It's easy to get overwhelmed with Christmas decorating, ending up with more glitz or glitter than you bargained for! We're loving the natural, simple look this season with bright winter evergreens highlighting, but not taking over, your home. And as an added bonus; bringing the outdoors to your indoors adds a wonderful woodsy scent!

We had a wonderful time with Tracey Ayton in her home, as we styled it together for Christmas, using plantscaping along with our favourite wintergreen accents.  This minimalistic, rustic style is easy to do and is extremely versatile so you can create a look that really reflects the character of you and your home.

(Photos for this blog post are courtesy of Tracey Ayton.)

Dressing the Table with Evergreens

Boughs of winter evergreens add a fresh and rustic Christmas feeling to any space, but they look particularly amazing on your table for the season! Use branches that differ in colouring, like the lush green cedar and blue-green Carolina Sapphire Cypress, to make an eye-catching table and add texture. We also love using candlesticks in a variety of heights for a warm, traditional look.

Try plantscaping your table by adding in pots and planters on top of your evergreen boughs. A brass tin planter full of different varieties of ferns, all tucked in with moss, adds vertical interest, while also reinforcing a woodland forest style.

A layer of evergreen boughs can be spruced up (pardon the pun) with many different natural accents, including using plantscaping to add live greenery. Create a rustic, yet minimalistic, home with alternating terra cotta pots of mini cypress trees and single rosemary plants, adding to the delicious fresh scent!

Experiment with a variety of evergreens, such as juniper with its small, green berries or bright, lime-green hemlock branches. Other favourites include pine, silver fir, and oregonia as well as a variety of branches like the bright red Alpine huck boughs.

You can also get creative with your tablescaping by adding natural accents to the design, like pinecones, moss or branches. For more of a festive style, mix up the hues by using bright red accents, such as Gaultheria plants with their perfect berries, or other pops of colour like ilex and holly. (See more ideas in our Christmas tablescaping blog post here.)

Creating a Fireplace Mantel Design

Stockings aren't the only thing placed on the mantel with care this season! An indoor evergreen garland will instantly create a natural, rustic Christmas look. A cedar garland, mixed with contrasting branches (such as blue-green eucalyptus berries) can be draped artfully over the top of the mantel, doubled up to create a thicker strand.

Try letting the garland drape over just one side of you fireplace for an asymmetrical, eye-catching design. Leave it naturally nude, or add in accents that match your home decor, such as candlesticks, baubles or forest finds.

Simple Natural Touches

It doesn't take a lot to create a natural rustic Christmas feeling that's unique and personal. Use evergreens, boughs and plants that you've really fallen in love, and design with them in simple ways. Rather than mixing many kinds of greenery, try highlighting just one.

A ring of juniper boughs around a candle or a white pot of rosemary, will really stand out and create a small but powerful effect. Using contrasting colours, such as silver and black, or dark green and white, ensure your natural decor doesn't get lost in a room.

A Little Green Goes a Long Way

Don't just wrap the presents, wrap the staircase bannister too! A simple garland of cedar creates a draping evergreen design that connects the ground floor with the upstairs, as well as adding natural height and charm. Perhaps one of the simplest ways to highlight winter greens in your home but also one of the most effective.

This year we're in love with olive branches, and their understated green tones, sweeping lines and old-world vibe. A basket full of olive branches is an incredibly simple side-table accent for your rustic Christmas, that doesn't overwhelm, and could even be used after the season has ended!

An Entrance to Remember

Of course you want your family and guests to feel the welcoming Christmas spirit as they approach your front door. The entrance to your home can immediately envelop you, your family and guests with the same seasonal look that decks out the inside of your home.

To keep it easy, try small evergreen trees in rustic baskets, as they quickly create a natural, woodsy feeling that hints at the evergreen accents inside! These trees can then be planted in your yard after the season is over, and perhaps in a few years you can harvest boughs from them for Christmas decor.

Simple wreaths, like an olive branch circlet, celebrate the season with just a touch of greenery and maybe a few accents! Bells, eucalyptus, moss, or a few sprigs of another evergreen, can be interwoven into a wreath without taking away from the natural charm. (Learn two ways of hanging your wreath on your door in our DIY video here.)