How to make lounge ultra-Christmassy

[OuiOuiMonAmi]

We have a tree, a garland on the mantlepiece and a few 'stand it on the sideboard' type ornaments, but it never feels overly Christmassy. It always just feels like my normal living room but with a tree in. Maybe my expectations are too high but how else can I make it more festive? Fairy lights? More greenery? There are no nooks and crannies to decorate - it's a very 1970s rectangular room.

Battery operated candles and tea lights, scented candle or oil burner. Change the cushions and add a Christmas colour themed throw?

I've been seeing people online hang the lights on the ceiling using command hooks, it looks like it really brightens up the space and looks nicely festive. If I've got the patience I think I might try it!
How To Hang Christmas Lights From The Ceiling | Storables

Hmm maybe some or all of the following

Christmas pillow cases
A Christmas throw blanket
Paper chain garlands
Paper hanging stars

I made dried orange and cinnamon string garlands a few years back and they are really nice

Don’t use the overhead light. Add a lamp or two if needed.

I have battery operated candles and fairy lights with timers and it’s quite magical when they start turning on. Between them, the Christmas tree and a floor lamp, there’s a fair bit of light. But the overhead light ruins the atmosphere altogether.

Some thick or furry throws, might help. I’ve got hot water bottles with furry covers that end up scattered here and there - little touches of winter but it all adds to the feel of the room.

I really like natural smells, so I poke sprigs of real pine and fir into my garland every so often, and do some orange and clove pomanders.

I have very square room too. I put red throws over the sofa/armchairs, change cushion covers to Christmas ones, string of fairy lights around whole room, nativity scene on bookcase, winter/Christmas smelling candles and reed diffuser, reduce other lighting to low, few cards dotted about!

Add to the garland on the mantlepiece. I put fairy lights all around the mirror over the mantlepiece, a garland, lots of candles and huge old fashioned glass baubles tucked in and out of the garland, decorative stockings hanging under the mantlepiece.

Burn festive candles - The White Company Winter candle is gorgeous. M&S and Muji do good budget cinnamon and orange scented ones.

When DC were young we used to do garlands hanging from the ceiling too.

I also like to do a tall vase of seasonal dried flowers - like catkins, honesty or teasels, twigs of red berries and stems of dried cotton heads.

You could have a crib and let DC add a character each day until Christmas Day.

The Christmas cushion covers are a good idea. TK Maxx have some lovely designs in at the moment, like Christmas of yesteryear.

I have silver 'twigs' (but very tall) that are very silvery/sparkly that I put in a flower vase for on a bureau and some pre- lit brown twigs in another vase that I put in a corner on a table - then on the side board we have christmassy glass lanterns that have candles inside - these sit on a runner that has snowflake motif on it - that sort of thing - as well as the tree and mantelpiece lit garland

Do you have a fireplace? I got some 1970s sheets of wrapping paper a few years ago off eBay and wrapped some empty boxes and these go in my fireplace as decoration every year.
Also have Xmas throws for the sofas and cushion covers, plus a garland for the mantelpiece and a happy Christmas bunting that gets hung across the room… I also have some v cute jellycats in Xmas themes- candy cane, mistletoe, Yule log etc.

Ceiling! I like to make paper snowflakes with the kids, which I hang at different heights every few feet across the ceiling. Sometimes paper chains on top of that... Sometimes I add in some silver decorations in between. Also have icicle lights around the top of the walls and a snowflake light projector, which with the tree, make enough light to not need others on in the evening. I think ceiling decorations and lights make a big impact fairly easily.

I also use evergreen (mix of fake and real) with baubles on shoved behind all picture frames, mirrors etc. Winter themed throws over sofas. And some kind of christmassy smell. So over everywhere is christmassy, rather than just small specific areas.

Don’t use the overhead light. Add a lamp or two if needed.

This. It's all about atmospheric lighting. Don't stint on the tree lights. Approx 100 bulbs per foot of tree. Go with warm white rather than cold white. And set to gently twinkle.

Have Christmas scented candles or defuser.

Christmas cushions

Christmas blankets

A Christmas panel curtain? Or door curtain

More Twinkly lights

@PigOrChupacabra sounds beautiful, I also agree hanging stuff from the ceiling is the have changer

Only use two colours

I rather fancied trying this, but was put off immediately when I got to the bit that tells you to start by cleaning the ceiling.
I was also puzzled by the reference to ‘Popcorn Ceilings’. Is this US-speak for Artex?

@TrickyD I've never cleaned mine

Mil goes wild with the sticky tape hanging decorations from the ceiling of her hallway.

I saw on Instagram yesterday someone made satin bow garlands. They looked easy and gorgeous. Hers were rusty orange (bronze, IMO) and bright pink. Trad red & green or gold and silver would be stunning with holly. Link Could also be done with velvet or Plaid Flannel (or fleece)

It is like artex but it isn’t patterned (Artex is sometimes done in sweeping circles, for example), just bobbled. I guess it is like tiny pieces of popcorn stuck to the ceiling, basically just textured.

Decorations strung up in the windows.

A candelabra in the bay window.

Christmas tree, obviously!

Christmas cushions.

Garland on the door frame. Fabric heart hanging on the door handle.

Two nisser (Christmas elves) that sit on a little chair to the side of the fireplace. Toying with the idea of a poinsettia on the other side this year but I don't like to buy them anymore as they're never very happy in the long term. Otherwise I'll have a little faux tree there.

Little porcelain candle holder houses in the fireplace (5 of them to make a village). This year those are going to be upstairs in our bedroom, with battery operated candles for safety, so I'll just leave our lantern in the fireplace instead.

A selection of things to sit on the cabinets/bookshelves: little porcelain angels and candle votives, little porcelain snowman and woman. Gold Christmas trees, set of three. Little fabric Christmas mice. One of those tea light holders with spinning decorations. Might also put an advent candle holder on one of the shelves but it would have to be purely ornamental as I can't light candles on that shelf.

A string of lights on the television unit.

A candle holder on my coffee table. A bowl of nuts on DH's coffee table. A bowl of huge pinecones on the console table - I use these as a vehicle for Christmas scent, just a few drops of essential oil every few days.

@OuiOuiMonAmi if you join the Poncetastic Thread you might get some good ideas too! 🎄

@OuiOuiMonAmi Santa on the hearth?

here

Christmas Runner on the coffee table.

A Poinsettia and Paperwhites (the rare years I remember to plant them in time!)

A tall plain glass jar filled with baubles and string lights. Pine cones if I can find them in a plain 'fishbowl' style vase & string lights.

Christmas cushion covers I made myself really cheaply (envelope style so no zips involved)

Excellent advice!

I have light up mini trees, hanging paper stars full of micro lights, light up pine cone garland and a giant light up star, all on timers. Plus loads of candles and wool blankets (mostly tartan) that come out every year.

You want lights that cast a warm glow into the room, so warm white or old fashioned incandescent coloured fairy lights. Avoid coloured led lights - for some reason they cast a cold bluish light. Last year I couldn't decide between white or coloured lights so I put both on our tree and it was lovely. I wasn't intending to use them both together but they worked really well.

I meant to quote this with my post. Although the whole thread really is full of excellent advice!