Lazy Hostess | Natural Holiday Decor

Decorating with a heavy hand can leave your holiday party looking a little too much like Santa’s lair.  Our friend and celebrated event designer David Stark shows us how to lay off the tinsel and faux snow for a more natural aesthetic this season.

For The Lazy Hostess, Stark shares his top 5 design ideas for a festive home including a few favorite pieces from his new collection at west elm.

1. The supermarket is a decorator’s best friend, and a bag or two of fresh cranberries goes a long way in creating a holiday look without a lot of fuss.  To give inventive cheer to the standard escort card table, fill serving trays with a carpet of fresh cranberries and arrange the cards over the top in rows.  Line trays of hors d’oeuvres with the cranberries to create a bed of rich color for the food.  To round out the theme, serve a cranberry cocktail with a fresh cranberry garnish.

2. Our Natural Weave Trees from west elm are the no mess/no waste version of a Christmas tree! There is virtually no “set-up” unless you feel like decorating them – you can pin ornaments, holiday cards, or garlands to the cones or simply enjoy them as minimalist sculptures without any ornamentation at all!

3.  Use the holiday gifts that you will be giving family and friends as your holiday décor prior to giving them as gifts.  Instead of storing them in your closet or under a bed, wrap them in coordinated papers and ribbons and place them around the house in beautiful vignettes.

4.  Candles are instant magic.  I am using our gold flower candle lantern from west elm a lot this season.  They last and last and last – I love the pattern which is celebratory but not particular.  They have gone from Halloween to Thanksgiving and now will hit Christmas and New Years in my home.  Buy design elements that have multiple holiday uses – GREAT on the wallet. GREAT on time!

5.  A simple cloth napkin can provide all the décor you need to make your dining table feel special and the fold takes only seconds.

David Stark Design (87 Luquer Street, Brooklyn 718-534-6777) produces and designs a wide range of events, from intimate dinner parties to elaborate weddings, museum openings, foundation and non-profit benefit galas, and large-scale corporate functions for clients including Tory Burch, MOMA, Target, and the New York City Opera.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Courtesy of David Stark Design and west elm

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