Inside a Holiday Home So Charming, It’ll Make You Believe in Santa Claus

With a front door this festive, you know the indoors will be a feast for the eyes! The arrangement of topiaries, lanterns and garland framing the door practically beckons guests to come in, kick off their boots and indulge in holiday merriment.

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Holiday decorating truth: it’s all about the lighting. Sure, the trees and wreaths get all the buzz, but what are the holidays without the warm glow of candlelight? If you’re looking to amp up your holiday ambiance, a few carefully placed lanterns with real or even faux candles will make your home feel cozy and romantic. Top the lanterns with a festive bow for the perfect finishing touch. (Top everything with a festive bow for that matter).

When decorating for the holidays, especially if you plan on hosting a party, consider the first view your guests will have as they enter your home and ensure their sight plane is a pleasing one. You may not be lucky enough to have a fireplace as your first focal point like in this home, but a table arranged with garland and candles or a sofa with cheery red pillows is a solid move.

Do you hear that? It’s the perfect holiday vignette calling your name! From the expertly draped yews over the mantel to the perfectly wrapped presents under the tree, this festive scene would make even the grinchiest Grinch’s heart grow a few sizes.

Related: Winter Home Decor Ideas, According to Your Zodiac Sign

Ever wonder why other holiday trees look so much better than your own? You could learn a thing or two from this thing of beauty. Let’s go step-by-step: first, you’ll want to string your lights deep into the tree, so it glows from within (like the festive spirit). Then, string your garland, ensuring each row is equidistant. Finally, add your ornaments. Once again, work to hang some ornaments deep in the branches, along with the outer branches, to ensure your tree looks deliciously decked out. And balance between larger ornaments as well as smaller ones to fill in empty spaces. This is definitely one of those “more is more” situations.

If there was ever a time to be one of those people who always has their dinner table set, simply for appearances, the holidays are it. This dining room is obviously grand to begin with, with its opulent chandelier, a fireplace flanked with mirrors and a table to seat twelve (twelve!), but it’s the attention to detail over the tablescape that makes this holiday look so memorable.

Related: 14 Tablescape Ideas to Wow Your Guests With This Holiday Season

Jewel-toned velvet armchairs set a pretty elegant tone for the dining room, so it makes sense that the holiday decor would follow suit. The colour palette is rich and vibrant, the table is formally set, and no detail is overlooked.

Take a moment to take it all in. Every surface is considered, topped with either candles, flowers or garland. And the table is set with not one, but three floral arrangements. Red and green is perfectly balanced with pops of gold candlesticks and white dinner plates.

Why set your table with a simple red napkin when you could set it with a red napkin, gold napkin ring AND a jeweled pear? It’s these little touches that make a table setting look fully conceptualized and incredibly vibrant.

For more little touches that make guests go “aww,” learn how to make DIY personalized clay ornaments.

This floral centerpiece is no doubt impressive (with roses, berries and artichokes, oh my!) but what really pulls it all together are the evergreen and olive branches artfully arranged beneath the vases and stretching down the table. When decorating anything around the holidays, just be like Santa and go big or go home!

Table chargers are another one of those details that pull a table setting together. If you’ve ever looked at your set dining table and wondered why it doesn’t look like Martha Stewart’s, the answer is table chargers. Here, a beaded mat creates an elegant border around a sparkling red charger, cradling a white china plate. With a red napkin topping the white plate, the entire arrangement gives a delicious nod to Peppermint candy canes!

Holiday entertaining doesn’t have to break the bank. Learn how to entertain on a budget this season.

The secret to ensuring a “more is more” approach doesn’t become a “much too much” cacophony of decor is finding a balance. If you want to overload your home with fresh sprigs of greenery, candles and wreaths, then keep the colour scheme simple. You’ll notice the decor is strictly green and red, with only minor touches of gold and white in certain spaces. This allows the decor to blend seamlessly into the home, instead of overwhelming it.

When in doubt, candlesticks are perfect for creating scale on a surface and adding ambiance.

Related: Yule Love How This Tiny Home Has Been Transformed Into a Winter Wonderland

It’s a holiday law that every banister must be wrapped in garland! (And you don’t want to see Santa angry…)

If the dining room went full on festive, the living room of this home shows a more subtle approach to holiday decorating. Just a few touches of red, green and glowing gold votives, give a nod to Old Saint Nick.

Notice how those luxurious teal velvet chairs pick up the blue in the artwork and throw in the living room? When decorating your home, you want to consider every angle and find ways to weave your design scheme from room to room. The same goes for holiday decorating! A perky red pillow on the sofa effortlessly ties in the florals in the dining room.

If this home doesn’t leave you feeling all the joyous feels of the season, we don’t know what will!

For more festive home tours and holiday decorating ideas, visit the HGTV Holiday Guide.