Joanna Gaines just dropped stills of her Waco, Texas living room on Instagram, which – in classic Joanna fashion – was already clad in all things Christmas by November 30. Her look is famously timeless and rooted in vintage cues, but every year she sneaks in subtle updates that make her design vocabulary feel freshly festive for 2025.
If you’ve been watching her Stories, you’ve already seen bits and pieces of this. But the full-room reveal does something different; it exposes the underlying architecture of her holiday home – the guiding principles that make Joanna’s Christmas decor ideas feel so effortless and assured.
1. Candles In Lieu of Electricity
Candle sconces have been one of 2025’s buzziest lighting trends, mostly because they create a kind of atmosphere hardwired fixtures never quite manage. Even the sleek, modern versions carry a vintage undercurrent, borrowing from one of the oldest lighting methods we have. Joanna’s brick-fireplace vignette does this revival justice.
She brackets the Christmas mantel with a pair of her own (now sold-out) Magnolia sconces so the fire reads warmer, the shadows fall softer, and the whole room relaxes by a few degrees. It works year-round, but during the holidays, when overhead lighting suddenly feels even more abrasive, this kind of analog glow lands especially right.
A mirrored candle sconce is basically a two-for-one glow, bouncing a twin flame around the room. This one leans into era-authentic Art Nouveau detailing and comes in brass or the black shown here. Pair them the way Joanna does and the ambience multiplies fast.
The candle-sconce revival does not require real wax. Joanna’s own LED tapers from her Target line flicker convincingly (remote controlled, no less) and deliver the old-world mood without the fire hazard. She used the honey color in her post – now sold out – but the green and red versions are still available and, arguably, even more seasonal.
Joanna is clearly devoted to the multi-candle sconce, and frankly, we are too. At less than $30 with the current sale, this wire-free style is an easy way to add atmosphere to any room. Flank a fireplace, anchor a favorite artwork, or do both.
2. Layering Heritage Patterns
A quick scan of Joanna’s living room reveals pattern everywhere – rarely matching, never clashing. Two embroidered stocking textiles, one green botanical and one red, drape along the brick fireplace. A knit throw with whisper-grey motifs and an evergreen fringe lands casually on the sofa. The rug – a weathered, Persian-style classic she’s iterated on in her Loloi collections – grounds the room with a soft, timeworn patina. Even the presents get in on the action, wrapped in Deco-ish geometrics and vintage florals.
It works because nothing is trying to be the same. The prints share a heritage sensibility, nodding to the holidays with touches of green and red and nature-inspired motifs rather than leaning on obvious Christmas cues. No snowmen, no reindeer – just a confident, collected mix.
Winter reds feel so much fresher rendered in this holiday-ready Pomegranate print by Joanna. It plays beautifully with other heritage textiles, but it’s just as striking paired with solid moss greens across a sofa or bench.
This embroidered enchanted-forest motif looks like it wandered out of a storybook, instantly becoming the thing everyone notices from across the room. It also comes in a deep Syrah red, so consider following Joanna’s lead and alternating the two along a mantel or bookshelf.
As TikTok’s Ralph-Lauren-Christmas era has proven, you truly cannot overdo plaid. Stock up accordingly. Mix it with geometrics, après-ski motifs, or – the most confident choice – even more plaid.
3. Oranges As the Cure to Ordinary
Christmas berries are cute, but it seems Joanna’s on to the next. Instead of the usual pinecone moment or a strand of bells, she threaded dried orange garland through her greenery, and it’s just the unexpected jolt we didn't know we needed.
Dried citrus has been asserting itself as a micro-Christmas trend this season, partly because it aligns with the broader interiors swing toward materials that feel natural, salvaged, and a little handmade. But also because that hit of orange – the direct color-wheel opposite to deep evergreen pine needles – makes them look all the richer. It’s a chromatic contrast that designers like Joanna love.
Jazz up your existing evergreen garland with a nearly ten-foot strand of dried oranges you didn’t have to DIY. It’s the fastest way to add warmth, color, and homespun charm without lifting more than a finger.
In one very clever move by our other favorite tastemaker, Shea McGee, this strand blends citrus with layered greenery, rich berries, and silvery eucalyptus. Consider it the elevated, more dimensional take on the orange-garland trend – still natural, just a touch more polished.
Christmas wreaths aren’t just for front doors. If you have a bit of wall real estate (or even the back of a dining chair) this handmade citrus wreath from Etsy lends a zesty, whimsical note. The soft ribbon bow seals the sweetness.
4. Antiqued Everything
The wooden coffee table? Weathered. The brass magnifying glass? Patinaed. One could argue that any room Joanna touches will appear antique in some regard (her home is a restored farmhouse, after all). But these details do feel especially resonant during this character-filled time of year.
Paired with the other elements we’ve already covered – the layered vintage-inspired patterns, the intentionally old-world candle sconces – the aged pieces become the glue that holds the whole vignette together. They’re what make her living room feel lived-in, so keep these storied finishes top of mind when toiling between your own holiday accents this season.
Like a miniaturized antique frame you’d swear you dug up at a flea market – only this one moonlights as a stocking holder. Swap in your own photo for an heirloom moment, and once the season wraps, remove the hook and use the frame on its own.
Tapestries are having their own interiors renaissance right now, and the holidays are no exception. If your art wall is already spoken for, add an antique-inspired textile like this above a sofa or fireplace. It sells that old-world holiday charm while still reading very of-the-moment for 2025.
Inspired by serving pieces from Joanna’s own collection, this red-and-white holiday tray is sprinkled with the kind of perfectly imperfect speckles we love in true vintage. It gives a little more gravitas to all the seasonal odds and ends floating around – say, a pine room spray, a brass cocktail shaker, or that cluster of wooden trees you’ve been meaning to style.
5. Classically Kitsch Christmas Tree Decor
Maybe Joanna’s been watching as many Home Alone (1990) reruns as the rest of us, because her tree certainly captures that ’90s nostalgia. Look closely and you’ll spot the classics: Santas, gingerbread houses, tiny snow boots, those ‘grandma’s attic’ ornaments that once felt too on-the-nose to take seriously. Essentially, it’s a revival of everything that got edited out during those years of strictly silver-and-gold or all-beige minimalism.
As she proved with the wonderfully personality-packed vintage Christmas tree she decorated with her son last month, the fir is just an extension of the room – it should carry the same layers, charm, and lived-in ease. So don’t shy away from the unapologetically Christmas-y. Embrace a little quirk. Have some fun with it.
This gingerbread ornament looks good enough to eat – and even better styled high on the tree where everyone can actually see it. If you prefer something more cottage-coded, there’s a second version. Each one lights up, adding a warm glow beside your string lights.
Goodbye, boring ornaments. This hot-air-balloon motif brings a welcome dose of whimsy, its embroidered sparkles meant to mimic an enchanted snowfall.
Plant lovers will appreciate this 'The Garden Guidebook' ornament, which merges the charm of vintage literature with this season’s kitsch-friendly trend. It’s an easy entry point if you want personality without going off the deep end.
Joanna Gaines is a woman of many Christmas trees. If the on-the-nose nostalgia of her ‘kitchmas’ vignette isn’t your speed, her jewel-box ‘Glimmery Gold Goodness’ Christmas tree might be the holiday muse you were waiting for.
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