Edward and Emma Bulmer and their family have always tried to create a more eco-friendly Christmas with more natural traditions to celebrate the festive season. Creating a Christmas without too much plastic and over consumption can be tricky, especially when we are all bombarded with gift ideas, decorations and general festive trimmings from early October! 'Azurite' in Edward Bulmer's Dining Room, photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph A Bulmer conscious Christmas was beautifully featured in The Sunday Telegraph this month and showcased the family’s beautiful home in all its natural and festive glory. Proving that sometimes all you need is some timeless and natural wall colour, some simple garden foliage and a little festive flair! As you may expect Edward is a master of decorating the home with simple garden greenery creating wonderful mantlepieces, exquisite tablescapes and simple outside inspiration without any gimmicky or wasteful single use decorations for a more eco-friendly Christmas. Creating an Eco-friendly Christmas Wonderland 'Azurite' in Edward Bulmer's dining room, photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph We treat Christmas like a harvest festival and bring all the natural bounty inside. It is so beautiful. Edward Bulmer 'Azurite' in Edward Bulmer's dining room, photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph The dining room and the table are always lavishly embellished with evergreens and ivy and lots of candles. This year, painted in our deep jewel like blue ‘Azurite’, Edward and Emma wanted something special and asked friend and local florist Alice Rogers Coltman of Borage & Blossom to create something magical for the table. As you can see above the centre piece with dried flowers and greenery and potted plants running down the centre of the table is nothing short of spectacular! Classic favourites such a cloth from Volga Linen, velvet classic Oka chairs, hand painted natural candles and napkins from CocoLulu and our favourite reusable Happy Crackers made from left over Liberty fabrics. All worth bookmarking for next year for a eco-friendly Christmas or other special occasions. Edward’s tip is to tuck some sprigs of rosemary, greenery and some small fruit twigs like figs into the napkin rings for a little extra ta dah! Sometimes a lick of paint really can zhuzh up a room, this room has seen a few different transformations but this blue ‘Azurite’ is quite extraordinary, bold yet soft and oozing elegance. Adding a splash of natural paint is an easy way to update your interiors for a more eco-friendly Christmas. Festive Flair in the Hallway Garden Hallway in 'Invisible Green', with very special nativity crib and painting by Sandy Mallett, photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph The hallway is where many Christmas trees find their natural home, up the staircase or in a corner adding some beauty and cheer. Above you can see the vibrant ‘Invisible Green’, a bold colour choice but as you can see and as is oft said, it has a softness; this is down to Edward’s creative brilliance and the natural earth and mineral pigments used. A wonderful crib can take one back to childhood and is important to the Bulmer family traditions. The main hallway below, painted in our best selling neutral ‘Lilac Pink’, hosts the tree, covered in baubles and decorations from all over the world and collected over many years with some colourful ribbons from Sophie’s Ribbons and presents all wrapped without tape in wonderful recyclable papers, again from Sophie’s Ribbons, there are no lights in these pictures although the family might add some candles and tealights on Christmas Eve. Oh and mistletoe in abundance! Hallway in 'Lilac Pink', photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph Hallway in 'Lilac Pink', photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph It is so wonderful to have a tree in your house at this time of year; it creates a little bit of magic. The light is a symbol of the winter festival, and it becomes the heart of the house. The tree will have been absorbing carbon its entire life, and afterwards, we will compost the branches and turn the trunk into gate posts or firewood, so it will convert back into carbon. Edward Bulmer Joyous Festive Music Room 'Pomona' in the music room at The Bulmers' home, photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph Having a room or space without technology is a must, especially when we all have precious time family. The Bulmer’s have a snug for watching their favourite films and relaxing in together but the music room is for just that, music at the piano, conversation & debate, reading and playing board games: favourites are Perudo, wobbly chess, Scrabble and cards. This room is painted in ‘Pomona’ a soft apple green which lets the light in and has a wonderful glow which works in any room, upstairs or downstairs. A drinks ‘station’ is set up with favourites like British Cassis from our neighbours down the lane and lots of soft drinks and tea and sweet treats. Lots of beautiful foliage around the mantle piece and tables and a favourite antique welsh tapestry blanket in the deepest red adds some festive flair, from local shop The Great English Outdoors in Hay on Wye. 'Pomona' in the music room at The Bulmers' house, photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph 'Pomona' in the music room at The Bulmers' house, photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph 'Pomona' in the music room at The Bulmers' home, photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph Conscious Christmas Indulgence 'Dove' on the walls, 'Vert de Mer' on the kitchen cupboards and some dried allium heads and paper chains The kitchen is the hub of the house at this time of year and with three daughters home and family and friends coming over the holiday it can be busy! We recommend keeping decorations high and out of the chef’s way! Paper chains made from left over paint samples are hung from old meat hooks, we have used our own old paint outs but you could make similar from old wrapping paper, brown paper or get the kids crafting and using up old sample pots to paint out their own so you can create chains like these in complete tonal harmony- the perfect decoration for a more eco-friendly Christmas. Lots of delicious treats like cakes from Simply Delicious, local cheeses and an abundance of fruits and vegetables. Trying to be sustainable can be a challenge, and its sometimes quite depressing. But we really believe in small steps. We are blessed to live in a county full of creatives and foodies; I love to cook, and with three vegetarian children I have set myself the task of going 90 per cent veggie and avoiding the supermarkets completely - so no sausage-meat stuffing and pigs in blankets this year, which I shall really miss! Emma Bulmer Eco-Friendly Christmas Decor Upstairs Photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph 'Olympian Green' bathroom, photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph Finally, if you do have greenery in abundance, why not add a little extra to bedrooms and bathrooms to help take the magic upstairs too. This beautiful bedroom is painted with ‘Drab Green’ under the lovely Cole & Son wallpaper. See more of this very special green here. Another green, although more of a zesty lime green, Edward calls ‘Olympian Green’ in the en-suite here with artwork from Edward himself. These accents of greenery are the perfect way to decorate when trying to make a more eco-friendly Christmas. Enchanting Exteriors & Wreath-making Photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph Photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph Even without energy draining lights you can create quite a welcome! Of course there are solar powered lights and more energy efficient options now which are better for the environment or you can let the berries and greenery take centre stage. Edward has some top tips when it comes to making your greens stand the test of time too over Christmas with no nasty floral foam in sight! The perfect way to decorate for a more eco-friendly Christmas. Leave decorating until closer to the big day! Keep extra foliage and berries in a bucket of water in a shed or garage which can then be used to freshen and top up with over the Christmas period. Edward always starts with a natural selection from the garden but chooses wisely; cedar drops its needles quickly whereas yew lasts longer and looks very dramatic. They prefer to leave decorating the house until the girls are all home and the office is closed, so ideally the weekend just before Christmas. This is ideal when decorating with natural foliage, you also need to watch the signs from nature; if birds sense a harsh winter they will take all the berries, obviously the birds are more important but you can put the twigs in water as aforementioned and they will last the month. They are more important than us but if concerned put your greenery in your shed or garage over night as they will vacate immediately and then you can start decorating the next day. Removing trailing ivy from trees and the outsides of buildings is good for them too. So we see it as a win-win situation We like to bring in holly for the mantel pieces, but we tend to leave it where it is if it has berries for the birds. Edward Bulmer Photography by Newton & Worthy, in The Sunday Telegraph If you do love berries, favourites are spindle berries, with their striking pink berries and the juicy rowan tree berries in orange and white which can be found in many hedgerows and woods. However berries don’t tend to stand the test of time as well and do droop and make a mess when squashed inside the house. Edward also never puts holly on top of artwork or paintings as the berries can get stuck between the stretcher and the canvas. So if you do prefer to decorate earlier we recommend opting for beautiful ivy, and lots of it, and also adorning lots of twigs, hazel can look wonderful in vases with baubles and ribbons tied on. Gathering what you can get from your garden, local green space or woodland is a perfect way to have a more eco-friendly Christmas. Festive traditions start with wreath making, using willow and garden greenery and dried flowers and leaves so the garden shed comes into own at this time of year. Edward also recommends drying plants like alliums and hydrangeas and spraying them with left over natural paint creating wonderful displays and upcycling leftover paint at the same time. Edward Bulmer For more Christmas inspiration read more here on our Le Christmas C’est Chic journal and for more tops on having a more eco-friendly Christmas read our Conscious Christmas blog If you are looking for some last minute present inspiration our new gift cards are proving very popular for loved ones, whether you want to help them create their dream room with paint or help them with expert colour advice from gifting Colour Consultancy... Wishing you all a truly happy and healthy Christmas, whilst it is a time to switch off and spend time with loved ones, it is also a good time to reflect and think about the decisions we have all made over the last year and actions we could change or take going forward. Pioneering for healthier and natural paint is something very close to our hearts, sadly greenwashing is rife in all industries as well as our own, Edward shares some thoughts on the issues, read more here. Thank you to The Sunday Telegraph and Newton & Worthy for the beautiful pictures and words, read the full article here.
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