A cool festive month to give you a warm glow

Indoors and outdoors, comfortable and spectacular

That sense of being wrapped up snugly in your new winter coat, your breath emerging as clouds of steam, mittens on, flushed cheeks, home-made soup waiting for you at home. We love the cold clear days that this month brings. Sunlight glitters through the windows, creating beautiful shadows, whilst the rays warm things up. Dress December up comfortably and spectacularly. We enjoy lovely company half indoors, half outdoors. It’s fresh, but there’s so much to give us a warm glow.

Indoors and outdoors

Humans are not made to sit indoors all the time. Fresh air perks us up. It puts colour in your cheeks and make your eyes shine. Open the windows or French doors and let indoors and outdoors merge. You’ll cope fine with woolly sheepskins, Persian rugs, warm throws and thick cable-knit jumpers. And a good chat with your favourite people and a glass or two of wine will help as well.

You feel better with some life around you.

Place outdoor plants in baskets as a doorstop. Carefully pull the spruce out of the ground roots and all, and give it a place of honour indoors. You can buy beautiful moss at the garden centre: hello tablecloth! Then pop into the florist for a marvellous bouquet and some loose sprigs, leaves and flowers for your lovely ‘ugly’ Christmas arrangement, airy artworks, Christmas lunches and table decorations.

Colours from nature

Blue table runners contrast beautifully with autumnal and earthy colours. It’s a colour that feels rich and full. Blue manages to capture the feeling of winter in a colour. Put your man in the attractive blazer that matches your elegant dress in shades of dark blue and green. Stand back and take a look: doesn’t it feel calm and balanced? And as the proverbial cherry on the cake, add some fuchsia-coloured Azaleas and some red berries here and there to give a surprising effect.