more popular. At the same time, browns, greens, and blues, as well as caramel, petrol and pea green, along with maize and pumpkin yellow, have now firmly established themselves in the sector. They will be with us for Christmas and then take off in the spring and summer. Light blues bring a cool breeze, whilst for an extra shot of clarity, there is white.
The Trend for the Genuine – Fresh Flowers and Plants
The joy of the sensual also manifests itself in the plants. Orchids, for instance, are not only the stars amongst the artificial flowers; they are also very popular in the fresh-flower displays. These exotic blossoms prove simply excellent as decorative objects, particularly at Christmas time.
The importance of flowers as a feature of Christmas decoration has been the subject of numerous special presentations over the years at the leading international trade fair, Christmasworld: artificial orchids are woven into wreaths, fabric blossoms are shaped into baubles and used to decorate the Christmas tree, or woven into garlands. But anything that you can do with artificial flowers you can also do with fresh plants – and even better.
Fabulous parrot tulips, sumptuous amaryllis blooms or, indeed, the idiosyncratically exotic Alpinia bring a unique life and magic to Advent. And with roses, temptingly dipped in chocolate, all this natural splendor finds its way onto the Christmas tree, into posies and bouquets – or, on their own, as a gift when visiting friends – and proves uncommonly effective when worn.
Natural Meets Artificial
The pleasure of natural materials finds expression not only in the desire for fresh flowers; wood, moss, bark, and roots are set to be all about us both in spring and during Advent. Bound into garlands, pieces of wood or pine cones adorn windows, hold candles or are used to form wreaths and little trees as standing decorations. And because, as everyone knows, opposites attract, we are increasingly seeing cool artificial forms mixed in with the decoration: silicone baubles with tufts and lace can equally well decorate the Christmas tree in December as can artificial tinsel garlands in all colors and shades. Nor do Christmas trees need to appear real: pink ones, rose-colored ones, dark red ones, and blue ones are all set to make a self-confident appearance in 2016, both in shops and at home.
Always Popular: One-Off Animals and Figures
The Nutcracker, the Nativity and the carved smokers from the Ore Mountains – traditional figures and standing decorations such as these are also set to find a place in the Christmas decorations of 2016 – both in modern interpretations and in traditional form. And the porcelain boy figures with a 1950s look will be taking their decorative places in homes and sitting rooms this season. Alongside all this, the wooden rocking horse cuts a fine figure amongst seasonal decorations.
Continued favorites are stags and deer, hares, squirrels, foxes, and owls – be it to decorate the tree – or just to use as free-standing decorations in their own right. And, of course, we mustn’t forget the traditional winter animals in wintertime, including penguins, reindeer, and bears, who will be replaced, in the spring, by monkeys, lions and elephants.
Christmas Tree Baubles in Their ‘Wild’ Diversity
Animal motifs continue to be popular as Christmas tree decorations. At the same time, for Christmas 2016, quality crafted wild animal heads will decorate trees and sprays, as well as creatures from the world of fantasy. The very latest fashion is represented, moreover, by the baubles made of natural materials, which create a very sophisticated look, together with quality crafted baubles, sometimes in the form of cones, with others appearing hand-painted and hand-carved or even honed and polished.
There are also a lot of floral motifs, together with particularly plain and simple, often pure white baubles, with a milky glass effect. Also popular are funny decorations in the form of motorbikes, retro cars, camembert cheeses, and roast chickens, as well as motifs from the 1920s and 60s.
Vases, Baubles, LED Hearts, Paper Stars, and Their Like; Delicate, High-Quality, Elegant
The purist design is in fashion. Instead of opting for ostentatious adornment, people are going for plain and simple forms and high quality. Alongside white hanging decorations, glass baubles with simple patterns are very popular, together with paper and elegant straw stars, they symbolize a new clarity and simplicity.
When it comes to colors, apricot seems to be the color of the year that has seen the strongest growth. In terms of vases, too, the trend is for purist design and high quality: plain glass bowls, bottles and holders for plants and flowers emphasize even more strongly the beauty of the plant; or let us see what would otherwise remain hidden – a bag made of denim to hold the earth and roots, for instance.
There are delicate patterns to strike a more elegant note, reminiscent of the visual effects of crystal glass. And, fittingly, crystal shapes are popular, too – made wholly of glass they can function as a vase or, made of finely worked wire, can create a candle holder that can be hung up or stood on a surface. Delicately elegant wind chimes, too, and wire stars, together with wire baskets and windbreak candle holders in gold and copper all belong to this style.
Candles and Ribbons for All Tastes
The new simplicity is carried by delicate shades and pure white. White pillar candles are increasingly finding their way into Christmas decorations and candles with a birch-bark surface bring a touch of nature into the home. But, of course, traditional red is a must for the festive time, too.
As befits the global do-it-yourself trend, there are now also candles in the shape of balls of wool, rolls of ribbon or pillar candles with a knitted effect. Alternatively, there are candles with slate-like surfaces, that can be individually decorated with chalk. One novelty is the votive candles in bright, cheerful colors such as red, green, light blue and pink. And the LED wax candle is also enjoying increasing popularity. Candles are even looking more appetizing and appear in the form of cakes, fruit flans, muffins, and chocolates.
Things are also pretty traditional when it comes to gift-wrapping: ribbons in red or gold with hearts, stars and Santa Clauses, or more opulent with sequins, are just not to be missed at Christmas time. Matte materials and natural looks, red and pastel colors and glitter effects are in trend.
Style Mix – Always with Style!
For Christmas 2016 different styles are intermingled; the familiar is new, the unusual becomes everyday. There are echoes of the 1950s and 1970s – and not only in terms of color either, but also in the choice of shapes and materials. So that denim is not only popular in the fashion world and floral patterns not only decorate cushions, they are also to be found on Christmas baubles.
Luxurious and simple, traditional and avant-garde, regional and international – from the interplay of styles there emerges something new, awakening interesting associations. The magic of the Orient is captured in a string of fairy lights or a Head of Buddha, the charm of the relics of the Russian Orthodox Church is encapsulated in pendant and standing decorations with onion towers and crosses. The beauty of Indian craftsmanship remains alive in the stylized metal Christmas trees for the home.
Photos: Christmasworld
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