Cozy Christmas Decor Ideas for a Rustic Natural and Neutral Style

Are you looking for some decorating inspiration for the holiday season? Today I’m sharing some rustic natural and neutral style décor ideas for Christmas.

Are you a “before or after Thanksgiving” Christmas decorator?

I’ve JUST started decorating for Christmas. In fact, if you came over for a visit today you would see a clean and decorated living room space.

But you’d also see the rest of the house completely torn apart as I continue to decorate the rest of the house.

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The Celebrate Christmas Home Tour

Today I’m joining Leen at Sand Dollar Lane for her Celebrating Christmas blog hop, which is a week of holiday décor ideas and inspiration from 29 bloggers. Be sure to see all the home tours at the end of my post.

If you just came over from Marianne at Songbird, I’m so happy you took the time to stop by. Didn’t you love her beautiful Christmas decorating ideas and how simple they were to create?

Welcome to My Home

If this is your first time on my blog, welcome.

Shiplap and Shells is a home and garden blog from the Pacific Northwest. I have a passion for gardening, vintage décor, and boating on the Puget Sound.

I hope you take some time to get to know me and see what Shiplap and Shells is all about.

Christmas Living Room Décor

I’m starting the holiday season off with a neutral living room home tour and I’m so excited to show you what I’ve been up to.

You can see last year’s Christmas tours HERE and HERE.

Be sure to come back and visit for 2 more Christmas home tours after Thanksgiving. I’ll be sharing my kitchen, office studio, and 2 bedrooms.

Christmas Color Palette and Theme

Each year I try to change up my Christmas decorating theme and color scheme from the previous holiday season.

When it comes to traditional red Christmas decorations, I tend to leave them out of my cottage-style living room and usually gravitate more toward blue, green, silver, and gold.

This year, I’ve decided to create more of a rustic natural, and neutral holiday décor vibe. A neutral color palette felt more calming and gentle on the eye which is something I really need my home to be during the holidays.

Here are some neutral Christmas décor ideas and inspiration for you.

The Christmas Tree

This is the first time I’ve put up a flocked Christmas tree and I’m really loving the change.

If this is your first time here, I have a 1600-square-foot beach cottage and literally don’t have room for a big tree.

A 6-7 foot pencil Christmas tree is perfect for this space.

I had a completely different idea for my tree this year but you know how things go. As I started decorating the tree, I realized it looked more formal than I had thought it would.

We live in a 1920 cottage so I tend to go with a more casual vibe so I decided to tone the tree down a bit.

The Tree Decorations

I guess you could call this a winter wonderland theme.

New Christmas tree ornaments, like these white birds, gave my flocked tree the special detailing I was looking for.

Here are some other decorations I added to my Christmas tree.

Faux blueberries and leaves were placed on top of the Christmas tree and used as a topper.

This tree collar was bought at Target 2 years ago. I used a cream knit throw to hide the tree stand inside the tree collar.

If you are putting up a faux or artificial Christmas tree, using fresh cedar branches or a Tree Farm candle will give you that much-needed tree scent gives you that Christmas tree smell.

Using Greenery and Other Natural Elements

When choosing to use neutral colors for the holiday, greenery is such a great way to add a pop of color to any space.

Mini Trees

I brought in different sizes of tabletop trees on the buffet. A white ceramic container and vintage silver cups and trays were used to display my faux trees.

Garlands

My new 60″ faux Afloral Real Touch Norfolk Pine Garland looks so realistic and looks great on the buffet with Christmas lights. Sadly, the garlands are sold out at both the Afloral site and Amazon.

I haven’t had a chance to go out and forage fresh branches but will add some to the faux mix.

Green Wreaths

Simple green wreaths are great for a pop of color in a neutral space. I bought a 24″ faux Real Touch Norfolk Pine Wreath this season and love it so much that I decided to leave it bare.

Natural Elements From the Outdoors

Natural elements such as fresh greenery and pine cones are my favorite things to use at Christmas time.

I’ve tucked in both fresh and faux greenery to my stockings, snowshoes, vintage roller skates, and a dough bowl full of ornaments.

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Textures are a Must for a Rustic Natural and Neutral Style

When it comes to the best neutral Christmas décor I’m all about textures…all kinds of textures.

Whether it’s a chunky knit stocking or a vintage wicker picnic basket, it’s so important to add different textures to your space.

My Oversized Basket

I’m head over heels in love with some new pieces I picked up at the beginning of the month. I’ll be honest, once I got this oversized basket home, I wasn’t sure I had made a very good decision but once I got it hung on my vintage windows and added a Christmas tree, I was sold!

Textured Pillows and Throws

Using these textured throw pillows and chunky knit throw gives our home cozy and warm vibes throughout the Christmas season.

Wooden Dough Bowl and Textured Ornaments

Gathering ornaments in this vintage wooden dough bowl on my living room coffee table creates a gorgeous focal point.

A few of the white textured ornaments feel like they are made from tissue paper. They are the perfect neutral décor for the holidays.

Christmas Bells and Driftwood

I’ve never decorated with bells before but was really excited when I found these. This piece of driftwood was just lying in the backyard so I brought it in to hang the bells on the cabinet for the holidays.

My Favorite Christmas Reindeer

Some of you have offered to buy this cute little reindeer head that I’ve hung year after year. Perfect decorative accents like a wrapped scarf around his head and greenery with bells give him that special holiday vibe, don’t you think?

Vintage Finds are Always a Christmas Favorite

The yellow-striped vintage sled and ice skates in the corner behind my Christmas tree are a winning combination. I have a couple of other sleds that I’m putting out near my greenhouse this year.

A great antique mall on a girl’s trip to Oregon last week had so many vintage finds. I couldn’t believe all of the vintage ornaments I ended up taking home!

They aren’t on my tree yet, but they will definitely be mixed in soon.

The vintage snowshoes are a find from an antique mall we visited on a boat trip to Olympia this month.

Even though I haven’t added décor in this neutral living room like bottle brush trees and wooden trees, you’ll probably see them in other spaces throughout the house.

These trees along with basic faux pine trees can be kept up through the winter season as well.

Our Celebrate Christmas Home Tour continues with Jayne at Chalking Up Success. I’m always inspired by my friend and I know you are going to love her Christmas kitchen decorating ideas. Be sure to check out the rest of the tours below.

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a tour of my rustic natural and neutral décor-style home for Christmas. I can’t wait to show you the rest of my home after Thanksgiving.

If you have any questions or additional suggestions, feel free to share them in the comments below. And be sure to share this blog post link with anyone who loves holiday home decor ideas.

Until next time,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Celebrate Christmas Home Tours

Sand Dollar Lane  //  2 Bees in a Pod  //  At Home with Kristy  //  Exquisitely Unremarkable
  Our Crafty Mom  //  Hearth and Vine

Zucchini Sisters  //  Postcards from the Ridge  //  Southern Crush at Home  //  Amy Sadler Designs
 Pasha is Home  //  Simple Nature Decor

Worthing Court  //  The Tattered Pew  //  Cottage in the Mitten  //  DIY Beautify
Thistle Key Lane  //  At Lane and High  //  Feet Under My Table

White Arrows Home // Aratari at Home // White Lilac Farmhouse  // Cottage on Bunker Hill 

My Family Thyme  //  Southern Home and Hospitality  //  Songbird //  Shiplap and Shells
Chalking Up Success  //  Pure Happy Home

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