Top 10 Christmas Color Combinations for Decorations and Designs
What are the best Christmas color combinations of all time? Kaylee, our Creative Director, shares her top 10 combinations. And no… red and green is not one of them.
We’re starting off on a side tangent and it’s all Riley’s fault.
When we went to record our Christmas colors episode of the Digital Wrap-Up, he asked a question I didn’t know the answer to. So now I’ve spent the afternoon researching why the “traditional” Christmas colors are red and green – according to the lovely people of the internet:
Theory #1:
Red is the color of Christ’s blood and green for the evergreen tree representing eternal life.
Theory #2:
Celtic tradition suggests red and green holly plants brought protection and good luck to their families.
Theory #3:
Any combination of theories 1 & 2. Holly + the crown of thorns + Jesus + blood + evergreen trees is the gist of it.
All of them sound kind of made up to me, but I’m not an expert, so….
Is Coca-Cola to blame for the red and green Christmas color combination?
According to NPR, red and green weren’t always the go-to colors of Christmas. Turns out we have Coca-Cola to blame for the atrocity.
Long story short… they (Coca-Cola) hired someone to create a new Santa character in 1931. He went from being skinny and elf-life to the fat, jolly man in the red robe that we all know today. And just like that Coca-Cola red, paired with the green of fir trees, poinsettias and holly that have always been associated with the holiday, became the unofficial “official” colors.
So. Fun stuff, right?
Kaylee’s Top 10
Now that we’ve been educated, we can move on to the real reason for this blog, which is: The TOP 10 Christmas Color Combos that are better than red and green (according to me).
Starting off #10: Silver & Gold
When it comes to jewelry, it’s always been a rule to not mix silver and gold. I vote that for Christmas purposes, it’s perfectly acceptable. You can even throw in other metallic colors if you want, but the idea is that it’s shiny and I’m giving you the authority to break the rules.
#9: Bright Red & Lime Green
Yes, I am aware these are technically red and green. But I’m going to justify this choice by saying it’s the fun version of those colors and has an overall Grinch-y vibe. The lime green gives it a COMPLETELY different look than the traditional styles and you can’t change my mind. Plus, this theme is just more fun. It’s exciting and happy. That’s my reasoning.
#8: Red & Gold
This is as traditional as I’m going to get on this list, I think. It looks elegant no matter what shade of red you use, and it’s infinitely better in the design world than red & green. Most ads/graphics/invitations/etc. use this scheme and I’m not complaining about it. I’m all for things looking classy and this would be my go-to combo for giving off that feel.
#7: Red, White & Gray/Silver
We’ll call this one the Candy Cane look. Since I count gray as a neutral, the purpose of this combo is to make the red and white pop while not being overwhelming. The only downside to going with this theme is that once you commit, you cannot deviate. You can’t start with candy stripes and then throw in something random… it’d be SUPER noticeable. On the plus side, the gnomes are adorable and there are so many things you can do with gray.
#6: Black & Red
The buffalo plaid look is one of my favorites (in general). Flannels, blankets, outfits for dogs, scarves, etc. etc. It gives you a whole outdoorsy/cabin feel and can be paired with white, galvanized metal, or pretty much anything wooden. It’s not as fancy as some of the other combos, but that’s ok.
#5: Navy & Gold
Here’s my one blue entry. Navy & gold is probably one of the most magical looking when it’s done right. I’ve never been a fan of the light blue, icy, snowflake look, but this combo is classy and beautiful. You can’t exactly mix and match navy with the classic colors, though, so if you go this route, you have to start from scratch. Totally worth it.
#4: Gold & White
If you haven’t noticed yet, I like gold. To me, the all white and gold looks expensive. Maybe it’s the whole white walls, white floors, white marble thing that adds to the overall look… who knows. It looks clean though. Clean and crisp and I like it a lot. This is the combo I have at home for anyone who was curious.
#3: Shades of Green
I’m not sure if this concept is new or just new to me, but I am living for the monochromatic green look. ESPECIALLY on a flocked tree. And to clarify, it can’t be lime green. I’m talking deep green with some sage green and more muted tones. And this is proof that I officially don’t hate the colors red or green separately, I would just use them differently than most people. You can’t tell me these all green samples don’t look absolutely amazing..
#2: Black, Gold & White
Probably an unpopular opinion, but black Christmas decorations are wonderful. And in sticking to my obvious theme, we threw in the gold too. It’s definitely far, far away from being “Christmas-y” but it looks so dang good together. The die-hards would fight me on this one, I’m sure, but having the dark in there with all the black makes the gold and white stand out and I’m just obsessed.
(Side note: I’m aware this blog is all my opinion, but I feel like I have to justify my choices so people don’t tear me apart for hating on Christmas or something.)
And my #1 color combo choice at the moment is: White, White & White
You legitimately cannot go wrong with all white. And you can mix ALL the textures. I discovered white fur ribbon last year – it’s life-changing. They also have all the cute little woodland creatures with white fur or feathers so you get a cozy, warm vibe even without any color. It’s beautiful. If I ever start over at home, this is #goals for sure.
That’s it, friends. My list of maybe-kind-of-plain-but-still-way-better-than-red-and-green color combos to think about when decorating for Christmas.
I mean no hate to the traditionalists who are reading, I promise. But…. if a few people have been convinced to take a leap and go for something new – tag us in pictures on your social media accounts because I want to see all the fun things.
Watch the podcast:
Want to watch the podcast where Kaylee goes into more details about each of her picks? You can watch it now on YouTube!
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