Is your living room looking forward to entertaining over the Christmas holidays or would it prefer to curl up with a good book? Does your bedroom look fit for a king, or is it more like a stable? If your home is feeling a little tired and antisocial, I’ve got the just thing … let a sprinkling of silver work its magic!
Silver instantly refreshes a room with light-filled shine and shimmer. It’s festive without being gaudy, happy without being sickly sweet, and, most importantly, it turns a boring space into a grotto of glamour and wonder.
Create a luxurious boudoir with silver silk cushions, dress up a bland living room with a silver feature wall, deck your halls with silver decorations and make the darkest corners sparkle. Before you know it, you’ll be in the mood to dig out that silver sequin boob tube, put on Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’, hang up a disco ball and dance around the kitchen while you’re making the dinner!
Have you got your Christmas tree up yet? I have very strict rules on Christmas decorations in our house. I’m a colour lover for most of the year but when it comes to Christmas, it’s silver only. OK, sometimes I allow a little bit of gold. But definitely no coloured lights. I’m a Christmas decoration snob.
When my girls were young, I found it very difficult to let them decorate the tree. They would be in a fever of excitement fighting over who was going to hang what where and I’d be crying in the corner at the sight of the poor tree heaving with pink tinsel, blue baubles, red candy canes and orange plastic reindeer. I’d get up in the night and hide the worst offenders behind the sofa. Such a control freak, I know. Of course, it’s all very different these days; they don’t even notice the tree on their way to the fridge, never mind wanting to decorate it. So now I have a very quiet and pleasurable evening talking to myself about where to hang my ever-so-tasteful silver decorations and whether I am distributing them evenly.
Silver is a versatile colour that works with so many interior styles. Give your space a sleek and contemporary look with chrome and glass, polished silver and mirrored surfaces. Or add depth and interest and a bit of a boho vibe with hammered silver, homemade silver decorations and textured metallic wallpaper. Silver works well with all colour palettes, illuminating and reflecting the energy of those colours around it. Silver and white is a fresh and uplifting colour combination that will inject a summery sparkle into a room. Combine silver with pastel pink for something more playful or with charcoal grey and teal for a moodier feel.
One of the easiest ways to add interest to a room is with canvas art. I’ve had a great time this autumn creating pieces of abstract textured art with ready-mixed wall filler and a palette knife. Once it’s dry, I paint over the whole thing with silver acrylic (pictured, left). If you like instant gratification, you don’t have to start from scratch. There are lots of white canvas prints in the Algarve chain stores this season that you could embellish. Adding a touch of silver could turn them into something really unique. I’ve also been amusing my neighbours’ children by drying palm fronds from the garden and spraying them silver. They make fantastic natural Christmas decorations and you can keep them on display all year.
Colour psychologists say silver possesses gentle and comforting qualities that relate to the sensitivity of the moon’s cycle of ebb and flow. Doesn’t that sound lovely? That’s the sort of silver I like, the soft, pearly kind. I’m not into ultra-modern interiors with lots of stainless steel and hard lines. They are all too cold and clinical, which makes me think of morgues and scalpels. Apparently, silver is respectable and courteous, mature and determined, wise and organised. That I agree with, it’s definitely not as flighty as gold. Silver says look, I’ll have a couple of glasses of champagne and a dance, but after that, it’s mint tea for me because I want to be fresh for yoga in the morning. Gold will make a face, go out all night and then be sooo annoyed with themselves in the morning.
So here’s to beautiful silver: enjoy it and treat it with respect. Remember that silver is not just for Christmas – it will keep your spirits up in the dark days of winter and cool you down in the scorching summer. Feliz Natal! I hope you start 2025 with a silver spring in your step …
Main image: SILVER WALLPAPER BEHIND SOFA etsy.me/3ACsEmk
