When it comes to decorating for the holidays, few things are easier, yet more transformative, than hanging a wreath.
“I think nothing is friendlier than putting a wreath on your door,” said Carolyne Roehm, the lifestyle author and tastemaker. “Maybe I’m just very hokey, but it’s so welcoming, and gives me a sense of warmth.”
Perhaps that explains why she rarely limits herself to just one.
“I put them everyplace,” said Ms. Roehm, whose latest book, “Design & Style: A Constant Thread,” was published by Rizzoli this fall. “I put them on my doors, some of my mantels and in windows. Years ago, I hung them from the ceiling like a chandelier.”
And over time, she has experimented with a variety of materials. “I’ve gone from doing them in the traditional pine, balsam and fir, and adding juniper branches and berries,” she said, “to pine cones” — both natural and golden. “I’ve done them in real fruit. I’ve done them in fake fruit. I’ve done them in flowers.”
No matter what a holiday wreath is made of, she added, the message it communicates is the same: “This is a time to think about a lot of lovely things.”
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What’s the best way to hang a wreath? “I’ll often use fishing line or a piece of twine and then cover it with ribbon, so it’s pretty,” Ms. Roehm said. “But sometimes I’ve just pounded an old nail into the wall.”
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Is it better to use real greenery or faux? “The fake ones are so much more sophisticated than they used to be,” said Ms. Roehm, who uses both. “I’ll take those and maybe add a bit of real greenery, or glue-gun or wire something into them to add my touch.”
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When should it come down? Ms. Roehm usually hangs her wreaths during the first week of December and removes them the first week of January.
Nutcracker Wreath
Multicolored wreath of plastic ornaments, faux greenery and ribbon
$395 at MacKenzie-Childs: 888-665-1999 or mackenzie-childs.com
Winter Forest Wreath
Wreath of preserved leaves, eucalyptus, cedar, white sinuata, echinops and pine cones
From $98 at Terrain: 877-583-7724 or shopterrain.com
Green Geometric Paper Holiday Wreath
Wreath of folded, screen-printed paper ornaments from India
About $40 at MoMA Design Store: 800-851-4509 or store.moma.org
Holiday Fruit Wreath
Wreath of fresh magnolia, cedar and green salal with pine cones, pepperberries, pomegranates, quince, dried oranges and faux apples
About $112 at Williams Sonoma: 877-812-6235 or williams-sonoma.com
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