Ideas for Styling Cottage Christmas Vignettes

7 tips to easily style Christmas vignettes like a pro, along with budget-friendly ideas and tricks!

vintage wood cubbies, bottle brush trees

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I call my office studio Santa's workshop at this time of the year because it's filled with half finished crafts and projects, handmade gifts and Christmas DIYs! Because it's a room I spend so much time in, it needs to feel the part! There's always a seasonal candle burning, twinkle lights twinkling, and today I'm showing you a little more of this rarely seen space, as well as some easy ways to style Christmas vignettes.

Do you struggle to style your home for Christmas? These universal styling tips will work whether you love a cottage Christmas, like I do, or lean toward more of a modern vibe!

I'm excited to join some amazingly talented friends today to inspire you with our Christmas mantles and vignettes. Thanks to Jen of Tatertots and Jello for hosting. If you're looking for ideas for your own home, be sure to check all the links at the end of this post!

Ideas for Styling Christmas Vignettes

Aside from the Christmas tree, there are counters and shelves, cabinet tops and corners that beg for a little holiday cheer! I lean towards a more is more approach for the holiday season, probably because I love crafting at this time of year!

My office studio is where I craft, blog and shoot the videos that I share on my YouTube channel, so I like to decorate it for the seasons to keep me inspired and because I like a pretty place to work! Plus that way I can ignore the mess lurking across the room 😍

I tend to go a little over-the-top with my holiday decor, but maybe there's an idea or two you can take away today!

antique blue cabinet, mini knit stockings garland, lanterns

Idea #1 - cabinet tops

If you're looking to add a little Christmas decor, don't forget about the tops of cabinet, dressers, hutches, etc. They're all prime real estate for a holiday vignette!

I like to add layers to keep it interesting. On this antique cabinet, I have some layered DIY signs leaning against the wall, then a trio of lanterns, a mini tree and a vintage sugar bowl filled with my handmade chunky ticking candy canes (watch the video tutorial HERE).

Pro Tip - wrap empty canisters in old sheet music, gift wrap or scrapbook papers for a fun seasonal tree stand. Use double sided tape to make it temporary. Watch me make them HERE.

Santa face sign, ticking striped candy canes, mini stockings, blue cabinet

I promised myself no new decor this Christmas, but when I spotted the sweetest mini knit stocking advent garland (while shopping for groceries at Aldi!) I couldn't resist. It adds a fun pop of red to my antique blue cabinet.

ironstone sugar bowl, candy canes, vintage sheet music tree stand, lanterns

Here's another DIY Christmas tin (formerly a Costco peanut tin that I wrapped with holiday gift wrap). This is a cheap way to make simple tree stands to match your decor.

gift wrap covered tin tree stand, flocked tree, candle, berries

Idea #2: tabletop trees

Any surface can benefit from a small tree. This tabletop tree is decorated simply with a dried cranberry garland (see how I made it HERE), and simple cut out stars and gingerbread house ornaments that I made from dollar store embossed tiles (click HERE for a tutorial). I popped the tree inside a green wire basket and layered it on one of my DIY ruffled flour sack towels that I made with long, luscious ruffles. A string of fairy lights always adds a little magic.

tabletop tree, green wire basket, cranberry garland, vintage tile ornaments

Pro Tip - snip small pieces of greenery and berries to add a little touch of Christmas anywhere!

chippy white furniture, small tree, old books, berries, twinkle lights

Idea #3: decorate with books

Books are the perfect opportunity to add more interest to a vignette. They elevate decor, and you can even create a mini book tree vignette on a chair or sideboard. I used several vintage books with green covers for my vignette. Topped with a mercury glass candle and ticking striped candy canes, it's a charming cottage vignette that feels nostalgic.

vintage green book tree, child's chair, candle, ticking candy canes

Idea #4 - drawers and cubbies

I have a thing for any furniture piece that has small drawers or cubbies! I love to fill a few of the drawers with something decorative (in this case inexpensive dollar store bottle brush trees!). So cute right? This small apothecary style cabinet is one I found years ago, and I normally keep my acrylic paint bottles in the drawers.

Of course, don't forget to add something decorative to the top to extend your Christmas vignette even further!

antique wood cabinet cubbies, bottle brush trees, primitive candy canes

Idea #5: feature a favorite collection

My Santa collection has been growing and a couple years ago when Mr DIY and I visited the Biltmore Estate for their Christmas tour, I picked up this little Santa plate as a keepsake. A small wood plate stand props it up and helps it to be a feature on this sideboard.

red and white Santa plate, white Santa mugs, gingerbread man, gingerbread houses

My gingerbread house collection is clustered on this cabinet. They're just inexpensive Target dollar spot wood houses that I added gingerbread details to with white puffy paint.

gingerbread houses, bottlebrush tree, candle

Pro tip - give collections more impact by displaying them together.

New this year are these sweet primitive style gingerbread men made from canvas drop cloth! I'll be sharing how to make them next week, so be sure you're following along (click HERE to join my newsletter)!

drop cloth gingerbread men, homespun buttons

Idea #6 - use gift wrap as decor

Designate a corner of your home as a gift wrap station and leave the coordinating wraps and ribbons out so they double as decor!

vintage stool, red and white ribbons, bucket of giftwrap rolls

Pro tip - a decorative bucket is the perfect vessel to hold rolls of gift wrap, even ribbon, tags, tape and scissors! When you're ready to wrap gifts, you can pick it all up at once and head to the table.

Idea #7 - utilize dresser knobs

A dresser or cabinet knob is the perfect place to hang something special, like a set of gold bells, a precious stocking or even a wreath! I have a ticking striped wood stocking hanging from the cottage dresser in my living room, see it HERE.

Pro tip - add a little velvet ribbon for an elegant touch