Christmas Kitchen Decor: Adding Holiday Warmth to the Heart of the Home

In this post: Want to add holiday cheer to the heart of your home? These Christmas kitchen decor ideas will bring festive spirit to your most used room. ⇒

What is the coziest spot in the home?

Yes, you could curl up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket, or cuddle under the covers in your oversized bed. But if there’s something cooking in the oven and the aroma is drifting, I’d say the most heartwarming place is the kitchen.

Mouth watering cookies, a sumptuous roast, and comfort casseroles all come out of our kitchens and it’s the place we depend on to nurture our families.

And that’s why it deserves to be decorated for the holidays!

Christmas Kitchen Decor

The kitchen is also a pretty simple room to decorate.

Generally it doesn’t require a floor to ceiling tree bedecked with all the trimmings, and a few lovely vignettes will often suffice.

The key, I think, is to isolate distinct areas and create displays in each of these regions. With so many surfaces available for objects, it’s important to resist the temptation to scatter decorations randomly around the perimeter.

Instead, as with most home decor styling, items should be placed with intention and care. The components of a grouping should relate to each other and be unmistakably separated from the other pairings. Pick a cohesive color story, but spread out the tones for interest.

Let’s look at ideas for adding Christmas decor to your kitchen.

Cake Plate and Dome

How lovely it can be to create a winter scene under glass. Reminiscent of a snow globe but much more striking, a cake plate with a dome can be your theatre.

This is an optimal spot for figurines and other objects that don’t require air circulating or vintage pieces that you want to protect from kitchen splatters.

I used a Belsnickel Santa with mercury glass trees, but you might use village houses, bottle brush trees, reindeer or other scenic elements.

Floral Vignette on a Tray

Our island is always dressed with a vignette on a tray and I love to change this presentation to reflect the seasons.

The tray provides a great way to corral the objects and gives form and definition to the display that it wouldn’t have if it was placed directly on the counter.

Try two or three vases of varying size, shape and color and fill with blooms to echo your theme. Then toss in a smaller object or two, like a pair of ornaments, to ground the arrangement.

If you’re feeling particularly playful, scatter a few petals at the foot of one of the bouquets.

Planter on the Counter

One of the secrets to successful accessorizing is ensuring that you vary the number of objects in your vignettes.

If you used two or three pitchers in your tray styling, have another little ‘scene’ with only one significant container. A substantial urn or planter would be perfect for this role, and either leave it on its own, or bolster the look with a few baubles at its feet.

There too, diversity in size and shape adds interest and a sense that they just rolled over there naturally.

Utilize Vertical Surfaces

Styling, of course, is not just a matter of covering the counters and tables. Be sure to take into account your vertical surfaces, as well.

If you have a large range hood that’s the perfect venue for a large wreath or garland, but even in a kitchen like mine that’s lacking such a spot, two smaller wreaths can be added to a pair of cabinet doors.

Use command hooks to attach them and they draw the eye up, creating a multi-leveled look in your room’s decor.

Fill a Bowl with Baubles

No doubt the simplest of all holiday styling involves filling a bowl with festive ornaments. The trick is in the selection of the container, the baubles and the greenery you might tuck in with it.

This is an opportunity to showcase a piece that’s very special to you, like a vintage silver jardiniere or copper planter or something that resonates with your personal style.

Choose ornaments that encapsulate your color palette and if the vessel warrants it, add a few seasonal sprigs of greenery.

Some Other Ideas

• Place something pretty on the stove like a holiday tureen
• Tuck a wreath into a dark corner of the counter
• Put a mini tree in a zinc bucket on the floor
• Add a candle with a holiday scent
• Try pears or other fruit on a wood cutting board

Decorating the kitchen for the holidays is a delicate dance between creativity and restraint. The room needs to function and the decor should be more than pretty, but should also be well-placed.

But aptly chosen pieces that pair beautifully together should bring warmth and the spirit of the season to the room you use multiple times a day!