How to Decorate with Garland

Todays post has ideas for how to decorate with garland.

Garland is my favorite Christmas decor item. Hands down. I love that it adds instant charm to wherever you put it. And it’s really adaptable. Throw it here, throw it there – it works! Don’t worry, I’ll be discussing some of those places in a minute.

I write about garland a lot on this blog; I wrote about the most realistic garlands as well as how to hang garland. So, it seems fitting that now I talk about where to put this garland!

If you need some inspiration for how to incorporate Christmas garlands in your home, then this post is for you.

How to Decorate with Garland

There are the obvious places for hanging garland and some not so obvious, or oh I didn’t think of that!? Hopefully, you’ll learn something new here. Let’s start with the obvious ones.

Mantel

Christmas Garland on a Mantel

An obvious one. There are so many ways to drape garland over a mantel. You can take a couple of garlands together to beef up the look and make it look really full and lush. I tend to like simple – so I stick with one garland, casually draped over the side of the mantel – to leave room for other Holiday decor.

Christmas Garland on a Mantel

Staircase

Another obvious one. If you have a really long, grand staircase, Afloral makes a very long, beautiful garland. It sells out super quick though! But even if you have a shorter staircase railing – you can drape some greenery over the top. I tie the garland to the banisters with a little jute twine and ribbon.

Mirrors

Christmas Garland over a mirror

Mirrors make the perfect area for draping garland. It’s so easy because you literally throw it up there! No need to secure anything, just throw it up there! It’s such a beautiful way to decorate with garland.

Christmas Garland on a sideboard with little houses

Picture Frames

If you can throw a garland over a mirror, why not over one of your favorite pieces of artwork? Whether you have a large piece of artwork or a small one, you can adjust the garland to work. I especially love it with a little velvet bow on top!

Table Runner

I usually prefer a low table arrangement so you can see and speak to everyone at the dining table. A garland is perfect for this! You can lay down a pretty table runner with a garland on top, and nestle in some taper candles and pinecones or festive faux fruit – like pomegranates and artichokes. Why not?

Sideboards and Consoles

Christmas Garland on a sideboard with little houses
Christmas Garland on a sideboard with little houses

A flat surface screams for some garland. If you have a TV console, a garland is a non-instrusive way to decorate. It’s low enough not to block the TV! Same with a sideboard, it still leaves room to decorate or add a buffet of food.

Headboards

Of course a headboard to bring some holiday magic into your rooms. If you are expecting guests this holiday – what a welcoming room it would be with a little festive garland draped over their bed. You don’t want this to be disruptive to their sleep – not sure how guests would feel if a garland fell on them in the middle of the night – so make sure it’s secure with hooks or twine!

Peg Rails

A peg rail is a perfect place to hang some garland. Fish it through the pegs, drape it over the top, or hang it vertically with some antique bells over top.

Christmas Garland on a sideboard with little houses

Light Fixtures and Chandaliers

Any light fixture or chandalier can hold garland. I think it’s best to go with a lighter garland here (nobody wants to hear a light fixture crashing to the ground at 2am). Adorn the garland with some ribbon or berry sprigs.

Windows

This photo was from last year. I used some of my favorite garland to casually drape it over our window. It created the perfect Christmas scene in our eat in kitchen area.

Kitchen Cabinets

Christmas Garland in the kitchen - how to decorate with garland

If you have Kitchen cabinets that run all the way to the top of your ceiling (lucky!), this probably won’t work. We have a space between the ceiling and the top of our cabinets, and throwing the garland over the top creates a beautiful Christmas scene in your kitchen.

Christmas Garland in the kitchen - how to decorate with garland

You can do this all the way across or just drape a smaller garland over the middle cabinet, like I did here. We don’t really open the cabinet above our microwave anyways. I don’t secure the garland up there, I just arrange it on top – it won’t go anywhere for the season!

Openings

Christmas Garland over a threshold

I’m refering to either a cased opening or a wall opening or an arched opening into another room. Sometimes a foyer has an opening like this into a living room. It can basically be any opening that you want to frame and highlight with some fresh or faux greenery. And it’s so dang pretty and festive.

Here’s how to hang it.

Armoires and Other Furniture

I just love a garland draped over a tall piece of furniture, like a hutch or armoire. What a beautiful way to highlight a pretty piece of furniture! Add some lights or velvet ribbons to really draw attention there.

I hope this gave you guys some good tips and inspiration. Thanks so much for visiting my little corner of the internet today.

Xo Karen