Step aside from all of the Christmas shopping for just a minute, and decorate. Here’s the best secret to attaching garland on staircases.
As are many of you, I’m deep into my holiday gift shopping. I shared recently a wonderful list of what to give the guy that seems to have everything, and I have a couple more gift guides to post in the next day or two. However, I thought I would take a minute and share some holiday decorating ideas, concentrating with garland on a staircase.
One of the selling points when buying this old house that was built in 1820, was the appeal of decorating it for Christmas. In conjunction of thinking about where a chair would go or a table, our Christmas tree was also a huge consideration. And with that came all of the holiday decor accoutrements that get displayed throughout. Whether the decorations are brand new, or family heirlooms, our Christmas decor is personal. We have decorations that Mac and Caroline made back in pre-school, along with several from their elementary school days, that still get hung on the front of our tree to this day. Those are the most special. But where I like to branch out every year, is with decorating the garland going up our main staircase.
Even if you have cheap-y looking evergreen garland that you’ve had for years, like us, with the addition of a variety of decorations and ribbons, one would never be able to tell that the greenery looks inexpensive. Because when I get through telling y’all how to decorate your garland fit for a magazine photo shoot using items that you have, that faux stuff will always win out for best in show.
Best Secret To Attaching Garland To A Staircase
For pretty much ever, I’ve admired decorated staircases. I’d like to go on record and tell y’all that for years, I’ve wanted to decorate our main staircase over the top garland, with modest yet high class decorations to cover the fact that the evergreen garland looked less than stellar.
No problem.
Because once all the decorations are attached to the garland, no one will ever know that the base garland is cheap-y.
Take my word for it.Β
With one child in college and another one that is scheduling visits faster than I can keep up, I devoted this year’s Farmhouse 1820 Christmas decorating to using things that I already have on hand. And, since I seem to have a weirdly amount of garlands on hand (clearly bought on mega-after-Christmas-sale), I challenged myself to use them in a way that looks high end.
I accomplished that with the garland on our main staircase. I hope you’ll find a lot of inspiration from my Christmas garland design!
For starters, the best secret to attaching garland to a staircase is to use pipe cleaners. These gems that have been around forever, almost, are the most valuable tools when attaching garland, whether it’s to a staircase, or a mantle, or even to tables and chairs. No harm, no foul. Pipe cleaners don’t chip paint, and grab on to that decor du jour for the long haul.
Always Have Pipe Cleaners On Hand
For the staircase, I attached the garland with said pipe cleaners all the way to the top, attaching every foot or so. Worked out perfectly to the point where the garland didn’t jiggle.
You know what I mean….
From there, I added the ribbon. Ribbon is always first when decorating a tree or garland, and this year I’m all about loops. I decided to attach the ribbon in this way. Add some to this side, then keep it even over on that side. And then continue all the way us with ribbon. The ribbon loops add depth to garland.
Now it’s time to add the decorations, no matter what kind, shape or size you’re using. Just keep things even all the way up. I used ribbons and picks from last year’s decor; all was timeless and blended in perfectly. Some glittery ornaments here, some leftover picks there, along with a mega-spool of ribbon that I’ve had on hand, for who knows how long.
The trick when decorating garland is to fill in all the gaps. The fuller the garland, the more elegant it’s going to look.
Totally Elegant
When decorating with garland this year, be sure and follow my secret and use pipe cleaners to attach the garland to surfaces. This way, the garland will be totally secure and there won’t be any scratches to the surfaces. This is a great Christmas decorating quick tip!
Looking for more Christmas decorating inspiration?Β
Check Out This DIY That You Can Make Yourself
Renae says
Absolutely gorgeous!