Creative ways to use garlands to spruce up your home for the holidays.

Holiday Hearth

This wreath and hearth-framing garland are studded with red berries and gold ornaments and dappled with gold paint.



Festive Dress Form

Think outside the box and dress up existing items in your home with holiday touches. Here, a wire dress form is trimmed with garlands and festive ornaments.



Greens and Berries

Boughs and berries announce the season. When creating a swag, the trick lies in layering. Starting with a carpet of dense evergreen, such as white fir, lay on something lighter, such as arborvitae or cedar, then contrast with swirling Chamaecyparis branches. Top with winterberry and lady apples for a glorious statement.



Regal Bed

Add even more drama to a four-poster bed with swirls of pine wrapped around the frame.



Pinecone Arrangement

Welcome guests with a dramatic swag of flocked sugar pinecones and lichen-covered twigs accented with incense cedar and other holiday greens, some right from the yard.



Fresh Green & White

Fresh white flowers and greenery make a surprisingly wintry effect, minus the chill. White dove ornaments combine with amaryllis, carnations, and orchids on a tannenbaum that's sprayed white.



Wintry Window Frame

Garlands hung with sheer white fabric around a window create a snowy effect.



Festive Adornments

Wind garland up a banister or hang it in swags along a fireplace mantel. Wire together real fruit, such as limes, small apples, pears, and lemons (they'll last for about two weeks), secure them at intervals along the garland, and finish with lustrous vintage satin ribbon. Or simply order a gorgeous fruit-adorned swag from your florist.



Cheerful Kitchen

Bring the holiday cheer to your kitchen with rosemary plants styled as topiary, evergreen branches, and bold ornaments.



Woodsy Fireplace

Brawny sugar pinecone swags anchor a mixed-cone garland above the fireplace. Make it yourself with a variable-speed drill and braided picture-hanger wire. Place inverted cones in urns to create pinecone topiaries.



Timeless Backdrop

This golden mantel clock trimmed with a holiday garland is a striking backdrop for a crisp white dinnerware arrangement.



Inviting Dining Room

Garlands around the door frame beckon guests into the dining room. The theme is echoed within the room, above the fireplace, and on the fruit-dappled mantel.



Bursts of Greenery

A long table features an unexpected centerpiece of live miniature trees and dried rose hips in a galvanized tub. Bright gifts serve as place cards and lush garlands line exposed shelves.



Bejeweled Mantel

Holiday greenery provides an earthy base for jewellike ornaments and sparkling glass candlesticks.



Fabric Frame

White fabric strung through gold hoops make an elegant alternative to traditional garlands.



Wonderland of Color

A garland strung up beneath a kitchen counter adds color in an unexpected place.



Woodsy Staircase

A simple pine garland adds a touch of life to a banister.



Spirited Kitchen

An herb-drying rack is dressed in greenery, the branches tipped with Santa ornaments. Red swags of wooden cranberries accessorize. Rolls of exuberantly patterned wrapping paper replace umbrellas in a French pottery vessel, keeping this season's supplies within easy reach of the chip-carved desk-cum-worktable.



Bedroom Embellishments

Garlands of glass beads in soft colors are strung on the bed and chandelier for a bit of Christmas cheer in the bedroom.



Stocking Banister

A pink and gold color scheme fills the room, from coordinating ornaments, presents, and stockings strung from a garland-lined banister.