Who To Follow For Christmas Interiors Inspiration

From the wreath to the tree; the mantelpiece to the tablescape, there is no end to the festive flourishes with which you can festoon your house. Don’t be ashamed: these days, people of taste go all-out in the trimming of their tree. There is, surely, no point in being one of the eight million people to have bought a Christmas tree in the UK this year if you aren’t going to put some oomph into its decoration. Maximalists one and all, these are the interiors influencers giving good Christmas through their blogs, sites and feeds.

Main Image: Mrs Alice

Alice Naylor-Leyland

Fashionista Alice Naylor-Leyland lives with her husband and three children in a grand and beautiful Regency house in Cambridgeshire, where she exhibits a flair for entertaining that she learned at her mother’s knee. (At her 30th birthday party, pastel-coloured sheep roamed the garden and guests couldn’t move for the riot of balloons.) Turning that passion into a project, she has just launched a collection of ‘festive tablescapes’ available to buy through her website. Lavish, whimsical and elegant, these limited-edition sets contain all you need to create a stunning Christmas table. We love the classy Winter Woodland Tablescape. There are lovely plates, napkins, cutlery sets and individual table decorations to buy on the site as well. Perhaps best of all, though, are Alice’s table-laying tips – take her advice and you may conjure up a home as stunning as hers. Her Instagram feed – @mrsalice – is a sight for sore eyes. Follow her here.

Fiona Leahy Design

This Instagram feed is ablaze with seasonal style. Fiona Leahy is, simply, the queen of the tablescape. The Irish-born event designer goes where others fear to tread when she decorates tables for the lavish parties of the great and the good (including Dita Von Teese, Gwyneth Paltrow and the Queen of Qatar). She once told Elle Decoration: ‘For a winter table, I like tortoisheshell glassware, red accessories and cut-crystal. Anything that sparkles is a great addition. Decorate the fireplace with lots of fir, pine cones and ribbons but vary the theme each year. Scent is important. A tradition I learnt in Italy is studding oranges with cloves. I also love to light frankincense – it smells like three wise men have just left the building.’ Follow her here.

Hill House

Vintage


Hill House Vintage is the gorgeous website, blog and Instagram feed of interiors writer, Paula Sutton. Using her stunning Georgian Norfolk home as a centrepiece, Sutton showcases her passion for English country-house style. Of her festive vibe, the mother-of-three has said: ‘Christmas is my favourite time of the year. A Georgian house and the Christmas season go hand in hand visually. Period properties such as Hill House look charming in the snow, and with twinkling Christmas trees visible through the windows. It’s all very traditional and geared towards entertaining family and friends. The banisters and doors covered in holly and foliage from the garden, mulled wine on tap, mince pies, mistletoe and Carol singing around the piano, and twinkly fairy lights everywhere.’ Follow her here.

Skye McAlpine

With her life divided between London and Venice, cookery writer Skye McAlpine is permanently tapped into all things pretty. Her cookbook A Table In Venice:Recipes From My Home is among the most enchanting out there. Her homes are beautiful. Her food is exquisite. Right now, her stylish, tasteful, abundant Instagram feed is bursting with yuletide joy. When asked by Living ETC to sum up her Christmas in five words, she said: ‘My happiest time of year.’ That’s the spirit! She went on to describe her table thus: ‘Christmas for me is all about going over the top. I like the table to be covered in goodies. I start with a nice linen tablecloth and napkins, vintage plates and beautiful pink Murano glasses. Then lots of pretty plants in terracotta pots down the centre of the table, interspersed with shimmering candles, bowls of fresh fruit and nuts, sweets, chocolates and glace? fruits.’ Swoon. Want to steal Skye’s style? She’s even launched her own tableware collection, Tavola so you can do exactly that. Follow her here.

Kerryn Harper-Cuss

Admittedly, the former editor-in-chief of The English Home magazine does have some kind of civic duty to produce a divine Instagram account, especially at Christmas. But Kerryn does it with aplomb. In place of seasonal shots of her own home are delightful pictures of the Christmassy sights she sees as she goes about her business. Liberty’s beautiful shop windows? Tick. A perfect wreath made of dried hydrangeas? Oh yes. A Christmas table dressed in the smartest shades of green? For sure. Frozen berries on a cold and frosty Cotswold morning? You bet. Follow her here.

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By Becky Ladenburg
Updated December 2021