Creative wreaths and other holiday decorating ideas for the front door ·

22 Aug 2024, 00:00

Although more people are traveling these days, many of us are still choosing to stay home for the holidays. We are also decorating sooner than ever — and in earnest. Amy Rutherford, owner of home goods store Red Barn Mercantile in Alexandria, Va., has seen Christmas decorations fly off her shelves. “I do think people are putting out their decorations earlier this year ... because they’re just ready for it,” she says.

Rutherford suggests paying extra attention to your front door when making your home festive. “Folks are still feeling the stress of the pandemic and want joy in their lives,” she says, “and decorating your front door is a good way to do it.” Rachel Gang, co-owner of Helen Olivia Flowers in Old Town Alexandria, has clients asking for custom installations, specifying dried fruits, pods, feathers and ribbons.

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A simple evergreen wreath and garland is classic, but Rutherford and Gang have some creative ideas for making the front of your home extra welcoming — for guests and neighbors. “It’s a person’s first handshake to your house,” says Taniya Nayak, interior designer and co-host of ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight.”

Freshen up the front

Nayak, who’s also a Christmas trend expert for Riverbend Home, recommends setting up a good foundation before thinking about what to put on your door. Paint your door and replace the hardware if needed, and put down a seasonal doormat. If you can’t paint, try wrapping the door like a present. Use foil wrapping paper or an outdoor tablecloth, making sure to staple it to the middle of the inner edge of your door so it still closes.

If you have a bench on a porch, you could make a snack station with water bottles and granola bars for people who deliver your packages. Put an indoor-outdoor rug under the bench and add festive pillows. Nayak once saw a vintage bicycle wrapped in lights and says a decorated wagon would be cheerful.

The beauty of live wreaths

When looking for live wreaths, skip the big-box stores and head to garden centers, Gang suggests. “You’ll get much more beautiful wreaths and garlands,” she says, such as mixed wreaths with two types of greens, including long-lasting cedar and noble fir. Add natural elements, such as dried pods, dried fruits, feathers and branches, to your live wreaths.

Also consider how much light hits your door. If it gets direct sunlight for part of the day, choose a hardier green, such as a noble fir. “Magnolia and boxwood will dry out very quickly,” Gang says. You can mist your wreath every few days to keep it fresh for the season.

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Artful artificial wreaths

If you are using a faux wreath, fill it in with ribbons and pine cones to make it more special. Nayak once turned one of her husband’s ties into an artistic ball and hung it from a wreath. “If you like candy, attach candy to it,” she says. And try using colorful ribbon. “I’m from India, so I like the rich jewel tones,” she adds.

For a more modern look, Nayak suggests spray-painting a faux wreath with a white lacquer or a silver or gray, “something that is a little more monochromatic that speaks to a modern aesthetic.” Add battery-powered string lights for flair, and tuck the battery pack behind the wreath. Look for warm white bulbs, not cool ones, Nayak says.

Wreath-hanging tips

Wreaths for a standard-size door should be 24 to 26 inches in diameter, Gang says. For hanging on a glass door, buy heavy-duty suction hooks. “They’re virtually invisible,” she says. (Suction hooks also work for windows.) For a non-glass door, wreath hooks are fine, but “we use beautiful ribbon and loop the ribbon through the wreath and staple-gun it to the top of the door, or to a Command hook on the back of the door,” she says. “I always love seeing wreaths suspended by ribbon.” Look for four-inch-wide ribbon.

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Additional greenery

For garland, make sure you hang it up the right way. If it looks funny, it’s probably upside down. Just flip it. And “whatever design you do in your wreath, you should see echoed in your garland,” so it matches, Gang says.

In lieu of a wreath, you could hang a swag, which is a teardrop-shaped bunch of greenery. Also consider refreshing planters and planter boxes. Take out fall plants and mums that are dying, and put in mixed evergreens, mixed berries and magnolia leaves. Or add topiaries on each side of your door, Nayak says.

Unconventional alternatives

Try making a wreath with materials you wouldn’t expect, Rutherford suggests. Use Christmas bulbs or other ornaments. “I just came across LED Tru-Tone, with big vintage bulbs that are fun and brightly colored,” she says. Thinking outside the wreath, Rutherford has seen doors with ice skates hanging from a hook. “That could be fun,” she says. “Hang a set of antlers with icicles hanging from it. Something as simple as that could be festive.”

Lindsey M. Roberts is a freelance writer in North Carolina.