The 5 Senses of Holiday Design
For many of us, the winter holidays are a time we design, decorate and host others in our homes. Many of our holiday decorations hold deep symbolism that can be traced to religious and spiritual beliefs, cultural histories and traditions, or more recent family traditions and memories... In short, each households style is very personal to them. Whether preparing for a holiday party with friends and acquaintances, your families traditional gathering, or just that neighbor who stopped by to bring you a plate of cookies, this tends to be the time of year we all put a little extra effort into our decorating and home design.
Usually when we think about holiday decorating we focus on the visual, what is aesthetically pleasing and fits with our traditions and the way we celebrate the season. However, the most well thought out designs create a truly immersive experience. As I encourage you to embrace the 5 Senses of Holiday Design, I think back to one of my earliest lessons in immersive design which came from a somewhat unexpected source, Walt Disney World. While many don’t even realize it in the moment, Disney Imagineers were (and continue to be) pioneers at immersive design using all of your senses. When walking through a Disney park, if you pay attention you will see the subtle transtions from one land to another so there is never a jolt of confusion. While waiting in line for a ride like Pirates of the Caribbean you may notice that the smell fits the old barracks you are walking through, or that while walking from country to country in epcot’s world showcase the sounds (both music and “natural sounds”) match the space you are in, and who can forget the opportunity to both smell and taste a beast of a smoked turkey leg in frontierland. This immersion that I first experienced at 7 years old helped shape the way I look at design and the way I encourage others to design and plan.
Sight
When considering the visual for your Holiday Design, figure out your style but don’t be so tied to one style that you lose the sentimentality. Our home is a collage of bright sparkle, and more natural elements. We do use ornaments (as seen here) that make the Christmas Tree shine, but these are complimented by many others (below) that have sentimental meaning. Both my partners family and mine have traditions surrounding a yearly ornament, and we started our own tradition to always pick an ornament together when we travel. We also have a number of other decorations through the house that merge aesthetics and family history, you will find wooden toys and sleighs built by my grandfather, antique christmas books because of our love of reading and collecting old books, and even a felted Emmet Otter, ready for his jug-band christmas representing my favorite childhood Christmas special.
Sound
Incorporating sound into your Holiday design is likely something you already do without considering it. Whether you are curating a Christmas playlist, or breaking out the vinyl albums your family has played for decades, this is the foundation of your holiday sound design. In our home this is layered with the sleigh bells we add to each door and the crackling fire we like to keep lit in the fireplace.
Smell
The simple answer here is to invite in new smells, many do this with oil diffusers or scented candles (my personal favorite for this time of year is Bath & Body Works Hot Cocoa & Cream, it’s more subtle than many scented candles and smells like cocoa cooking on the stove). If you aren’t a fan of artificial scents (many scented candles are just too much for me) there are some other ways I use to introduce smell into my holiday design. Obviously a live Christmas tree will bring in the fresh pine scent into your home, if you can’t have a live tree or just don’t want to deal with the clean up consider a live wreath or boughs of greenery on the mantle, these will both bring in the fresh pine scent without the tree. when doing the deep clean before Christmas decorating I also have found Method brand wood cleaner does a great job on furniture and floors and has a rich almond scent, perfect for this time of year. This is also a time where food scents layer with everything else. Keeping a pot of coffee on, or some cinnamon sticks and cloves in a boiling pot of water on the stove top will make your home welcoming and smell great. (of course baking cookies or bread will also do the same trick as well as helping with the next sense!)
Taste
With guests coming over both planned or unplanned, it is great to have a tasty treat on hand to showcase your welcoming home. Whether you have a favorite family recipe, or a great one you have found online (check out my October blog post for ginger molasses cookies!) this is the time of year when it is perfect to offer a guest a cup of coffee or tea, some fresh cookies, and time to warm up and catch up. If you are hosting an event create a variety of options from sweet and savory snacks to fresh veggies and new surprises for people to try.
Touch
During the colder months of the year, touch comes into play a few different ways. Layer your home design with plush pillows, soft blankets and even a few cute snuggly characters. If you have a fireplace or a wood stove, maintaining a warm spot for guests to take the chill off when arriving to your home can be the most welcoming option there is, while they don’t “touch” the fire its warmth will touch them. In my days of apartment living, I always kept an electric throw on the couch through the winter seasons for anyone to use when arriving to my home. I also love offering someone a hot mug of coffee, tea, or cocoa that they can wrap their cold hands around.
