Get festive this holiday season and embrace why it’s the most wonderful time of the year! With tips from Barbara Gilbert, of her eponymous design firm, Barbara Gilbert Interiors, you can retire garish lights and old-fashioned color schemes and opt for a sleeker, refined holiday look. Check out our latest holiday inspired design trends below.
What are your favorite design trends for the holidays?
One of my favorite trends is the rustic woodsy look. Since farmhouse style kitchens have become popular, there has been a shift to adding rustic wood elements to create the look of years gone by. If your house is more contemporary, adding some wood will warm it up.
Most family gatherings revolve around the table. What are some tablescapes that are catching your eye this year?
I am seeing a lot of layered tablescapes and I love them. Create layers using a mixture of patterns with solid colored plates and glasses. Not only does it make the table more festive, but it’s a great way to pull in the colors of ornaments and ribbon that adorn the rest of the room. Don’t be afraid to mix patterns and colors while keeping the look cohesive.
What is a design element that you believe is essential to creating a cohesive holiday look?
To create a cohesive design, it’s important not to use too many colors in your decorations and be sure that the colors work well together. Pick two or three colors and a metallic, and use those colors in the same room and an adjacent room if it’s an open floor plan. If you use multiple shades of a color count that contains one color, be sure to add different textures for variety.
What fall/holiday trend should be retired?
For me, a trend to be retired is what I call “clutter”. When setting up a vignette, I use the theory: less is more. I prefer a cleaner look rather than an uncluttered look as it draws more attention to the items on display.