There is a moment every year when I begin to notice that the house is changing, although I haven’t quite changed anything yet. The light gets softer, the evenings seem to arrive a little earlier, the garden begins to look different and, somewhere in the background, I start thinking about flowers, a bit of antique brass, tablecloths and what I might cook when people come over.
This, for me, is when the festive season begins.
I don’t have a puja at home, so my festive decorating has never really been about creating a ceremonial space. It is much more about creating a house that feels ready for celebration. A few flowers. A good table. Lamps switched on before it is completely dark. The old brass/silver brought out of a cupboard. Something delicious cooking in the kitchen. Perhaps a fresh cushion cover or a length of fabric that has been sitting around waiting for its moment.
I think we have become slightly too enthusiastic about decorating for festivals. Every surface gets covered, everything is bought new and suddenly the house that we spent the rest of the year making feel like ours looks like a festive decoration aisle.
I prefer something quieter. And you would want to lend an ear… The best festive home decor, to my mind, doesn’t announce itself the moment you walk through the door. It simply makes the house feel a little more beautiful, a little more generous and very much ready for people.
How do you decorate your home for the festive season?
Start with what you already have.
Ah, Rukmini, stop raining on our parade. I know. This sounds almost disappointingly simple, but it is probably the most useful festive decorating advice I can give you.
Before buying anything, walk around your house and look at what has been hiding in plain sight. The brass bowl you only use occasionally. The embroidered runner folded away in a cupboard. The old silver tray. The little ceramic bowls. The collection of glassware. The candlesticks. The beautiful tablecloth you bought years ago and have been waiting for an occasion to use.
Use them.
Festive decorating becomes much more interesting when it is layered onto the personality of the house rather than brought in as a completely separate visual language.
I like a room where the festive elements look as though they belong there. A garland thrown casually over a mirror. Flowers in a brass lota. A few candles amongst everyday objects. A dining table that has been dressed properly but still looks as though someone is actually going to sit down and eat at it.
The house should still look like your house.
Just a little dressed up.
What are the best ways to make a home feel festive without adding too much decoration?
I usually think about five things: flowers, light, textiles, old objects and the dining table.
Flowers are probably the easiest place to begin. You don’t need an enormous arrangement. In fact, I often prefer several smaller arrangements scattered through the house. A few stems in a little bowl can do more than a giant bouquet that takes over the room.
Then there is light.
This is where I think festive decorating often goes wrong. More lights do not necessarily make a room more beautiful. What makes a room beautiful is the quality of the light. Turn off the harsh overhead lights and let lamps, candles and smaller pools of illumination do some of the work.
There is something wonderfully transformative about switching on a lamp just before dinner, when there is still a little daylight outside. I also lo
Textiles are another quiet way of changing a room. A runner, a cushion, a throw or even a napkin in a richer colour can make an everyday space feel seasonal without shouting FESTIVE at you.
And then there are the old things.
Brass, silver, wood, old ceramics and objects with a little wear have an immediate warmth that new decorative pieces often have to work very hard to create. They also give a festive room a sense of history, which is particularly lovely in an Indian home.
How can you decorate an Indian home for the festive season without making it look traditional?
I don’t think the choice is between traditional and contemporary.
An Indian home can hold both beautifully.
A very old brass vessel can sit beside modern glassware. A handwoven textile can work with simple white crockery. Fresh flowers can sit in an architectural ceramic vase. A traditional motif can appear once rather than being repeated across every cushion, curtain and tablecloth.
The trick is not to erase the Indian-ness of the home. It is to edit it.
I love homes that have references to where they come from without looking as though someone has gone shopping for an Indian theme.
The same applies to colour.
You don’t need to introduce red, gold and orange simply because it is the festive season. If your home is otherwise full of greens, creams, browns and muted colours, work within that palette. Bring in one deeper colour through flowers or fabric. Let brass provide warmth. Allow candlelight to do the rest.
Festive doesn’t have to mean bright.
Sometimes it is simply warm.
Should you buy new decorations every year?
Please don’t.
Or at least, don’t make buying new decorations the starting point.
There is a peculiar pressure around festive decorating now to reinvent the house every year. New colours, new ornaments, new tableware, new garlands, new everything.
I would much rather buy one beautiful thing that I will use for twenty years than twenty things that will be out of fashion by next year.
A good brass bowl will have another life after this festival. So will a linen tablecloth. A beautiful serving platter. A pair of candlesticks. A handwoven runner. Even a slightly imperfect piece of pottery that you happen to fall in love with.
The things we keep using become part of the story of the house.
And I think that is far more interesting than having a different theme every October.
How do you decorate a festive dining table?
The dining table is where I would put most of my effort because this is where festive decorating actually gets to do something.
People sit around it. Food arrives. Flowers get moved to make room for another dish. Someone reaches across for the chutney. Someone spills something. Conversation goes on longer than expected.
So I don’t want a table that is too precious to use.
Start with a cloth or runner. Add plates and glassware that you already love. Bring in one or two old pieces for warmth. Use flowers, but keep the arrangement low enough that people can see one another across the table.
Then add candles.
Not because candles are inherently festive, but because they make food and people look lovely.
I like a table with a little breathing room too. Empty space is part of the composition. If every inch is occupied by a bowl, flower, candle or decorative object, the table starts feeling like a display rather than a place to eat.
And that, ultimately, is what I think good festive home decor should do.
It should invite you to stay.
What are the biggest festive decorating mistakes to avoid?
The first is decorating every surface.
You don’t need something on the console, coffee table, dining table, mantel, windowsill, bookshelf and side tables simply because you have festive things to put there. Choose a few areas and let them have their moment.
The second is matching everything.
Matching festive cushions, matching tableware, matching napkins and matching flowers can make a home feel more like an event venue than a home. Mix materials, ages and textures instead.
The third is buying everything new.
The fourth is using too much artificial decoration when simple flowers, foliage, fruit, candles and things you already own would do the job better.
And the fifth, perhaps most important, is forgetting the people who actually live there.
A home isn’t a photograph.
It is supposed to be used.
There should be somewhere to put down a cup. Somewhere for a child to sit. Somewhere for the cat to inevitably sleep. There should be food on the table and a chair that gets pulled out slightly because somebody has just got up for another helping.
Leave room for life.
How can you make festive decorating feel more personal?
Tell the story of your house.
Use your grandmother’s bowl if you have one. Put flowers in something that wasn’t technically designed to hold flowers. Bring out the plates you inherited. Use the tablecloth that reminds you of another house. Cook something that makes you think of home.
This is where festive decorating becomes more than decoration.
It becomes memory.
For me, the loveliest festive homes aren’t the ones with the most beautiful things. They are the ones where you can tell somebody has lived there for a while. Where the flowers aren’t perfectly arranged. Where the brass has acquired a little patina. Where the table is slightly crowded because dinner has arrived.
A beautiful home should not look untouched.
Especially during the festive season.
The Trumatter way of decorating for the festive season
I think a festive home should feel generous rather than decorated.
Bring out what you love. Move things around. Buy flowers. Cook something wonderful. Put on the lamps. Use the good glasses on an ordinary Tuesday. Invite people over even if the house isn’t perfect.
And resist the temptation to fill every corner simply because it is a festival.
The most beautiful festive decorating is not really about adding more.
It is about making more of what is already there.
A little light.
A little colour.
A table that makes you want to sit down.
Flowers that smell like the season.
Old things that have been waiting in cupboards.
And a house that, when everyone finally arrives, feels less like it has been decorated for them and more like it has been waiting for them.
