A Professional Wreath Designer Spills 7 Secrets to Styling the Perfect Christmas Wreath — Fresh or Faux

Having a beautiful wreath hanging from your front door during the holidays is a classic touch, and no one knows the difference a good-looking wreath can make more than designer Katie Shute. Her Instagram, @wreathsmadebykatie, is full of colorways and festive floral arrangements that will inspire you to dress your door, and truly wow your guests.

As you can imagine, right now is a particularly busy time of the year for Katie, who runs an Etsy shop selling her beautiful wreaths. Regardless of that, she kindly took the time to share seven of her best tips and tricks to inspire your own Christmas wreath ideas. "I have been toying with the idea of doing a design course for wreath makers," she told Livingetc. Well, consider this a sneak peek of what could be to come.

Whether you're looking for new ways to dress up your faux wreath, or you want to try your hand at making a Christmas wreath with live stems and holiday holly, Katie's tips for making Christmas wreaths make it all feel so much easier. Hang on it on the front door, above the fireplace, in your bedroom, or even outside... or make multiple to hang in all those places — the choice is yours!

Whatever you do, here are Katie's top tips.

1. Measure Your Space First

My mom always taught me to 'measure twice, cut once'. When it comes to making the most beautiful wreath (or styling a store-bought variety), the first thing to do is to know the size of the space you want to hang it in, and to ensure the size and shape of your wreath fits.

"My biggest tip for decorating or designing a wreath for your home is to measure your space before you order or design a wreath," says Katie. "Then once you know the size you need, you can go shopping for the best Christmas wreath."

No matter how beautifully you style your wreath, it's never going to look good if it's too small for the space, or visa versa, crammed into a tight corner.

2. Hang the Wreath While You Create

Katie's next tip is to hang your wreath up while you're creating or styling it. "That way you'll be able to see where things are actually lying when it's hung," she says.

This is perhaps an obvious tip, but actually one I never would have considered myself. Laying your wreath flat may allow you to apply your decor more easily, but you will not get an accurate idea of what it will look like or how things like your holiday bow decor will hang. Plus, you can tweak as you go!

3. Layer Faux Foliage

While most people think fresh is best, that's not necessarily always the case. When you inevitably end up falling in love with a wreath you create, you want to keep it for years to come, and that's only possible when it's faux.

The downside, however, is that faux wreaths can lack the beautiful freshness of real foliage. Katie has a solution though. "If you're making a wreath from faux florals, I recommend using three different kinds of greenery to give your wreath texture," she says.

If you don't know where to start, Katie says "One easy thing to do while shopping is to make a bouquet while you're at the store to see how things pair together."

4. Five Fresh Florals

However, if you're keen to try your hand at a fresh wreath, Katie recommends "Picking five florals and placing them evenly around your wreath," adding that "Styling picks around an entire wreath gives the wreath more balance."

Choosing five different flowers is also a great way to incorporate some color, to either complement or contrast with your other Christmas decorating ideas. If you need inspiration, pink is a color that is particularly popular this year, and soft pink roses would make a lovely complement to traditional red berry stems and green pine foliage.

5. Have a Focal Point

Every wreath needs one particular element that makes it pop. From bows to berries to baubles, having a strong focal point gives your wreath a shining moment. Plus, it is an easy way to jump on all the best Christmas decorating trends.

Katie says "If you're making a crescent style wreath and want to leave part of the grapevine showing I recommend using a focal point. Your focal point can be a large bow, poinsettia flower, or an ornament of some kind. Focal points will draw the eye in."

Berries are Katie's personal favorite, but other options include pinecones, bells, flowers, or small ornaments.

6. Hang From the Inside

There are also some more practical things to consider when decorating with wreaths. And one of the biggest is often working out how to hang a wreath, making sure it's not only secure, but also looks stylish (and preferably doesn't leave a hole in your front door.)

Katie's best tip for this is ingenious, and actually involves hanging it from the inside. "Put a Command hook [from Amazon] on the inside of your door, and hang the wreath with a long piece of twine or ribbon," she says. "You can loop it over the door and have it hang outside without having to see a hook."

7. Shop and Decorate Savvily

And finally, Katie says there a few smart ways to approach both making and decorating your wreaths at Christmas. When working with a fresh wreath, she recommends you "Clean and trim your grapevine before you decorate it," adding that you should "Pay attention to how flat the grapevine is, as some are wavy and it will make the final product uneven."

"A quick way to make a wreath is also to buy one of those sad holiday wreaths from a box store and then add more florals to it," adds Katie. "You can often find discounts on these wreaths during the holidays."

Following Katie's pro tips is sure to bring a little ease into your wreath decorating plans, and a whole lot of style to your Christmas decor.