My Nordic and Japanese Vibes Christmas Home: Minimalist Christmas Decor Idea + Minimalist Advent Wreath [ 2023 ].
Following my two recently shared Christmas Edits (The Minimalist Christmas Decor Edit and My Tiny Christmas Gift Guide for Decor and Interior Lovers), it’s time to share my own Christmas decoration concept for this year. It's minimalist, elegant, easy to repeat, fits great my favorite interior styles: japandi, Japanese and Nordic relaxed minimalism. And you don’t have to spend a fortune on tons of baubles and other decorative pieces.
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I’m not a DIY-addict, but this minimalist, elegant, and unusual Christmas decor idea is very simple and easy to implement, here is the list of what you need and then the “manual” on how to implement, with some tips that will make your life easier:
Decorative pieces to buy:
1) Drop-shaped pendants (some call them “tear-shaped“) from ARKET, available in their online store and in their offline shops (I bought mine in Munich). I bought 10 drops (they are sold in sets, so I have 5 sets x 2 drops in each set), all in white transparent glass (also available in green).
As an alternative have a look at these Tears Christmas Tree hangers by Broste Copenhagen, they are available in different colors. Also spotted them here.
2) A bunch of candles. It’s up to you, of course, whether to use thin tall candles or thick “column” candles, how many of them, etc. I simply took the set of candles I had already at home: FENOMEN candles from Ikea, 7 pieces of 4 different heights/thicknesses.
As an option, I was thinking about these candles by ester & erik. If you are worried about using real candles (small kids running around or whatever…), remember that you always have the option to use LED-candles or smth like these beautiful Ignus light objects from Audo Copenhagen (also here).
3) Initially, there were three different options on my mind: with branches in a vase, with a minimalist wooden advent candleholder (I have this one), and the last - with candles. I tried all three and the last one turned out to be the closest to “my kind of styling“ - relaxed minimalism with some Japanese vibes (subtlety and elegance).
What else you’ll need:
1) a ladder! :)) Our ceiling height is 3.40m, so I had to use the tallest ladder in the house…
2) Long, thin but strong threads (or a fishing line if you want the attachments to be completely invisible and the drops to appear as if they are hanging in the air).
3) Strong, wide tape (of course, you could screw many hooks into the ceiling, but I prefer to use simpler methods for seasonal decorations).
4) Scissors.
5) Someone to assist you, especially if the ceiling is high and the ladder is unstable. Even from the top step of the ladder, I had to stretch upward and sideways, so I was very grateful for my husband's presence below.
How to do:
1) This minimalist Xmas installation doesn’t necessarily have to be above the dining table - it can also be above a sideboard, windowsill, console, or a side/coffee table, etc.
2) The main tip about hanging these glass pendants - do not hang them all at the same height, in a straight row, or within exactly the same distance from each other - this concept needs a bit of a mess and doesn’t have to look too refined!
3) Don't attach the pendants to the threads right away, and don't cut the threads into different pieces beforehand. First, climb the ladder and use tape to attach the required number of equally long threads to the ceiling. All threads should have extra length (I attached 8 threads, and their length was planned so that they all touched the table surface).
4) Check the strength of the attachments - lightly pull the threads down; the tape should be attached very securely (I used wide white “painter's” tape).
5) Go down :) Place the second part of the future installation (candles, branches in a vase, advent wreath, etc.) on the table (or the surface where you've decided to create this minimalist Christmas installation), and plan the height of each Drop. I tied them lighlty, leaving long tails of thread, and only when all the Drops were positioned (and repositioned several times…) correctly, I tied secure knots and cut off the excess length of the threads.
6) Don't hang the pendants too low above the candles!
7) Regarding candles: It's not visible in the photo, but none of the candles are directly under the pendants! I tried, but the pendants started to heat up significantly, even if they were hanging 10-15cm above the candle. So, all candles are slightly off-center from each Drop, and they do not heat up!
Minimalist Advent Wreath Idea (also looks perfectly with glass Drops hanging above.
Update: After sharing the photo below of my very simple Advent wreath (Adventkranz) on Instagram and receiving many positive reactions, alongside the usual questions, I realized that this Advent wreath idea could be a nice addition to this post dedicated to minimalist and simple Christmas decor ideas.
The only things you need to recreate this minimalist and elegant Asparagus Advent Wreath are:
1) Asparagus Wreath, they are available like…everywhere, I bought 2 of mine on Amazon last year, also have a look here.
2) Luna Candleholder by Applicata - I have it in a smaller size, in oak. I also have their Luna Tray in a bigger size in smoked oak, they are interchangeable - you can connect the candles to both.
3) Any black candles of appropriate diameter (mine are from Applicata too).
That’s all! Light up the candles and enjoy the view :)
