“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they will be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they will be like wool.” Isaiah 1: 18
I chose this Bible verse as the focal point of my Christmas decorating, including making a canvas to hang above my bookcase.
From this Bible passage I was able to find inspiration for all my main decorating decisions. You can repeat the process in your own home with a favorite quote, song lyric, or Scripture passage. Some décor connections might require a bit more of a stretch than others. The important thing is to use the quote as a source for ideas.
When creating a design scheme this way, you want to look for inspiration for four basic design elements: color, line, form, and texture.
MY CHRISTMAS DESIGN PLAN
Color: Red and White
Form/Shape: Snowflake
Texture: Sparkle and Yarn
Line: Diagonal Stripes
For my Christmas decorating, color and forms were obviously the easiest decisions. Scarlet/crimson and white are both directly mentioned in the verse, as is snow which sparked my choice to repeat a snowflake shape in my decorations.
The two concrete nouns in the verse, snow and wool, were the basis for my textural choices. Snow is sparkly and yarn is woolen, and both work well in Christmas decorating.
My choice for the element of line is probably the biggest stretch. I thought about what might be traditionally red and white around Christmas, and immediately thought of candy canes. I incorporated red and white diagonal stripes into my decorations as well.
Why go to the trouble of basing your decorating around a quote? The obvious benefit is that it gives a focus to your decorating, without going with a full-on theme. For me, it makes it easier to edit down the decorations I already have and rein in all the project ideas I want to make. If it doesn’t fit the focus, it stays in the box.
At least until next year.
