How to Add Christmas Pizzazz in Small Spaces

Since our move a little over a year ago, I have learned so much about downsizing, decluttering and organizing. I mean, when you decrease your livable square footage by over two thirds, you have to adjust your thinking and decide what is truly important. And while downsizing for normal everyday living is one thing, Christmas decorating is another thing entirely. I decided to decrease my Christmas decor by half, but I still needed enough to decorate our house (for staging) and our apartment. While simplifying our decor, I learned how to add Christmas pizzazz in small spaces, and still end up with something entirely festive, and beautiful.

The Christmas tree

Last summer we had an amazing and serendipitous experience. We were out for a walk and happened to pass one of the garages at our apartment complex. The owner was having an enormous garage sale. What was so incredible was that she was a retired interior designer, and she was selling all of her luxury Christmas decor. All of the blown glass ornaments; Kurt Adler, Old World Christmas, and Valery Madelyn ornaments. (I’ll link some that I purchased from her in the resources below). She was selling these ornaments at a fraction of the original cost. Some I purchased for as little as $5-7.

In the back of her garage stood three pencil Christmas trees. They stood 5,7, and 9 feet tall. Because our apartment has vaulted ceilings at about 14 feet, I asked about the tallest tree. It was pre-lit and had three different types of evergreen branches. She said she could let the nine foot tree go for $60. I looked at my husband and said, “Honey, can you please go get the truck and bring me cash?” He knew that look in my eye and off he went.

I want to show you the Christmas tree I purchased that day: It is perfectly slim and fits beautifully in our apartment living space. The three types of evergreen branches give it a lifelike quality in color and dimension. The lights that are pre-lit to the tree are the dimmer set you see in the photograph. This year, I added one additional strand just to brighten it up. To add Christmas pizzazz in small spaces, you really should start with the Christmas tree.

The heart of the home

The kitchen is said to be the heart of the home. That may be because of all the meals prepared and shared around the dining table, or it may just be all the Christmas baking that happens every year. I’ve been craving a good Christmas sugar cookie. If you have a recipe, please share it with me in the comments below! For now, I’ll have to enjoy my Lars Swedish Ginger Snaps.

Our apartment kitchen is bigger than some I’ve seen, and yet, still smaller than others. I love to decorate my kitchen at Christmas. I spend so much time there and I want it to feel warm and inviting, festive and fun. While small in square footage, it packs a punch when we add Christmas pizzazz in this small space.

Here’s what we did: To our tower bookcase, we styled up three of the shelves. Because we didn’t want our small space to feel overwhelmed or cluttered, we went with ceramic Christmas trees in whites, creams, and grays. Added in some Christmas bowl filler of natural elements, pinecones, dried apples, and a couple of gold figs. The third shelf holds an angel accompanied by the Holy family. A simply, and meaningful representation of the season.

The working side of the kitchen

On the ‘working side’ of the kitchen, we went for a little more color. Because I was entirely enamored by the Cotswolds on our trip to England, I wanted to bring in a few touches that represented that region.

Here’s what we did to add Christmas pizzazz to this small space: We added in three ceramic green Christmas trees, a tiny canvas painting, and some dessert plates. To my cookbook corner, I added in one burgundy mercury glass Christmas tree. And to the island, we continued the dessert plates to the wooden tray, added another bowl of filler, and finished it off with a beautiful hammered glass candle holder from Pottery Barn.

The dining area

We have such a small dining area, it’s sometimes difficult to style it up, and still leave enough room for functionality. To add Christmas pizzazz in this small space, we simply opted for one single arrangement. To our everyday table vessel, we added greenery, ornaments, pinecones, and frosted red berries. Because we wanted the woven placemats to pop against the vintage garden table, we opted for black linen placemats that coordinate with the black accents throughout the rest of our space.

The bedroom and bathroom

Our apartment bedroom is small to say the least. We have room for our king-sized bed and two night stands. We’ve managed to squeeze in a small working desk, but it is tight! We wanted to bring in all the Christmas pizzaz to this small space, but really had to get creative.

I envisioned a cozy room with a Christmas tree, twinkling lights, and candle glow. But, sometimes, you have to adjust your thinking and your plan has to pivot! So we got creative and here’s how we added Christmas pizzaz in this small space.

First, we swapped out our everyday pillow shams for olive green linen shams. We added in two faux fur lumbar pillows, and one Christmas pillow. What we love about this look is how it coordinates with the sheep skin throw we have at the foot of our bed. (I’ll link all of this below for you.) While this was ‘Christmasy’, we felt like it was still lacking something. From my Christmas bins, I dug deep and found two small evergreen wreaths. I think they are technically candles wrings, but they are the perfect size for our mirrors. We tied a simple satin taupe ribbon, and hung them with command hooks.

To our bathroom, we swapped our towel for a sage green hand towel with cream Christmas trees. We added in faux baby’s breath in holiday colors, and added taper candles. Enough, and not too much!

Finally, our fireplace

Okay, technically it’s not a fireplace. But it gives off such a warm glow in the evenings it may as well be. We light these candles every morning and every evening. While the tabletop fire pit is never lit when unattended, housed within the safety of a fire-safe lantern, it gives the ambiance and movement of a real fireplace. The candles are mini votives and tea lights. They only burn for an hour or two, but what a glow! The bottom shelf of the table holds over a dozen battery powered candles. When they are all lit together, it is a very special feeling indeed.

We added two champagne colored deer with tiny jingle bell yokes. They truly glow in the candle light and during the daylight hours, they coordinate beautifully with the other decor in our living room.

How to add Christmas pizzazz in small spaces

I’ve said it quite a few times in this post, but if you want to add Christmas pizzazz in small spaces, there are a few simple tips that will help you pull it all together.

Choose a color palette and stick with it! For our living room coffee table seen above, we went with taupes, mercury glass, black and amber. Even the reindeer are a champagne color. These items bring in the festive feel but do not compete with our color scheme at all!
Bring in touches of nature. The bowls with filler on our island, shelf, and dining table are all filled with the same filler. We simply purchased one bag, and divided it accordingly. This gives a feeling of continuity and festivity, but doesn’t feel cluttered. The vessels we used are either silver or white porcelain. They don’t compete with our overall aesthetic, but still add that something special to the space.
Add simple, understated touches. The white, cream, and gray ceramic Christmas trees we added to our tower shelf definitely feel festive, but because of their neutral colors, they don’t feel overwhelming or cluttered. They also coordinate so well with our simple nativity and angel.
Add color, but do it sparingly. I think an easy way to add Christmas pizzazz in small spaces is to choose one or two colors (at most) and accent sparingly with them. We chose shades of olive green and burgundy. Because olive green is already represented in our overall aesthetic, we didn’t have to add much, but when added to a neutral bed, or displayed in a hand towel, it really shines. Burgundy is a very strong and powerful color, so we used it minimally, only accenting with ornaments on our Christmas tree, in the bowl fillers, and in a small floral vase.

Whatever your decorating style, you can easily implement this tips to any small space to make it feel festive, but not overwhelmed. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.