If this isn’t your first Christmas with Silver Mushroom, you’ll know that The Holiday is our all time favourite Christmas film. Isn’t it everyone’s? I know I’ve found myself dreaming of a holiday house swap and ending up in a charming cottage. Truth be told I wouldn’t complain about the charming man either. Our hearts just about shattered last year when we discovered that Rosehill cottage wasn’t the old cottage of our dreams, but a ‘fraud’ constructed in a week. Thankfully, we’ve finally recovered. If nothing else, building Rosehill cottage and creating the quintessential English countryside home that we dream of highlights the beauty of interior design. You can work with any starting point to create a new feel or style, using the right decor and inspiration.
Before you ever so wrongly accuse me of researching for and writing this blog as an excuse to pop a Christmas film on the TV and call it ‘work’ – there’s method in the madness. All of these interiors hopefully will give a sprinkle of inspiration for your Christmas decor style. Rather than rehashing all of our old findings, I’ll link you to last year’s “Inside The Cottage From The Holiday’ blog, and get started on our other favourite Christmas films for interiors lovers.
Little Women (2019)
The 2019 adaptation of Little Women, much like The Holiday, leaves you lusting over a countryside cottage filled with vintage patchwork quilts and cosy spaces. Although the wood-clad Orchard House in Little Women is quite special in that it did, and still does exist. It’s undoubtedly an enchanting style inspiration for anyone following the cottage-core aesthetic; a concept that draws on simplistic, natural and hand-crafted beauty.
Though not strictly a Christmas film, it’s impossible to miss the stunningly simple Christmas decorations sprinkled around the old cottage. So we’re sticking to it being a wonderful Christmas film for interiors lovers. Garlands studded with dried orange slices drape from every mantel and door, the trees are dressed with candles, and paper stars hang from the ceiling. Whilst mostly being a homage to the financial situation of the ‘Little Women’, the use of all natural decorations also highlights the possibility of filling your house with beautiful handmade, zero-waste decor.
Home Alone (1990)
Home Alone illuminates the festive nostalgia of a traditional Christmas, particularly that of a middle class suburban American family in the 1990’s. From the Christmas ornaments, to the bedspreads and the clothes on the cast, a red and green theme cohesively features throughout Home Alone. We at Silver Mushroom are more partial to a modern neutral or rustic brass Christmas colour palette. But, even we can’t deny there’s a certain charm to a bold colour theme, especially when executed with such commitment.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
This is a rather ‘out-there’ suggestion for realistic Christmas decor inspiration, but my Grinch-loving heart must include it. The 2000 adaptation of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas runs that many times in my house during the festive season that I’ve unintentionally made the rest of my family hate it. For any Christmas interiors lover, immersing yourself in Whoville may ignite your imagination and inspire a whimsical, over-the-top take on Christmas. Whether young Grinch has inspired you to make a wholesome home-made angel Christmas tree decoration, or Martha May Whoville has convinced you to one-up your porch light display, you can draw on the magic of Whooville. Who better to take Christmas interior advice from than those who love Christmas the most?
A Christmas Carol (And All It’s Adaptations)
Whilst there are a plethora of A Christmas Carol adaptations, no matter whether the Muppets or Disney’s A Christmas Carol make your favourite, each one is truly evocative of a Victorian London Christmas. A continuing motif throughout is the contrast between the cold darkness, the white snow, and the dimly lit interiors.
Contrary to the belief that Bing Crosby is responsible for the dream of a white Christmas, it is said that Charles Dickens’ description of a snow covered London largely inspired the annual obsession. With new Christmas films popping up each year, it’s now rare to see one without a sprinkle of snow here or there. Contrasting to the snowy exteriors, each version of A Christmas Carol heavily features fire scenes, rooms lit solely by candle light and centrepiece candle displays on the Christmas dinner tablescape. These elements are primarily representative of the harsh reality of English Victorian winters. However, on a lighter note, they can also inspire a focus on warm lighting to create ambiance in your home. All interiors lovers know that the best way to keep the snowy frost outside, and the cosy atmosphere inside is mood-setting lighting and calming scents.
