How to Design a Colorful Christmas Staircase

Step outside of the red-and-green box this holiday season and jazz up your space with glittering jewel tones, instead.

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December 13, 2019

By: Morgan Faulkner

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Photo By: Cassidy Garcia

A Colorful Christmas

Deck the halls — or staircase in our case — with a lush Christmas garland brimming with vivid color, playful textures and stylish accessories. We combined artificial greenery garland with an array of ornaments for a simple project with a rewarding finish. Bonus: We'll show how to create a festive bar cart display, also.

From: Morgan Faulkner

Fluff Garland

For this project, we connected two 9-foot garlands together. Begin by fluffing the garland to achieve a full, lush appearance. Starting at either end, pull the branches out from the base, straighten and spread them apart. Turn on some holiday tunes and repeat this process for the entire length of the garland.

Pre-Lit Christmas Garland: Amazon, $41.00

Add Ornament Bundles

After you've finished fluffing the garland, begin adding in ornament bundles throughout. This step will save the hassle of trying to add ornaments to the garland once hung on the stairs — especially the upper portion of the handrail that's hard to reach. To create a bundle of ornaments, add 2-3 baubles to a large ornament hook, mixing in different colors and sizes. Then, attach the hook to a branch and twist until secure. Since the back of the garland will be flush with the staircase, only add the bundles to the front. Repeat this throughout the garland, mixing colors and textures as you go.

Large Ornament Hooks: Amazon, $6.47

Attach Garland

To avoid damaging the handrail, twist two chenille stems — also known as pipe cleaners — together to create one big stem. Place the stem around the garland and around the handrail. Twist tightly and trim any excess. Use dark-hued chenille stems to seamlessly blend in with the railing, or cover the stem with a decorative bow.

Dark Green Chenille Stems: Amazon, $3.99

Multipurpose Branches

Twist the branches of the garland around a few posts to keep the garland flush and to add extra security.

Spacing Is Key

For our staircase design, we created two large swags out of the 18-foot garland, allowing the remainder to loosely pool at the bottom of the staircase.

From: Morgan Faulkner

Fill in Holes

Once the garland is hung and the ornaments have fallen into place, fill in any visible holes with leftover ornament bundles. As with the second step, twist the ornament hook around the branch to secure the bundle.

Mix Textures & Colors

To create visual interest within your garland, choose ornaments in an array of colors, sizes and textures. Here, shiny, matte, sparkle and textured baubles are mixed to create a stylish array that really packs a punch.

Ball Ornaments: Hobby Lobby, $9.99

From: Morgan Faulkner

Feeling Festive

You could stop at the previous step, but if you prefer a little sparkle (who doesn't, right?), place metallic holiday picks throughout the garland. This will create just the right amount of pizzazz while allowing the ornament hues to really pop.

No Mantel, No Problem

The stockings were hung by the staircase with care — with zip ties to be exact. Secure the stockings in place so they hang just below the garland. Add a colorful bauble to identify each recipient's stocking. Take it a step further by personalizing each ornament with a name.

Cable Knit Stocking: Target, $13.00

From: Morgan Faulkner

Pair With Presents

Create fun holiday cheer at the base of the stairs by wrapping empty boxes with playful gift wrap and ribbon. Elevate the display by placing a furry blanket underneath for that comfy and cozy Christmas feel everybody loves.

Colorful Wrapping Paper: Amazon, $14.99

From: Morgan Faulkner

Or a Styled Display

Do you have an eyesore around your staircase you'd like to cover? For us, it was an air vent. We pulled in a bar cart and gave it a festive makeover to conceal the vent. On the bottom, an array of Christmas trees in all shapes, sizes and colors pair with gold lanterns.

Gold Metal Lantern: Target, $29.99

From: Morgan Faulkner

Color for All

Up top, an assortment of bottle brush trees adds a playful pop of color while a white pom-pom garland is strung throughout the cart.

Bottle Brush Trees: Kohl's, $20.39

From: Morgan Faulkner

Deck the Halls

The cart display is a stylish way to cover any wall blemish while also creating a statement piece that is fun for all.

Brass Bar Cart: Target, $149.99

From: Morgan Faulkner

Merry & Bright

Enjoy your colorful, cheery display all Christmas long. When it's time to take it down, simply leave the ornaments on the garland and store in a large container. Now it'll be completely ready to hang next year!

How to Design a Colorful Christmas Staircase

Related To:

Shop This Look

A Colorful Christmas

Fluff Garland

Add Ornament Bundles

Attach Garland

Multipurpose Branches

Spacing Is Key

Fill in Holes

Mix Textures & Colors

Feeling Festive

No Mantel, No Problem

Pair With Presents

Or a Styled Display

Color for All

Deck the Halls

Merry & Bright

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