JOY TO THE WORLD

Candy-coloured hues stand-in for traditional red and green to ignite festive feelings and summery celebrations

Photography Belinda Merrie Styling Kate Alexander

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SWEET TREATS With curves at the forefront of our candy-coloured Christmas setup, pretty choux pastries from The Little French Pastry Cafe were the perfect centrepiece for our festive table.

Pink and amber glass plates and green glass candlesticks from Madder & Rouge. Linen tablecloth and white plates from H&M. Linen napkins and beeswax candles from Tony Sly. Cake stand and glass flutes from French Country. Dining chairs from BoConcept. The traditional green and red or frosted white and gold colours may call forth those Yuletide feelings and prompt the need to break into raucous rounds of carols, yet we can’t help but feel our summery Kiwi Christmas deserves something a little more bright, light and cheerful.

This year, the Your Home and Garden team channelled candy-coloured fancies and luscious curves to deck the halls, or should we say arches, of deputy editor Bea Taylor’s home. Armed with pastel pink, blue, and yellow, plus some popping shades of purple and green for contrast, boxes of honeycomb balls and a soft pink tree, a sweet Christmas ensued.

All the trimmings Gift-giving aside, the best part of Christmas is gathering the family around the table and celebrating the holiday with a delicious feast.

Create a table that gets down to the business of celebration with a riot of colour and sweet treats. We used a soft mint green linen tablecloth as our starting point. Round white charger plates added elegant space for colourful glass plates to be layered on top. Bring a bit of depth in with darker coloured linen napkins and fi nish the tablescape off with bright baubles and honeycomb balls.

O Christmas tree A colourful Christmas isn’t really complete without a colurful Christmas tree – and to put it simply, we’re tickled pink with this one from Spotlight. In keeping with the bright and bold theme, blue, purple, pink and gold baubles, plus some twinkling seed lights, gave this soft, sweet hue some punchy attitude. Pink and green is a colour match that promises to please, so if blue and purple baubles are not residents in your Christmas decoration box, shades of mint and sage green will make a stunning alternative. Likewise, a tree decked out with tonal pink baubles in fruity shades of peach and raspberry will make an elegant statement. If you have a penchant for fl orals, fi ll your tree with an abundance of fake fl owers in similar colours. Finally, the festive cherry on top – the Christmas tree topper. Candy-coloured fl air deserves a statement topper to match – in this case, a glittery, gold peacock.

SHADES OF PINK Liv Wakem from Kensal Flower Studio arranged the pretty blooms.

Pink and blue large glass baubles from Redcurrent. Small gold baubles from Farmers. Rylie cushion from Shut The Front Door. Tray and floor lamp from Freedom. Valero chair from Coco Republic. Armadillo Agra knot rug in moonstone is from The Ivy House. OPPOSITE Glass candle holder from Tony Sly. Tall candlestick from Madder & Rouge. Glass beaker from BoConcept. Pink cushion from Shut The Front Door.

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Style tip Balance bold colour in a neutral space by bringing the bright hues of your tree in by using posies of similarly coloured blooms.

Style tip Coloured glass and eye-catching bottles are just the thing to bring your ritzy bar cart into the colour club.

A very merry Christmas Taking on a cheerfully colourful look for Christmas is a great way to dip your toe into embracing colour in your home, it’s just for one month, after all. We started our colour palette with the pink tree from Spotlight and the Armadillo Agra knot rug in moonstone from The Ivy House. These two subtle hues were a great base to then layer and carry brighter colours on top. More saturated blues, purples and pinks carried the colour palette along with pops of yellow and green. As the space was relatively neutral, going all out with colour was a feast for the eyes.

CHEERS TO CHRISTMAS

The Westlight drinks trolley from Freedom is the perfect vessel for holding your holiday refreshments, such as the Malfy Gin. Wrapping paper and ribbon from Ribbon & Blues make a colourful statement under the tree.

The peacock ornament is from Ballantynes. The artwork is by Susan Christie. Pink glass from French Country. Tea towel from H&M. Green jug from Bed, Bath N’ Table. Straws from Shut The Front Door. Crystal jug from Flotsam & Jetsam.

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Holiday scenes Taking a break from a more traditional nativity tableau, this year we were inspired by the beautiful fl owers from Kensal to create a tableau of Christmas reindeer in a meadow. If a fabulous retro niche is unavailable in your home, this setup also works well on a mantelpiece, in an empty fi replace or an open shelf. Simply gather up some garden foliage (pine needles or grasses will work best as they will dry out nicely), place a few bright blooms in small glass vases (hide these in the foliage so you can’t see them), and then place your deer family in position – we got ours from Shut The Front Door. Add a few gold baubles if you’re feeling particularly festive – a string of seed lights wouldn’t go amiss either. Alternatively, fi ll your niche or decorate your mantelpiece with a big vase bursting with colourful fl orals (see previous page). Fill the remaining space with bright honeycomb balls and beautiful Christmas baubles.

Visions of sugar plums In a home that’s themed light and bright for Christmas, the bedroom takes a more subtle approach. Utilise the same colour palette but bring in deeper and softer hues.

SANTA TELL ME Blue baubles and a sweet white reindeer hint at Christmas on the bedside table. Zoe & Morgan jewellery sits in a Sunday Studio DIY maker‘s kit dish.

Rapallo duvet cover set from Linen House. Floral Euro pillowcase from Bed, Bath N’ Table. Striped cushion, mauve waff le throw and white deer figurine from Shut The Front Door.

SHOP THEIR STYLE Pops of candy tones mix with luscious curves and metallic accents for a modern space that’s bursting with colour

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