Festive Christmas Kitchen Decor That Leaves Your Counters Clear

We would protect the stretch of counter on either side of the sink and the range before you decorate anything else. A standard counter is 25 inches deep and sits 36 inches off the floor, and most of that depth is the zone you use every time you cook. Plan for at least 18 inches of open surface on each side of the sink, and keep the area in front of the range clear for pans and a cutting board.

Holiday decor tends to creep into that space because it's the most visible spot in the room. A small tray of candles or a bowl of ornaments looks lovely there for about a day, then it becomes the thing you move every time you need the colander. Keep the decor on the far end of the counter, or on a separate sideboard, and the kitchen keeps working the way it did before December.

A garland run along the top of the upper cabinets is the single most effective of the christmas kitchen decor ideas we'd recommend. It sits at eye level when you look into the room from the doorway, and it fills a band of wall that's usually bare. Choose a garland about 6 to 9 inches in diameter for a standard 30-inch upper cabinet, and let it extend past the corners so it reads as intentional.

Mix two or three greens if you can, like fir and eucalyptus, or fir and a softer cedar. A single plastic-looking strand usually reads as a costume, and a mix reads as a choice. Add a few pinecones or dried oranges in the gaps, and keep them tucked into the greenery so nothing hangs over the cabinet edge where it can catch a sleeve.

We would skip a tabletop tree in the kitchen altogether. A 24-inch tree on a counter takes up roughly the same footprint as a cutting board and a mixing bowl, and it sits right where you reach for the spice rack. It also gets knocked, sprayed with water, and brushed by hot pan handles more often than any tree in the house.

If you love a small tree, put it on a sideboard, a console, or a corner of the dining table instead. A kitchen table is often 30 inches high, so a small tree sits at a height where you can see it from the stove without getting in the way. The tree still counts as decor, but it lives in the part of the room where you sit down.

Window frames and cabinet doors are the surfaces most kitchens waste. A wreath on the window, hung from a ribbon or a small hook at the top of the frame, adds color without touching anything you use. Choose a wreath 14 to 18 inches across for a standard kitchen window, and hang it so the bottom edge sits above the sill.

Cabinet doors work the same way. A small wreath or a felt garland on a glass-front door reads as festive from across the room. Use removable adhesive hooks or a small over-the-door hanger for lightweight pieces, and skip anything that needs a nail through the wood of a painted door, because the finish is hard to fix once it's chipped.

Of all christmas kitchen decor ideas, string lights under the upper cabinets throw a warm wash across the counter, and that glow does more for a dark kitchen than any single ornament. Battery or plug-in warm white strings work well here, and a 10-foot run covers a typical run of cabinets. Look for lights with a clear or warm white bulb, since cool white can make a holiday kitchen feel like a dentist's office.

If the lights need to be hardwired, switch off the breaker before you start, and bring in a licensed electrician for anything that involves a new junction box. Plug-in strings should go into a wall outlet, never a power strip you can't see, and keep the cord clear of the range and sink so nothing gets wet.

Candles look right on a dining table or a sideboard, and they look wrong next to the stove or a stack of dish towels. Keep any open flame at least 12 inches from anything that can burn, including greenery, paper, and fabric, and put it out when you leave the room. Flameless candles give you the same glow without the risk, and most of them run on batteries that last through a full holiday dinner.

Greenery and candles are the combination that causes the most trouble in a holiday kitchen. A sprig of fir on a table is fine, but a fir garland on a shelf directly above a lit candle is not. Put the candle first, then decide where the greenery goes around it.

Heavy pieces like a wooden sign, a large wreath, or a shelf loaded with jars need a solid anchor. Drywall alone won't hold more than a few pounds reliably. Find a wall stud with a stud finder and drive a screw into it, or use a drywall anchor rated above the weight of the item, with a margin for the swing when a door closes.

For anything over about 5 pounds, we'd always use a stud. A shelf that holds holiday jars should be anchored to a stud and sit no more than about 12 inches out from the wall, so the load stays close to the wall where the hardware is strongest. Lean the sign on a ledge instead of hanging it if you rent, and check your lease before you drill into the wall.