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One of the most fulfilling aspects of design tends to be true about creativity in general: Once you’ve mastered the rules, you can decide how to break them. Take the holidays, for instance. Decorating for this span of time usually revolves around a familiar palette: a little red, some green, smatterings of gold, strings of lights, and so on. After a few years of sticking to this routine, you might feel inclined to do something different. For a twist on the classics, turn to designer Beata Heuman for inspiration this year.
Swedish-born Heuman has been designing from London for the past decade, and she recently opened a showroom at 188 Hammersmith Road—a 19th-century property that was once home to a club visited by Winston Churchill. The showroom is currently displaying Heuman’s holiday designs, where invited guests can take notes on how to personalize yuletide traditions. But don’t worry about heading across the pond to learn more. We took a peek at Heuman’s holiday decorating style so that you can reinvent the rules for yourself. Here are three tricks to try.
Hang Garland From the Ceiling
Sure, you can stick to the same ol’ script of accessorizing mantels and handrails with festive green garland. But Heuman has another idea: Hang it from the ceiling instead. She relied on her gardener, Nicholas Faulkner, for the job, which entailed securing it carefully with hooks. It’s one surefire way to make your setting whimsical, fragrant, and lots of fun.
Trim the Tree With Multicolored Bows
Velvet bows as ornaments is a tried-and-true holiday detail, but Heuman’s spin includes some unexpected shades. The standards of red, green, and cream are interspersed with yellow, blue, and pink, creating a charming kaleidoscope that unites the rest of the colors in the room. By expanding her palette on the tree—the one decoration that has to stay the same—Heuman makes this centerpiece feel like new.
Play With Paperwhites
While the dark greens of garland get plenty of attention during the holiday season, perennial paperwhites do not. And if you’re looking for a potted plant that’s easy enough to grow indoors and won’t overshadow the rest of your space, perhaps you should give them a chance. Heuman dotted her dining table with these white florals, and the addition comes across as clean and simple amid the surrounding fare.