How To Decorate For The Holidays.(Charlotte Moss)(Interview)

Byline: INTERVIEWS BY CARA LITKE, ELIZABETH ANGELL, AND EMILY HSIEH

Advice from the experts on decorating for the holidays (without tinsel), returning and regifting (without guilt), donating money to charity (without regret), and more.

An Interview With Charlotte Moss

Moss is an interior decorator and the owner of Charlotte Moss, a home store in New York City.

Holiday decorations should feel rich, exuberant, and abundant. Comb through your house for inspiration before you buy new decorationsalmost anything you have in multiples can be useful. Try putting old ornaments in a few wide bowls or filling galvanized metal buckets with evergreen branches. Even classic hardcover children's books about Christmas can look wonderful in a neat stack. Don't be afraid to experiment and start your own traditions.

Objects have the most impact when they're large or clustered in groups.

Look beyond red and green. I gravitate to cream and metallics mixed with shades of green, from chartreuse to celadon. I like the idea of being surrounded by a shimmery luminescence at holiday time, re-creating a sort of Narnia effect. If you're more of a modernist, a graphic black-and-white scheme looks cool and unexpected, as does going with a single colorany colorand making it your signature. Whatever your palette, be sure to repeat it throughout your home, paying attention to little details like ornaments, flowers, even gift wrap.