Red and aqua Christmas shelf decor may not be the most traditional way to decorate for the holidays, but it can add a beautiful and cozy cottage feel to your home! Get inspiration for using a non-traditional Christmas color palette in your own decor!
Red and Aqua Christmas Shelf Decor
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
I'm the first to admit that I have a hard time making up my mind... especially when it comes to decorating! (Just ask Donnie how many times he has hung and re-hung the art on our walls...oops! 😉 )
Take this year's Christmas decor, for example. At first I was positive that I was going to go with a neutral color palette. Red really isn't a color I use in our house much, so I figured that the neutrals would more naturally fit in with the rest of our home.
But then I kept seeing traditional Christmas decor everywhere on Instagram and on Pinterest, and it just looked so beautiful and festive! So I changed my mind and thought I'd go with classic red and green.
I started decorating these shelves with the traditional color palette in mind, but when it was all decorated, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Some of my aqua jars and decor were sitting on the coffee table, so I thought, "What could it hurt to try them out with the red?"
Well, you know me and aqua. ?
Once it was up there, I definitely wasn't going to take it down! So, surprisingly to me, an aqua and red Christmas it is this year!
I have never done such a non-traditional palette before and I worried that it would end up looking too whimsical for my taste, but I think with little touches of black included, it gives a bit of a cottage vibe, which fits in easily with the rest of our house.
(Can you spot the red and aqua art peeking in from the door in Donnie's office? He made those pieces as a child-- I didn't even plan that!)
The nice thing about incorporating the colors we typically use in our house is that I had plenty of items to fill the shelves easily-- I didn't have to buy anything new!
You can see how we created this entertainment unit with pieces from IKEA in this post.
I love "decking the halls" for Christmas, but I was already feeling like the storage bins we have for keeping our decor when it's not the holiday season were taking up plenty of space, so I knew I didn't want to add too much extra this year.
With the entertainment unit taking up the front of the living room space, there's not a great place to put the tree here, so I think I will end up putting it in the sunroom (which is just off this room) like we did last year.
Typically we put the tree up early (that's blogging life for you!), but with a recent trip, I haven't gotten around to it yet, so my guess is that it won't go up until after Thanksgiving. (Are you an early decorator? Or do you prefer to wait?)
If you're looking for tips and tricks for styling shelves, these posts can help:
Shop Our Living Room
You can see the rest of this year's Christmas decor in these posts:
Our Christmas Home Tour- Part 1
Our Christmas Home Tour- Part 2
How to Hang Christmas Wreaths on Exterior Windows
And I am delighted to be joining some of my oh-so-talented blog friends who are also sharing their mantels, shelves, and vignettes all decked out for the season, hosted by the incredible Krista from The Happy Housie!
Taryn from Taryn Whiteaker Designs is up next with her gorgeous Scandinavian-inspired mantel, and you can catch the rest of the tours via the links below!
The Happy Housie // House by Hoff // Rooms FOR Rent // The Turquoise Home
Lolly Jane // Just a Girl and Her Blog / / Taryn Whiteaker Designs / / My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
So Much Better With Age // Finding Silver Pennies // Home Made Lovely // Designthusiasm
tatertots and jello // Clean and Scentsible // All Things With Purpose // Tauni Everett
Craftberry Bush // Hallstrom Home // Rambling Renovators // Deeply Southern Home
Modern Glam // Summer Adams // Happy Happy Nester // Town and Country Living
Willow Street Interiors // Sawdust to Stitches // Life is a Party
Have a wonderful week!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
It absolutely looks amazing. You can pull anything off! I'm scared if I did that, it would just look horrible. Lol. I usually start decorating Thanksgiving Day. That is my tradition. This year's theme is farmhouse and rustic (the same as last year). That is what everyone voted on. I have 4 themes to choose from: farmhouse, turquoise and silver, purple and silver and traditional. I would have to say the farmhouse theme is my favorite. Most of my ornaments I made myself along with the Garland and bow on top. Anyway, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Oh, it sounds like it will be beautiful, Julie! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! Enjoy! <3
~Abby =)
I love the red and aqua + it's like an updated take on traditional!
Thanks so much, Tanya! I'm loving it! 🙂 Hope you're having a wonderful week! <3
~Abby =)
So pretty, Abby! Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
Thanks so much, friend! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! <3
~Abby =)
The red and aqua look so cheerful together.
Thank you! Definitely different for me, but I'm loving it! 🙂 Hope you're having an awesome week! <3
~Abby =)
So beautiful, Abby! I love the bright colors! So cheerful and holiday-ready! xo
Thanks, sweet girl! Happy Wednesday! <3
~Abby =)
Red and turquoise is such a classic look. I love it.
Aw, thank you, friend!! Hope you're having a great week! <3
~Abby =)
Love that it has blue and who says you have to be traditional? Gorgeous Abby. Thanks for sharing and being a part of the blog hop.
Thanks so much for having me, friend! Hope you're having a great week! <3
~Abby =)
I'm in love with your color scheme, Abby! So fresh but still perfectly festive and cozy!
Thanks, sweet girl! Hope you're having a wonderful week! <3
~Abby =)
Your shelf decor is so pretty, Abby! I love the pops of red with the aqua, so beautiful.
Hugs, Jamie
Thanks so much, sweet friend! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! <3
~Abby =)
It looks so beautiful and cheerful!
Aw, thanks so much, Kristin! Hope you have a great week! <3
~Abby =)
The red and aqua work so nicely together, Abby! Never would have thought to pair those two colors but they look really beautiful.
Aw, thanks so much, Alix! Definitely different for me, but I'm loving it! 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
~Abby =)