Have you ever wondered how to create that old-world Manor House feeling at Christmas? I have too, so this year I decided to try it in our own home.
I was drawn to the way old French chateaus and manor houses are decorated for Christmas. There is something so luxurious about them, but it isn’t necessarily because there are lots of decorations. It is the combination of candlelight, greenery, mirrors, large arrangements, a little sparkle and a few carefully chosen details.
That was the feeling I wanted to recreate at home. I wanted the decorations to feel luxurious and elegant, but not make the house feel overdecorated.
The main idea was to use fewer, larger decorative elements rather than lots of small ornaments. I wanted the decorations to feel intentional, while still allowing the architecture and the room itself to shine.
Since my home is already quite light, with lots of white and gold, I decided to stay with that palette. I used gold, champagne and white, together with different shades of beige and brown. I also wanted to use as many decorations as possible that I already had at home.
Christmas decorating doesn’t have to mean buying an entirely new collection every year.
Chateau Christmas Tree Ingredients
The easiest way to create this look was to choose a few key elements and repeat them throughout the decorations.
For my approximately 9-foot Christmas tree, I used:
- about 2,000-2,500 warm LED lights (wrapped tightly around each branch)
- 10 pearl strands in two different sizes
- 10 crystal-covered branches or picks
- 20 bows
- about 50 white, gold and champagne ornaments
- 10 icicles
- about 15 other decorative ornaments
(keep in mind that the back of the tree is not decorated)
Most of these were already in my collection from previous years.
The pearls became one of the main details of the whole look, and I repeated them on the mantel and the hallway mirror as well. Having a few elements that appear in different places makes it much easier to create a cohesive look throughout the house.
Decorating the Christmas Tree
The tree was the starting point for everything else.
I began with the lights and then added the larger decorative elements, leaving some space between them so that the green branches would still be visible.
One of the key elements I wanted to use was pearls. I had seen how beautifully they could be arranged on a Christmas tree in long, swooping sections, almost like a garland, and I knew they would work perfectly with the old-world feeling I was after.
I didn’t want to use a huge amount, though, so I came up with a simple way to make a smaller quantity go further.
I bought about 7 feet of the larger size and about 10 feet of the smaller one. I cut both strands into sections and tied the two sizes together, then added a bow to each end.
Because I had attached a piece of wire to the ends, it was very easy to secure each section to the tree and shape it into the swooping effect I wanted.
I really didn’t need that many pearls to get the look. Once the sections were spread evenly around the tree, they made much more of an impact than I expected.
I also repeated the pearl detail in some of the other decorations around the house.
Another element I definitely wanted was sparkle. Chateau-style Christmas decorating needs a little bit of shimmer, so alongside the lights I used branches covered in little crystals, or picks. I had about eight of them and spread them around the tree.
The more the merrier, of course, but in this case I didn’t have any more and I wasn’t going to buy more just to fill the tree.
Personally, I actually like seeing some of the green branches between the decorations. I don’t want every inch of the tree covered. If you prefer a fuller tree, though, you can simply add more of the same elements until you get the look you want.
If you want to know more about the whole process of decorating a Christmas tree, read this post: How to Decorate a Christmas Tree (and Mistakes to Avoid)
Decorating the Mantel
Once the tree was finished, I wanted all the other decorations to follow the same direction.
The second area I decorated was the fireplace mantel.
For the base, I used four different greenery garlands that I already had from previous years. If you want an even fuller look, you could easily use more. The garlands are really just there to create the structure, so this is also a good place to use what you already have rather than buying something new.
You can also use a real greenery garland, but keep in mind that in a warm house, it will only last for a short time. You’ll find the tutorial here: How to Make a Real Greenery Garland for Christmas
Since my mantel is made of wood, I fastened the garlands using a combination of string, wire and a staple gun. This worked really well and kept everything securely in place.
If you don’t want to put staples into your mantel, Command hooks would also be an easy option and would make the garlands much easier to install and remove.
Then I started adding decorations in much the same way as I had on the tree.
First came the lights, followed by the other decorative elements.
I usually don’t add traditional baubles to a mantel garland. Instead, I prefer using more unusual shaped ornaments, which makes the arrangement look more like a floral display than a Christmas tree.
I used the pearl strands here as well, arranged symmetrically like they were on the tree, together with the crystal-covered branches, pinecones and gold apples.
Because the pearls and bows were already such a strong part of the arrangement, the mantel garland really didn’t need much else.
Adding Antique Wall Sconces
There was one more thing I found that I knew would be perfect for this look: two antique-style plug-in wall sconces from a second-hand store.
I immediately knew they would add exactly the kind of old-world character I was looking for, but I didn’t want to permanently install them or make holes in the wall.
Instead, I came up with a very simple temporary solution.
I placed a white push pin right where the wall meets the ceiling and tied clear fishing line around it. I then hung each sconce from the fishing line, so from a distance it looked as though the sconces were actually attached to the wall.
You really had to get quite close to notice that they weren’t mounted to the wall at all, but were simply hanging from the ceiling with clear line.
Because the sconces were plug-in, I could hide the cords behind the greenery garland and they became a very easy temporary decoration.
Carrying the Christmas Look Through the House
When I decorate our home for Christmas, I also like to think about the house as a whole.
That doesn’t mean that every surface needs to have decorations on it. For me, it means distributing the larger decorative elements or clusters throughout the home so that the Christmas decorations feel connected from room to room.
I even changed the accent pillow covers on the sofa to champagne-colored velvet.
It was a small change, but it helped connect the room to the Christmas tree. The champagne color picked up the tones from the decorations, while the velvet added another layer of texture and a little bit of luxury. Because I wasn’t introducing another strong color or pattern, it looked intentional rather than like something that was only there for Christmas.
I also wanted the larger decorative elements to feel balanced throughout the room. The tree is in one corner, while the fireplace mantel is on the other side, so both became important parts of the overall composition. From there, I carried some of the same details into the rest of the house. I decorated the large mirror in the hallway, and even the bathroom mirror got a little decoration so that no room was completely left out.
Since the tree and mantel were already quite dramatic, I kept the rest of the rooms much simpler. I used lights, candles and an IKEA STRÅLA window light.
For me, chateau-inspired Christmas decorating is much more about supporting the architecture that is already there and creating something quietly luxurious. It isn’t about having colourful decorations everywhere competing for attention.
That is why I hung simple strings of lights above the windows along the length of the living room. They worked surprisingly well with the pearl swoops on the tree and helped carry the same idea throughout the space.
The result was a home that felt decorated for Christmas without every corner shouting about it. The decorations felt like part of the room rather than something that had simply been added on top.
The Hallway Mirror
With the hallway mirror, I went a little wild.
A lot of the good decorations had already been used up and I didn’t want to buy anything new just for this arrangement. Then I found some dried hydrangeas in a vase at home and thought I would give them a try.
They gave an old greenery garland a completely new life.
This is also a good reminder that you don’t always need a perfect, brand-new garland to create a beautiful arrangement. Sometimes you are only using the garland to create the structure, and most of it won’t even be visible underneath everything else. So don’t be afraid to use a garland that has seen better days.
To create a connection with the rest of the decorations, I added some leftover pearl strands and a few pinecones.
I also wanted to create an even stronger pearl effect, so I used a glue gun to attach some old white Christmas ornaments together and tucked them into the arrangement. They created a sort of oversized pearl cluster without me having to buy anything new.
The effect was actually quite interesting.
Quite a few guests ended up taking photos of this particular mirror arrangement because it looked so different from the usual Christmas decorations.
And I think that is one of the best things about decorating with what you already have. Sometimes the most unexpected combinations end up being the ones that make the biggest impression.
