Most luxury condo owners love the holidays. It’s a time of year to indulge in good food, be merry, and reconnect with the people who matter most. However, it can sometimes be demanding, especially when it feels like you have a million and one things to do to make the season as perfect as possible.
At The Berkeley Palm Beach, we understand what it takes to plan a three-course meal in a gourmet kitchen, design the best table and condo decor, and host holiday events that bring people together and ensure long-lasting memories. That’s why we’re sharing holiday condo entertaining tips, hosting tips, and decor insights that can help you ensure every little detail turns out the way you envisioned.
With the ideas you learn today, decking the halls and setting the perfect mood won’t feel downright impossible but instead well within reach.
Holiday Condo Entertaining Decor that Sets the Tone
You’ll decorate a traditional home differently from how you would a luxury condo at The Berkley Palm Beach.
Since a condo is generally smaller in scale than some homes, you need to ensure the decor you use feels intentional to set the right tone. In our experience, a lighter but still sophisticated touch works best.
Choose Decor that Supports the Layout
Usually, luxury condos benefit from decor that stays low to the ground or is narrow in profile, and this is true for holiday decorating too. You should consider:
- Low centerpieces that won’t block any views you might have in your condo.
- Narrow console table arrangements near your condo’s entryways.
- In corners, place tall candlesticks or slim lanterns to add ambience.
These decor decisions can help keep your condo feeling open during the festive season.
Add Smaller Decor Pieces with Big Impact
With luxury Berkeley condos, you have to be careful with the size of your decor pieces because you don’t want to overwhelm your space.
This is especially true during the holidays, when you may have more people over than usual. Luckily, small decor items can be just as impactful. You can:
- Add seasonal greenery in contained arrangements on doors, tables, countertops, and against walls, rather than large displays.
- If you’re adding Christmas tree decor, try to use slimmer tree designs or tabletop trees. This helps maintain sightlines in open rooms.
- Try to place sculptural ornaments, ceramic figures, or glass accents on shelving. This can allow you to introduce holiday details without affecting the flow of your rooms.
When you use smaller decor items in the ways above, you can showcase your favorite pieces without overwhelming the architecture of your luxury condo.
Choose Lighting that Complements Rather than Dominates
When you’re hosting evening events during the holidays, it’s better to choose lighting that complements the evening rather than dominates it. You’ll want to avoid intensely bright lighting that can distract from the clean lines of your luxury condo at the Berkley Palm Beach.
Instead, the best lighting options include soft white string lights and small cordless lamps. However, you could also use warm LED candles to brighten your home without adding clutter.
Designing the Perfect Holiday Table
When hosting the holidays in your luxury condo, it’s essential to design the perfect holiday table. After all, you don’t want all your hard work decorating your condo to match the holiday spirit to go to waste. With this in mind, let’s have a closer look at how to embrace festive decor while making your holiday table the visual anchor of the room:
Choose a Table Style that Works with the Room
In most luxury condos, dining areas are in open spaces or near windows. This placement underscores the importance of choosing the right table style for your room. Usually:
- Round tables are better suited to small gatherings, as they offer a smoother flow.
- If your condo offers an open-plan space, you might want to use a rectangular table, as seating can extend into the living area.
- Glass or light-toned tables can be better when you want to maintain a sense of openness during the season and have used more of your room space for decor.
Ultimately, the goal is to let your dining table complement the room as a whole rather than overpower it or make maneuvering difficult.
Consider Understated Seasonal Place Settings
You don’t need elaborate place settings for your dining room table to feel special during the holidays. You can consider simpler, understated seasonal place settings like:
- Simple ceramic plates that exhibit a subtle pattern like snowflakes, leaves, flowers, or a more on-the-nose Christmas theme.
- Brushed cotton or linen napkins in muted seasonal colors, including soft reds, greens, browns, creams, and blues.
- Brushed metal flatware is a good choice if you’re after a more modern look at the dinner table.
- Small natural elements like pine cones at each place setting or rosemary sprigs in glasses or vases.
Festive decor like the above isn’t elaborate in the slightest, yet it manages to pull together a classic, often elegant look without feeling busy during the holidays.
Carefully Pick Your Table Color and Centerpieces
In a luxury condo at The Berkeley Palm Beach, when decorating for the holidays, it’s best to keep centerpieces low enough so guests can speak comfortably across the table.
Although extravagant centerpieces can be appealing, you can achieve a similar effect with simple styling that includes:
- A singular primary color scheme that tells its own story with accent colors to enhance the overall look.
- A row of small vases that include only a single item within them, like colorful stones or a flower.
- A long, narrow tray with candles and greenery like twigs, ferns, or flowers.
- A medium floral or decoration arrangement that sits below eye level and takes center stage.
This approach might feel subdued, but the effect can be stunning, and no one will be trying to move things out of the way during conversations.
Hosting Tips for Luxury Spaces
Your decor can fall flat, even if it looks visually stunning, if you’re a poor host (which we know you’ll never be). Below are a few hosting tips you might want to follow to ensure your holiday condo entertaining continues without a hitch:
Before Guests Arrive, Plan Your Layout
If you have any cluttered surfaces, clear them so that you have space for drinks and small bites. It’s also a good idea to move accent chairs to support conversation throughout your home. In addition, you can shift console tables or side tables to more accessible spots, create more serving space, and prevent congestion as your holiday event unfolds.
Keep Service Simple
If you have an elaborate holiday dinner planned, you can keep everything else simple. What we mean is offering small appetizers at designated zones where guests can easily pick them up and nibble while conversing. It’s also a good idea to use carafes or pitchers for self-service. You should also add napkins and coasters in places where people naturally gather in your condo.
Use Built-In Features and Facilities to Your Advantage
Some condos come with a range of built-in features and facilities, so why not use them to your advantage? For example, at The Berkley Palm Springs, there is a rooftop pool that is open to the sky, a sky garden retreat, a wellness center and spa, an indoor entertainment and social lounge, and even a private dining room with a chef’s kitchen on the rooftop. You can make use of these facilities during your holiday activities.
Entertainment and Atmosphere Ideas for the Holidays
Holiday condo entertaining works best when it fits your home’s layout. That’s why you need to create a setting that allows guests to move, talk, and enjoy the evening without feeling crowded as they move about your home. Here’s a look at how you can do this:
Create Sound that Fits the Room
Don’t listen to those who tell you music isn’t a necessity. During the festive season, music can set the backdrop for your events and help you create the atmosphere you’re after.
For instance, upbeat tunes can help create a lively vibe, while mellow beats can create a soothing, softer atmosphere. With this in mind, often acoustic playlists, lighter seasonal tracks, or more modern jazz work well in condos.
These music genres don’t overwhelm the room, and you won’t have any neighbors complaining about noise. However, remember to adjust the music volume throughout the night to keep the room comfortable.
Use Lighting to Guide the Event
Modern condos like ours at The Berkeley Palm Beach rarely feature only one type of lighting. You can use this to your advantage. During the holidays, you can make lighting changes to support the flow of the gathering.
For instance, bright lighting works well when you welcome guests into your home and while guests settle in. Then, as the night wears on and dinner begins, you can introduce a softer hue by gradually lowering the lighting. You can even introduce lamps or candlelight to slow the pace without making the room feel dark.
It might not seem like it, but these lighting changes can make an immense difference in how the event unfolds and feels throughout the gathering.
Don’t Overdo It with the Seasonal Scents
When you walk into your home, you don’t want your nose or that of your guests to be assaulted by a too-strong seasonal scent. That’s why it’s best to find a scent that appeals to your nose and use it sparingly. That is, unless you like a heedy smell.
Unfortunately, many holiday fragrances can feel a tad overwhelming. They often contain spice blends or sweet scents that can linger in smaller spaces. Usually, scents like mild pine, citrus, and even cedar work well during the holidays. These maintain a clean smell that doesn’t compete with food. You can use these scents as wax melts, candles, oil diffusers, and living flowers.
The Takeaways
Holiday condo entertaining is easier than ever when you plan a blueprint of how you will host and decorate. Hopefully, the tips we shared today will help you plan the best holiday season at your The Berkeley Palm Beach condo. These elevated living condos offer a resort-style amenity program with a breathtaking collection of spaces designed for socialization and wellness.
If you want to learn more about the concierge services, social lounge, boardroom, coworking spaces, fitness center, spa, and treatment rooms, contact us here. We’re looking forward to showing you your condominium options in our spectacular building.
