Charlotte Moss is one of my all-time favorite interior designers, and I loved finding her Christmas decorating tips in House Beautiful. Each year Moss turns her six-story Upper East Side townhouse into a veritable Christmas wonderland, laden with evergreen boughs and fragrant with dried oranges and cinnamon. She loves to incorporate natural elements such as boughs of running cedar, magnolia leaves, and branches of golden yew. Moss works with the renowned Manhattan floral designer Zezé on the holiday bouquets, wreaths, and garlands, then adds her own thumbprint at home. “I grew up threading cranberries and seeing the natural decorations at Colonial Williamsburg,” said the Virginia native. Below are seven of her favorite tips for Christmas decorating.
Moss’s cardinal rule of holiday hosting is not to get too experimental. “Especially for the menu,” she says. “Always do something you know is going to be a hit. The same goes for the decorations. You want your house to say, ‘Welcome. And stay awhile.'”
1. Layer your garlands: “I often use pine, spruce and juniper garlands on my mantels,” says Moss, who keeps them fresh with daily spritzes of water. “I’ll wire in birch twigs, winterberry and silvery pinecones to give them a bit of sparkle.”
2. Create texture: Moss likes arrangements to feel abundant and convey a sense of movement, such as a garland that cascades from an urn to the floor.
She mounts the greenery a week prior to her Christmas lunch, then adds fresh white roses, tulips and peonies the day before the party.
3. Embellish every nook: Surprise guests by adorning the house with holiday decor throughout, particularly in places where you wouldn’t expect it.
“I decorate everywhere — even on the tops of brackets, inside little niches and atop bookcases,” Moss says.
4. When in doubt, add magnolias: In the library, Moss honors her Southern roots by filling planters with magnolia leaves; they dry naturally and last up to four months.
She also drapes a garland of them over the mantel. “I thread in bunches of cinnamon sticks, which look like little logs,” Moss says.
5. Deck out the guest rooms: Charlotte’s overnight visitors are treated to fresh bedside bouquets. Guest rooms are also equipped with coffee and tea stations, as well as a mini-refrigerator in the closet stocked with wine and snacks like fruit, nuts and yogurt.
6. Welcome wandering: Moss likes encouraging visitors to wander throughout her home. To entice them upstairs, she laces her banister with a large spruce-and-juniper garland dressed with pinecones and ribbons.
7. Make magic outdoors: “Make your outdoors as welcoming as possible,” Moss says. On her back terrace, she hangs Spanish moss on the trees and places a wreath over the fireplace. “Step outside and it feels like you’re entering the world of Narnia,” Moss says, “especially when there’s a dusting of snow.”
An outdoor statue is merrier with the addition of cedar, winterberry, seeded eucalyptus and pinecones.
This story originally appeared in the December/January 2017 issue of House Beautiful with photography by James Merrell and text by Kathryn O’Shea-Evans. For more tips from Charlotte Moss, I highly recommend all of her fabulous books. While we may not all have Zezé available at our fingertips, did you know that Amazon sells beautiful and inexpensive fresh wreaths and garlands? Have them delivered to your doorstep in two days with Amazon Prime, easy breezy! And if you are looking for holiday gift ideas, please visit my shop!
After Christmas Recap and Sales
A White Christmas with Shelley Johnstone
Christmas Cheer at Christopher Spitzmiller’s Clove Brook Farm
Traditional Christmas, Southern Style
Charlotte Moss does have the touch and connections to make her home beautiful . And wonderful antiques from her husband adds to the richness to the holiday mix.
Elegant, natural, sophisticated, festive – Charlotte Moss is the best!