Interior Design with Julia Luttrell
Let there be light
Here�s how to combine some of the elements you may already have in your home, to create a magnificent display that �implies� a fireplace. This spectacular visual effect suggests that welcoming warmth and will be the brilliant focal point in your room that ignites the festive spirit of the season.
Place an existing hall, console or sofa table, under the most decorative large mirror you have and locate them both in an area of your home that you wish to feature.
What we want to achieve is the general shape of a fireplace and we will create this by suspending pine boughs, at various lengths from the edge of the table at either end, using hemp twine to tie the boughs together. The hemp twine is a decorative feature, so you should first spray both the hemp twine and the stems of the boughs, with a light misting of gold spray paint.
- First, attach a pine bough to a length of hemp twine. Let the bough hang vertically off of the left side edge of the table. Stretch the twine horizontally across the tabletop and tie another bough at the opposite end, to hang off of the right side edge of the table.
- Repeat this process several times, allowing the boughs to loosely fill the sides of the table, from top to floor, which should take perhaps three or four boughs on either side. Do the same thing, running the twine from front to back at either side of the table, but use fewer boughs, perhaps only two or three this time.
You can now weave a string of tiny white lights throughout these boughs. They will surround and illuminate the decoratively wrapped and creatively stacked gifts you will arrange under the table. A garland of cedar and holly should then be casually draped across the table front, to integrate with the pine boughs and visually �connect� both sides of the arrangement.
You will be adding a few oil lamps to this display, so a shimmer of organza can be loosely folded and draped over the table at this point to soften the effect of the lines of the hemp twine. Set the oil lamps in place and arrange at either end of the tabletop, a collection of interesting Christmas bulbs to sit in a nest of cedar boughs. This will camouflage much of the wiring for the lights.
As a final centrepiece, a pyramid of pillar candles should be arranged in the middle of the table, on candleholders of dramatically different heights. Along with the oil lamps, this blaze of glory is the star of the show, which will create a festival of lights glittering and dancing in the reflection of the mirror.
To draw the eye upward and provide balance to your display, hang a magnificent wreath that is rich with enough detail to make a substantial design statement on it�s own, directly onto the mirror. This can be done without damage by using a special peel-and-stick picture hanger available at any hardware store. It can later be removed without leaving any mark, but make sure you ask for the right product.
For a final flourish, lightly drape an additional garland around the mirror frame as well and there you have it, an interesting visual display that suggests a fabulous fireplace, but with the festive firelight inside out!
