Blue Christmas

Green and red may be the traditional Christmas colors, but sometimes a home needs a different holiday palette. Blue, green, silver and white can add elegant touches of festive cheer while complementing an interior's year-round decor. By placing ornaments, magnolia leaves or white flowers in blue-and-white Chinese bowls and vases, one can celebrate the season in a simple yet stunningly lovely manner. Greenery mixed with pears, pine cones or citrus highlights the beauty of nature. Take a look at these photos for inspiration . . .     

"Instead of a floral centerpiece, [interior decorator Barry] Dixon filled a large bowl with art glass ornaments nestled in magnolia leaves." 

Blair House, the president's official guesthouse for foreign heads of state visiting Washington. D.C.

Holiday decor by interior decorator Barry Dixon and floral designer Barbara Hamilton of The Ociana Group.

Photography by Gordon Beall.

"Decorating: A Capital Christmas" text by Jenny Bradley.

Traditional Home. 

 "An overscale wreath is dotted with edible treats - apples, lemons, and nuts - as well as Hyperium berries and osage oranges."

Blair House, the president's official guesthouse for foreign heads of state visiting Washington. D.C.

Holiday decor by interior decorator Barry Dixon and floral designer Barbara Hamilton of The Ociana Group.

Photography by Gordon Beall.

"Decorating: A Capital Christmas" text by Jenny Bradley.

Traditional Home. 

"Victorian beadwork and antique ornaments adorn a small tree."
Blair House, the president's official guesthouse for foreign heads of state visiting Washington. D.C.

Holiday decor by interior decorator Barry Dixon and floral designer Barbara Hamilton of The Ociana Group.

Photography by Gordon Beall.

"Decorating: A Capital Christmas" text by Jenny Bradley.

Traditional Home. 

"Bring robust outdoor-style arrangements inside to flank a pretty doorway. Tall containers lend grandeur and keep balsam and cedar boughs out of the way of pets."
Interior design by Barbara Purdy, Barbara Purdy Design.
Photography by Michael Graydon.
"Photo Gallery: Give Your Home a Holiday Makeunder"
Canadian House and Home.

"Placed in front of a mirror against gorgeous wallpaper, a small tree provides a classic holiday touch."
"Decorating: Christmas Trees!"
Traditional Home.

" 'I'm from New Orleans, and once, after a hurricane, my mother gathered the fallen magnolia leaves and preserved them in glycerine until Christmas. We painted them gold. I grew up loving the glitz of Christmas, and this tree, in my house in Los Angeles, reflects it. It holds all the blown-glass ornaments my husband and I collected in the early years of our marriage, glass beads, and the glitter-and-feather concoctions of our daughters.' "  Christmas tree and home of interior designer Suzanne Rheinstein.
"Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas" by Shax Riegler.
House Beautiful (December 2008).

"Antique Chinese porcelain and holiday garlands adorn the fireplace mantel by Chesney's."

Chelsea apartment of Manhattan designer Christopher Hyland.

Interior design by Christopher Hyland, Christopher Hyland Inc.

Photography by John Bessler.

Text by Amy Elbert.

"Visions of Sugarplums" produced by Ann McVicker.

Traditional Home.

"Antique Italian chandelier and Swedish table, both Vintage Living/Lisa Luby Ryan. Delft and Chinese export vessels. Goblets, Waterford. Flatware, Reed and Barton. China, Hutschenreuther. Napkin, Anichini. Flowers, Randy Wenz of Avant Garden."

 Interior design by Lisa Luby Ryan, Vintage Living.

Renovation architecture by Frank S. Ryburn.

Photography by Eric George Dines.

Text by Linda E. Clopton.

"Season's Greenery"

Veranda (November - December 2010).

Houston, Texas, home for a family of six.

"The designer tempered typical dining room formality by using a pear-filled faience pot as a centerpiece and arranging posies of roses in silver hotel pitchers." 

Interior design by Pamela Pierce, Pierce Designs and Associates.

Photography by Tria Giovan.

"Tailor-Made Trimmings" by Lydia Somerville.

Southern Accents (November - December 2003).

"Draped dinnerware."
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"The Archives: Holiday Decor" by Sarah Bray.
Veranda (November - December 2012).

"Fresh limes and pine."
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
"The Archives: Holiday Decor" by Sarah Bray.
Veranda (November - December 2012).

"Federal sideboard. French 19th-c. mirror. Sconces with shield shades, 1940s, from Buster Keaton estate. Pagoda lanterns. Pine boughs with antique chrome balls and silver and glass grape ornaments."

Beverly Hills home of Mary McDonald.

Interior design by Mary McDonald.

Photography by Miguel-Flores-Vianna.

"Winter Warmth" by Victoria Amory.

Veranda (December 2008).

"Louis XVI-inspired chairs, with silver handles, designed by [Mary] McDonald. Garlands and gilded grapes on 19th-c. French chandelier. Royal Crown Derby dinnerware and vintage English fine bone china."

Beverly Hills home of Mary McDonald.

Interior design by Mary McDonald.

Photography by Miguel-Flores-Vianna.

"Winter Warmth" by Victoria Amory.

Veranda (December 2008).

"In [the] dining room, spruce, bay leaf and eucalyptus cuttings from the home's gardens in stone urn." Pedestal by Mary McDonald.

Beverly Hills home of Mary McDonald.

Interior design by Mary McDonald.

Photography by Miguel-Flores-Vianna.

"Winter Warmth" by Victoria Amory.

Veranda (December 2008).

"Multiple-paned windows flanking the door add to the home's 1930s-vintage charm. The simplicity of the front-door wreath trimmed with silver ribbon is echoes throughout the home's interiors."
Nickel plating applied to former brass door hardware: W.T. Weaver and Sons.
1930s Pennsylvania-style fieldstone farmhouse near the nation's capital.
Interior design: Frank Babb Randolph, Frank Babb Randolph Interior.
Renovation architect: Christian Zapatka, Christian Zapatka Architect.
Photography by Werner Straube.
Written by Candace Ord Manroe.
"White Christmas: Lovely Virginia Home" produced by Susan Stiles Dowell.
Traditional Home.

"A snowy neoclassical palette ensures a white Christmas every year in this Virginia home."
1930s Pennsylvania-style fieldstone farmhouse near the nation's capital.
Interior design: Frank Babb Randolph, Frank Babb Randolph Interior.
Renovation architect: Christian Zapatka, Christian Zapatka Architect.
Photography by Werner Straube.
Written by Candace Ord Manroe.
"White Christmas: Lovely Virginia Home" produced by Susan Stiles Dowell.
Traditional Home.

"In this inviting room, a period Swedish ottoman joins a Holly Hunt sofa sprinkled with pillows covered in a pretty Schumacher floral for quiet color."
1930s Pennsylvania-style fieldstone farmhouse near the nation's capital.
Interior design: Frank Babb Randolph, Frank Babb Randolph Interior.
Renovation architect: Christian Zapatka, Christian Zapatka Architect.
Photography by Werner Straube.
Written by Candace Ord Manroe.
"White Christmas: Lovely Virginia Home" produced by Susan Stiles Dowell.
Traditional Home.

"Ornaments, including mercury glass, all vintage. Chair, Verellen, in Belgian linen. 

Pillow, Oly. Louis XV mantel. Rug, Merida."

Interior design by Lisa Luby Ryan, Vintage Living.

Renovation architecture by Frank S. Ryburn.

Photography by Eric George Dines.

Text by Linda E. Clopton.

"Season's Greenery"

 Veranda (November - December 2010).

"The centerpiece - a cobalt blue gnome in a wreath of fresh pine - complements the blue-and-white Spode marine plates and Provencal linens. Kimberly deftly mixes 'Lismore' Waterford crystal with wine glasses from Pottery Barn."
Connecticut home of Kimberly and Marc Blair.
Interior design by Laura Langworthy (Laura Langworthy Interiors), the mother of homeowner Kimberly Blair.
Stylist: Liz Kay.
Photography by John Bessler.
Written by Krissa Rossbund.
"Cozy Connecticut Holiday Home" produced by Estelle Bond Guralnick.
Traditional Home.

For anyone who celebrates Christmas at the beach, "place your tree on a deck overlooking the ocean. . . . keep it interesting by using bulbs of varying shades. Use a bright blue blanket or throw as a tree skirt to complement the tree's palette."
Photography by Jean Allsopp.
"20 Charming Coastal Christmas Trees" by Kate Krug.
Coastal Living.

"The V-Dub bus adds a fun touch to the tree."
"Decorating: Christmas Trees!"
Traditional Home.

"Icy silver and blue decorations adorn the center hall's towering tree, offering a refreshing alternative palette to traditional reds and golds."
1930s Pennsylvania-style fieldstone farmhouse near the nation's capital.
Interior design: Frank Babb Randolph, Frank Babb Randolph Interior.
Renovation architect: Christian Zapatka, Christian Zapatka Architect.
Photography by Werner Straube.
Written by Candace Ord Manroe.
"White Christmas: Lovely Virginia Home" produced by Susan Stiles Dowell.
Traditional Home.