Festive Fresh

Christmas is a simple, pared-back affair in Rikke Graff Juel’s home, with decorations that blend seamlessly with her stylish scheme

- Melanie Whitehouse

For homes stylist Rikke GraffJuel, Christmas is the time when she and her family have the chance to really benefit from her creative talents. ‘I like the tradition of dressing up my own home for a month,’ she says. ‘It makes the winter feel much more pleasant when you have this cosy break from normality and everyday life.’

Every year, Rikke makes her own simple pine wreaths for the windows and buys new baubles for the Christmas tree. ‘I did once try to decorate our home in traditional red with lots of Santa-themed elements, but it looked a mess and I had to stop myself tearing it all down,’ she says. ‘Now I decorate in the same hues and materials that I use all year round.’

Unsurprisingly, a simple decorating style suits this property, with its spare, functional architecture. Known as a ‘Funkis’ house, it was built in 1936 and designed by the Danish architect Knud Thorball. Scandinavian ‘Funkis’ had its heyday in the Thirties and Forties and its features include flat roofs, light and bright rooms on two floors, and the use of affordable materials such as concrete.