A shoppable scheme for an elegant Nordic Christmas

Taking inspiration from the soft colour palette, folk art influences and natural elements of Nordic style, Ruth Sleightholme and Rémy Mishon add decorative festive details to elegant rooms furnished with antiques

By Ruth Sleightholme and Rémy Mishon

9 December 2022

1/5
Dining room in ‘Old White’, £52 for 2.5 litres estate emulsion, from Farrow & Ball.
Background in ‘Aquamarine Deep’, £52 for 2.5 litres absolute matt emulsion, from Little Greene Paint & Paper.
Forties Italian toleware wall light, £450 a pair, from Shiny Things London.
Bespoke garland made from winter ivy, from £25 a metre, from Poppy Sturley.
‘Flora’ birch and mahogany cabinet, by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, £28,000, from Modernity.
‘Ruffelen’ pine extendable dining table, £3,395, from Oka.
Early-Victorian painted open armchairs, by Bertram & Son, £8,950 for 6, from Robert Kime.
19th-century Swedish pine and tapestry fabric side chairs, £1,275 a pair, from Lorfords.
‘Ruhlmann’ oak wine table, £1,680, from Jamb.
On cabinet ‘World of Wonders’ ceramic 4-pint jug, by Clive Hicks-Jenkins, £185; on dining table ‘Gardener’s Arms’ ceramic 1-pint jug, £75; ‘Harlequinade’ ceramic large bowl, by Clive Hicks-Jenkins, £155; and baubles, £30 each; all from Sussex Lustreware.
‘Savannah Aptware’ ceramic chargers, £120 each; and dinner plates, £90 each; all from Fiona Finds.
‘Spica’ glass goblets, £130 each; stem glasses, £80 each; all by Miyo Oyabu, from Mouki Mou.
Stonewashed Italian cutlery, from £6 for a dinner fork, from RE.
Black ceramic side plates, £34 each, from Ali Hewson.
‘Regency Red Gingham’ Christmas crackers, £75 for 6, from Nancy & Betty Studio.
‘Orange’ metal toleware candlesticks, £36 each, from Host Home.
Medium taper dinner candles (black), £16 for 6, from Candle Flair.
19th-century ceramic ice pail in the form of an urn, £3,900, from Tarquin Bilgen.
On side table Ceramic bowl, £65; ‘Extra Fine’ linen napkins (rust), £15 each, all from Fiona Finds; with ‘Fortnum’s Chocolate Ginger Selection’, £33 for 230g, from Fortnum & Mason.
On bottom shelf of built-in corner cabinet Ceramic ‘Pedestal Compote’ (yellow swirl), by Katrin Moye, £855, from The Shop Floor Project.
Presents in ‘Persimmon’ and ‘18th Century Romance’ wrapping papers, £15 for 5 sheets; with ribbons, satin ‘Swiss’ (water mint, cottage rose), £12 a 25-metre roll; ‘Crushed Velvet’ (russet brown), £15 a 10-metre roll; and taffeta ‘Wire Edged’ (blue), £18 a 20-metre roll; all from Choosing Keeping
Christopher Horwood
2/5
‘Old White’, as before, from Farrow & Ball.
Curtain in ‘Strawberry Crown’ (belladonna), by Sophie Coryndon, linen, £300 a metre, from Soane.
Paper decorations, as before, from RE.
Prize Radish artwork, by Denise Allan, £695 framed, from The Shop Floor Project.
Bespoke painted cabinet, from £8,500 for similar, from Edward Collinson.
Victorian deep-buttoned armchair in French linen, £4,795, from Robert Kime.
Swedish baroque pine centre table, £2,950, from Anton&K Decorative Antiques.
‘Aurora’ footstool (artichoke), £430 including fabric, from Ceraudo.
‘Antique Wallpaper’ notebook, £50; on chair ‘Swiss’ satin ribbon (cottage rose), £12 a 25-metre roll; both from Choosing Keeping.
‘Aptware’ dinner plate, £90; and bowl, £65 (and both combined to form cakestand); all from Fiona Finds.
Palette knife, £8.50; and bundt mould, £9.50; both from The Vintage Kitchen Store.
Christmas cards, from £10.50 for 5, from Cambridge Imprint; and from £3 each, from Pentreath & Hall.
‘Medium Black Grapes’ platter, £95; ‘Large Oval’ platter, £270; both from Ali Hewson.
Swiss crockery, £230 for an 11-piece set, from Lorfords.
Papier mâché trays, ‘Black-Winged Stilt’, £625; and ‘Prize Pigeon’, £650; and Prize Turnip artwork, £695; all by Denise Allan; ‘The Toy Horse’ and ‘The Rider’ plates, by Emily Mitchell, £325 each; all from The Shop Floor Project.
‘World of Wonders’ 4-pint jug, £185; and ‘Harlequinade’ large bowl, £155; both by Clive Hicks-Jenkins; ‘Gardener’s Arms’ and ‘Spring’ 1-pint jugs, £75 each; and baubles, £30 each; all from Sussex Lustreware.
Presents in wrapping paper, £15 for 5 sheets; ribbon, from £12 a 25-metre roll; all from Choosing Keeping
Christopher Horwood
3/5
‘Old White’, as before, from Farrow & Ball.
Door in ‘Aquamarine Light’, £72 for 2.5 litres intelligent eggshell, from Little Greene Paint & Paper.
‘Feather’ waste wood and resin bracket, £220, from A.Prin Art & Frames.
Daffodils I and Daisies I collages, by Kate Black, £385 each framed, from The Shop Floor Project.
Brown kraft paper and white tissue paper star, snowflake and globe decorations, from £2 each, from RE.
Sixties Swedish flatweave rug, by Ingegerd Silow, £5,850, from Robert Stephenson Handmade Carpets.
Swedish pine sofa, £2,450, from Arcadia Antiques; with backrest covered in ‘Mid Weight’ (teal spot on milk), linen, £171 a metre, from Rose Uniacke.
Ash modernist occasional table, £1,950 a pair, from Tarquin Bilgen.
‘9ft Norway Spruce’ Christmas tree, £90, from Osborne’s Christmas Trees.
Ceramic candlestick, £65; on table ‘Six Spouted’ candlehat with tulipiere (black), £620; both from Ali Hewson.
Medium taper dinner candles (black), £16 for 6, from Candle Flair.
Linen cushions with antique gold thread embroidery on silk velvet, £850; with 19th-century floral embroidery details, £1,230; both by Boubix Opus, from Mouki Mou.
On Christmas tree Fabric ribbons torn from ‘Utility Tan 9oz’, £16.50 a metre; ‘Rose Soft Poplin’, £12 a metre; ‘Handloom Burnt Umber – Natural Dye’, £10 a metre; ‘8oz Organic Sanded Twill’ (ironmonger lane), £15 a metre; all cotton, from Merchant & Mills.
‘Warm White’ LED fairy lights, £38 for a 40-metre string, from Lights4Fun.
Paper and natural straw garlands (white), £25 each, from Folka.
Paper Christmas star tree topper (natural tan), £18.90, from Broste Copenhagen.
Suede Chelsea boots (navy), by Blundstone, £145, from Toast
Christopher Horwood
4/5
‘Aquamarine Mid’, as before, from Little Greene Paint & Paper.
Foliage and berry wreath, made during workshop, £175 per person, with Poppy Sturley.
Swedish flatweave rug, by Ingegard Silow, £2,850, from Robert Stephenson Handmade Carpets.
Oak four poster, by Heals, £2,650, from Max Rollitt.
Bed curtains and eiderdown in ‘Bergamot Leaf ’ (sorolla red), linen, £260 a metre, from Soane.
Victorian pine washstand, £625, from Howe London.
19th-century birdseye maple chair in brown linen, £9,000 a pair, from Rose Uniacke.
‘Bandol’ cotton bed linen, from £28 for a standard Oxford pillowcase, from Cologne & Cotton.
Hand-painted Kashmiri candlestick lamp, £595; and ‘Hizakura 10” linen lampshade, £515; both from Robert Kime.
Hand-painted wooden horses, £28 each, from Folka.
‘It’s Showtime’ fabric Christmas cracker, by Forever Crackers, £30 each, from Not on the High Street.
Hand-carved wooden cows, from £13 each, from Folka. French toy bull on wheels, £850 a pair, from Lorfords.
Toleware tray, £375, from Lorfords.
‘Picardie’ glass tumbler, by Duralex, £6.50 for 4, from Heal’s.
‘World of Wonders’ plate, by Clive Hicks-Jenkins, £50, from Sussex Lustreware; with ‘Vanille Kipferl’ biscuits, £5 for 5, from Kipferl.
Paper chain garland kits, ‘Star Vine’ (ink & stone), ‘The Biscuit Makers’ (swedish blue), and ‘Old Ribbon’ (pink putty), £22 each, from The Shop Floor Project.
Presents in ‘Persimmon’ and ‘18th Century Romance’ wrapping papers, £15 for 5 sheets; and ribbons, satin ‘Swiss’, £12 a 25-metre roll; ‘Crushed Velvet’, £15 a 10-metre roll; and ‘Wire Edged Taffeta’, £18 a 20-metre roll; all from Choosing Keeping.

Christopher Horwood
5/5
‘Aquamarine Mid’, £72 for 2.5 litres intelligent eggshell, from Little Greene Paint & Paper.
Forties Italian toleware wall light, £450 a pair, from Shiny Things London.
Cyclamen and Snowdrops II collages, by Kate Black, £385 each framed, from The Shop Floor Project.
Two-tone kraft paper and white paper star, £11.50, from RE.
Paper pulp bell garlands (stripe), £59, and (cotton brown), £37; both from Broste Copenhagen.
Swedish flatweave rugs (from top), by Anna-Johanna Angstrom, £6,500; and by Anna-Greta Sjoqvist, £2,450; both from Robert Stephenson Handmade Carpets.
19th-century painted wooden hall chair, £9,500 for 4, from Rose Uniacke.
Forties glass-beaded stool, £14,000 a pair, from Tarquin Bilgen.
‘Whitham’ wooden X-frame chair, £4,200, from Jamb.
Merino wool/cotton ‘Ilen Stripe’ santa sack (black), £75, from Tori Murphy.
‘Dip-dyed’ silk/cotton key tassel, £22, from Jessica Light.
‘Ribbed’ cotton marl socks (green multi), £21, from Toast.
Hand-carved wooden wolf, £15; Small straw vase, £35; both from Folka.
‘Prize Pigeon’ hand-painted vintage papier mâché tray, by Denise Allan, £650, from The Shop Floor Project.
Presents in ‘Persimmon’ and ‘18th Century Romance’ wrapping papers, £15 for 5 sheets; and ‘Swiss’ satin ribbon (water mint, cottage rose), £12 a 25-metre roll; ‘Crushed Velvet’ ribbon (russet brown), £15 a 10-metre roll; and ‘Wire Edged Taffeta’ ribbon (blue), £18 a 20-metre roll; all from Choosing Keeping.

Comments

Ruth joined House & Garden in 2010, having graduated from Newcastle University - where she edited the student magazine and literary review - and after a summer internship at The Week. Rising through the ranks to Style Director, she has been producing and art directing House & Garden’s lead decoration ... Read More

Style Director

Following a career as a visual merchandiser for seven years, Rémy gained a City & Guilds qualification in Interior Design whilst selling vintage clothes and antiques at markets around Sussex. She joined House & Garden in 2019, having previously interned at the magazine with the decoration team. Follow her at ... Read More

Decoration Editor

TopicsShopping Shoppable schemes created by our editors