Holiday Home | 5 Tips to Create a Welcoming Entrance

Create a magical Holiday Entrance to welcome guests with seasonal cheer. Your front entrance, or front door, should offer a peek of the enchanting holiday home you have created inside. It's the very first thing your guests will see when they come to your home, so dress it up with warm holiday greetings. This is the first part of our Holiday Home Tour for 2015. Here are my secrets to create a gorgeous entrance.

1. Wreathed in Magic. Wreaths have been used to celebrate the winter season for centuries. Every year I imagine what my entrance wreath will look like long before December arrives. All of them, always, have fresh greens as the base. For this year's wreath, I bought a fresh boxwood circle and layered it with this stunning wood antler Monogram. I was so excited to find Andrea, who sells these beautiful oak or birch Monograms! I love how this looks. The monogram arrived backed with a sturdy piece of wood {which I will use to paint something on later} and unfinished. I painted the antlers white, and our "B" gold. I tied the monogram to the wreath using two ribbons, added a black & white check ribbon that matches the ribbons we used on the lighted garland that drapes around our front garden fence, and called it beautiful. 2. Simple Beauty. All our table top greenhouse needed to join the holiday merriment in the front garden are a few inexpensive {plastic!} ornaments. I put in a small string of lights that is battery operated to glow at night. Often, less is more, Keep It Simple. Too many different decorations take away from the elegant, simple look. 3. Let Nature Take Center Stage. My entrance is joined to our front garden, above, we display plants on an antique French rack year round. For the holidays, I refresh some of the planters, like the antique concrete planter filled with white cyclamen and ivy, but others stay the same. I generally opt out of ribbons and the like, preferring the natural look. Since we are still in a major drought in California, I did not buy as many new plants as in other years. Our antique watering cans and a lantern which I light at night are simple winter decorations. The Joy to the World sign is new, and ties in with the black and white checked ribbon I used this year on the garland on the fence, and the wreaths. 4. Coordinate Colors for your Front Entrance. Decorate your front entrance, porch and or door with the same color scheme. The items on your porch, for instance, should reflect the colors and theme you use on your door. Too many different things going on will end up looking chaotic, instead of the gracious look you are after. Since our fence garlands have evergreens, red berries and pinecones, that is the theme I use for our entrance gate, front path, and door. The overall look differs from year to year, but the colors and natural theme stay the same. {The basket below is not usually on the French antique chair, it's my basket I use to drop off early holiday gifts to friends. A tangle of California pepper berries with some ivy from the garden, boxed treats and a bottle of sparkling champagne are always welcome! But it does look pretty there, so I snapped a few shots for you before loading it into the car.} 5. Make it Merry. Keeping it simple and natural does not mean boring. Your entrance should delight the eye at every turn. Here you can see I carried the natural greens theme all the way to the door. Another fresh boxwood wreath encircles my deer with the golden antlers {see him over my stove from last year's Holiday Home Tour} He looks stately on the wall over my little black bench on the front entrance. I added a little evergreen tree to an antique zinc bucket {it lights up at night} for some extra punch, and inserted some frosted branches and faux berries for color. Pinecones layered on the top of my boxwood topiary tree, and my gardening boots stuffed with greens complete this festive entry. A closeup of gifts to bring to friends now.......a bottle of bubbly is perfect for my girlfriends who need a little treat while they do all that planning, decorating, shopping and wrapping. I like to give gifts early to my friends, that way they can enjoy them all month long! I hope you were inspired...if you haven't decorated your outside entrance yet, I hope you make it bright and welcoming. Remember it's the first impression guests will have of your warm, beautiful home. It tells them "Welcome! I'm so glad you are here!" Please share how you decorate your front entrance, below. Shop for the best in French Antiques, furniture with the patina of age, vintage accessories to delight you and your family & friends, and French Country utilitarian pieces. Treasures that make your home fresh, beautiful, inspirational and uniquely yours. Visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.com.