Dozens of Beautiful Wreath Ideas to Dress Up Your Door

“This is my tropical spin on a traditional holiday wreath,” says Alethea Harampolis, co-owner of Homestead Design Collective and Studio Choo. Bonus: After the holidays, you can remove the air plants to hang around the home and transplant the red hot pokers to your yard.

How-to: Make bundles with evergreen cedar and tea tree (Melaleuca) and accents of huckleberry, myrtle, sumac, and variegated ivy; wire to 
a double-wire wreath frame. Create an organic look by making each bundle different.

Crisp air and the crunch of leaves beneath your feet— we can’t blame you for wanting to hold onto autumn. This wreath of dried ingredients and warm tones delivers that and more. “For pops of 
hot color, add flowers from your garden or buy them from the grocery store,” says designer Alethea Harampolis of Homestead Design Collective.

How-to: Line a dried honeysuckle wreath frame with bunches of this glowing trio: silver banksia, red eucalyptus, and golden panicle hydrangea. Next, wire individual carnations and orchids into dense clusters of color that take cues from your home decor. Use 3M adhesive plastic hooks to hang to a mirror without marring its surface.

Let a black-and-white palette be the antidote to tinsel and flashing colored lights. Spray-paint inexpensive nutcrackers white,
then place them at attention beneath a paper-loop wreath. If you happen to have dark walls, this look can be especially pleasing.

DIY: Cut white and ivory paper in 1- by 8-inch strips. Bring the ends together to form a teardrop shape; tape or staple to secure. Hot-glue the loops to a wreath form, layering them tightly. Nutcrackers and candlesticks, Michaels. Stockings, Serena & Lily. Moroccan rug, Elsie Green House & Home.

For a take on the holidays that feels more Western than sprigs of holly do, pile succulents in a trough surrounded by your everyday ceramic vases. Tuck more succulents into a premade olive-leaf wreath.

DIY: Trim each succulent’s stem to about 1½ inches. Push a 12-inch length of floral wire through the stem near the base. Position the succulent on the wreath, then wrap the wire around to the back, twisting it to secure. For heavier specimens, tie the wire before twisting it for more stability. Trough, Tina Frey. Pillows by Flint, available at The Perish Trust. Basket, Elsie Green House & Home. Vases, Heath Ceramics and Ruby’s Clay Studio and Gallery.

Although designer Alethea Harampolis admits this piece is more of a “wall hanging than a wreath,” it celebrates the stark and structural beauty of winter—
with a budding reminder that spring is just around the corner.

How-to: Using a dark fine-gauge wire, tie a branch of manzanita to a single-wire wreath frame, drape with macramé, and finish with a flowering branch—being careful not to place too much weight on any one side. Once the branch drops its petals, replace with another cutting from your yard—or leave the manzanita and macramé as
-is for a striking silhouette against a light-colored wall.

Without the distraction of multiple materials, textures, and colors, the sculptural form
 of this seeded eucalyptus beauty stands out. “I think of it as a combination of a wreath and a swag,” says designer Alethea Harampolis.

How-to: Using one continuous piece of wire (don’t cut until the wreath is finished to keep ingredients extra snug), tightly wrap eucalyptus bundles of various lengths to a single-wire frame. Hide stems beneath foliage and leave longest bunches for the bottom to create a teardrop shape. When not in use, hang in a cool, dark place to preserve for years.

The holidays are your chance to go all out, if that’s your thing. Try a riotous mix of silver and gold, faux snow, and ornaments, all crowned by a pompom wreath. Collect colorful glass balls in large vases and arrange fiberfill into drifts of faux snow where oversize ornaments can nestle.

DIY: Hot-glue pompoms to a wreath form, starting with the largest and varying color and size. Ornaments, Fantastico. Threshold Bar Cart, Target. Stockings, The Stocking Place. Pom-Pom Charm with Pin (on stockings), Serena & Lily. Tall glass vase, Crimson Horticultural Rarities. Silver tree, Crate & Barrel.

Unleash all your cabin fantasies with a lush woodland scene. Weave a mixed eucalyptus- and olive-branch garland between birch vases filled with dusty miller and green berries. String pinecones on twine, and hang a wreath of shed deer antlers to complete the scene.

DIY: For the wreath, arrange four or five antlers so the points interlock to form a circle. Liberally hot-glue the antlers to one another at the interlocking points. For the pinecone garland, screw fish eye hooks into the base of the pinecones (you may need to drill a hole in the cones first). Thread twine through the eyes. Antlers, eBay. Rocking chair, Past Perfect. Pillow, Cindy Ciskowski. Oil Bottle, Elsie Green House & Home.

Alethea Harampolis of Homestead Design Collective created this wreath with holiday cocktail parties in mind— elegant, but not one bit stuffy. The asymmetrical shape and feathery texture loosen up the classic burgundy, black, and white palette.

How-to: Find a single starting point and create a base of dark leaf agonis running both clockwise and counterclockwise. Using a fine-gauge wire, affix bundles of varying lengths to a dried honeysuckle wreath frame, then add clusters of privet berries, lisianthus blossoms, and Israeli ruscus
 leaves to hide stems and create depth. “Don’t be afraid of negative space,” says Harampolis; gaps and straying branches create a sense of drama.

A deep blue sky meets sun-parched hills, rampant wild fennel, and fragrant eucalyptus groves—there’s no reason a wreath can’t be beautiful and tell a story. “This one brings back memories of hiking as a kid in Northern California,” says designer Alethea Harampolis of Homestead Design Collective.

How-to: For the California sky, use an X-Acto knife and metal ruler to cut strips into a piece of blue suede. Be sure not to cut to the topmost edge of the material—leave an inch or two to coat with glue and wrap tightly around the upper half of the single wire frame. Affix bunches of dried eucalyptus, fennel seed heads, magnolia, and oak to the bottom of the frame, letting the strips of suede hang loosely behind them.

Clusters of yellow-orange kumquats and a few green citrus leaves add contrast to a red Leucadendron base. Dried palm stems provide a dash of orange. The colors are evocative of Christmas without being too Christmas-y.

Design by Zenaida Sengo of Flora Grubb Gardens and floral designer Susie Nadler of Cutting Garden; sold by Flora Grubb

A base of silver Leucadendron gives this wreath silky highlights and a metallic sheen that catches the light. Plum Sempervivum, pale purple Kalanchoe cuttings, and green rosemary sprigs stud the base.

Design by Zenaida Sengo of Flora Grubb Gardens and floral designer Susie Nadler of Cutting Garden; sold by Flora Grubb

Lichen-covered walnut branch prunings from an orchard north of San Francisco form this wreath. The branch ends are wired together into a circle, then the wreath is dressed up with gray and pink Tillandsia (aka air plants).

Design by Zenaida Sengo of Flora Grubb Gardens and floral designer Susie Nadler of Cutting Garden; sold by Flora Grubb

Lichen-covered walnut branch prunings from an orchard north of San Francisco form this wreath. The branch ends are wired together into a circle, then the wreath is dressed up with gray and pink Tillandsia (aka air plants).

Design by Zenaida Sengo of Flora Grubb Gardens and floral designer Susie Nadler of Cutting Garden; sold by Flora Grubb

Textile artist Jennifer June, whose former Seattle store, Hermitage, stocked under-the-radar wallpaper, adds punch to her wreath by crafting a mini mountainscape. Green—the dominant color of the Northwest— is the base for silkscreened balsa-wood trees and snowcapped mountains. Jennifer also cut forsythia blooms from felt, providing a cheerful pop of color—something to appreciate during the long days of winter.

Materials: Douglas fir, cedar, and forsythia branches, felt, balsawood sheets and dowels, silk-screening materials, hot glue, wire, wire frame.

Tip: Instead of a balanced, uniform wreath, create a scene in one section.

The creations that Heather Pando makes for her L.A. design studio , Little World Design, use botanicals in a whimsical fashion—a style translated to this wreath. One of Heather’s favorite sights is springtime magnolia blossoms framed against the sky. “The effect is very dreamlike, and I wanted to re-create that for the holidays,” she says. With her team—including Manuel Acosta, who put together this piece—she fashioned “blossoms” out of scallop shells and glued them to a manzanita frame that resembles driftwood. littleworlddesign.com

Materials: Manzanita branches, scallop shells, pink rock quartz, sea fans (gorgonian), hot glue.

Tip: Create a traditional embellishment (flowers) from untraditional materials (shells and rocks).

People seek out Montana interior designer Kate Ledford for her uncanny ability to decorate using items they already own. “I always look for found items wherever I go, and I like to recultivate things in unexpected ways,” she says—which explains her collection of deer antlers, accumulated while foraging in the forest (deer shed them naturally). She decided they’d be the perfect foundation for her wreath: an iconic “found” Western emblem, used in a surprising way.

Materials: Antlers, pheasant and quail feathers, dried berries, painted straw snowflakes, twigs, heavy wire.

Tip: Use materials with contrasting textures to create interest.

We first met this rising star when he was working at Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco; since then, Hank Jenkins has evolved into a “plant architect” (his words) , designing outdoor spaces in the Bay Area through his firm, Lushland. To get this wreath project kickstarted, he simply took a walk. “What’s here is what grabbed my attention in my own garden and on hikes.” Despite the fresh take on materials, he keeps the color palette traditional with green eucalyptus pods and red pincushions (leucospermum).

Materials: Eucalyptus pods and leaves, lotus pods, leucospermum, floral foam, floral pins.

Tip: To prolong the freshness of a live wreath, keep the foam moist.

For this festive wreath, Rhiannon Smith—lead floral designer for Farmgirl Flowers—chooses fresh ingredients with a distinctly Western flair. Delicate green olive leaves, silver eucalyptus pods, aromatic rosemary, and bright red-orange bittersweet berries give a fresh look to a traditional holiday favorite.

This easy yet elegant DIY holiday decorating project requires only a few materials, including ever-favorite tillandsias.

More: How to make air plant wreaths

A wreath of Ponderosa pine, Oregon grape, wolf lichen, and redtwig dogwood accents Patti Bosket’s Leavenworth, Washington, porch.

The land around the house yields plenty of material for wreath making. “I’m so impressed by nature,” she says. “I love the look, feel, and texture of native plants. Nature inspires my designs.”

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This 3-foot-wide redtwig dogwood wreath turns an outdoor log shed into an eye-catcher.

Nearly any deciduous tree or shrub with colored bark will work in wreaths including coral bark maple (salmon or orange) and paper birch (white).

A trio of snowflake ornaments embellishes the backs of these dining chairs. Send greenery home as a party favor with each guest.

These snowflake chair backs are decorated with eucalyptus buds and pods, silvery dusty miller, and the serrated leaves of grevillea.

Use the natural patterns of Douglas fir sprigs to create elegant ornaments for a window display.

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Readymade garlands and wreaths, with a few natural embellishments of your own, turn a porch into a grand entrance. This one features fir boughs and eucalyptus pods.

This noble fir wreath’s dense needles appear to have captured falling magnolia leaves. Hazelnuts or any local nuts add another touch of autumn.

Start with a purchased wreath and use your imagination and local resources to make your own memorable creations infused with a sense of place.

To welcome family and friends, hang an evergreen wreath from a ribbon that coordinates with the flowers and foliage. Tie the ribbon to a gate, or hang several wreaths at different heights from tree branches.

Bay and rosemary leaves form a wreath that holds its fragrance for more than a week. The effect is fresh and welcoming.

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Make a wreath using foraged greens and foliage from your own backyard.

More: Watch how to make a DIY wreath

Silvery green Eucalyptus polyanthemos leaves and berrylike flower buds dry well.

“I especially like simple, monochromatic wreaths made entirely from one material and accented with a satin ribbon for hanging,” says Nordthern California designer Mercedes Feller.

Fragrant bay leaves and sculptural oak branches are among her favorite indigenous materials. The effect is fresh and welcoming ― seasonal decor that showcases the bounty of the landscape.

A fir garland and wreath with bright nandina berries brings the holidays to the patio.

Create a matching garland by grouping several berry stems and attaching them to the center with floral wire.

This special-occasion wreath made of carnations can last 2 or more weeks outdoors. Keep the blooms fresh by soaking the foam core with floral preservative and giving them a spritz from a water bottle every now and then.

A garland of cedar, eucalyptus bark and dried moss frames a simple purchased wreath.

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Miniature carnations and spiky fir needles create a wreath that’s both fragrant and strikingly elegant.

Make multiples and put on chair backs for a special dinner party.

A manzanita wreath decorated with moss, canella berries and proteas acts as a centerpiece for this holiday entry. Lights on the yuccas and pillar candles in aloe vera pots add a warm glow.

Spanish moss, canella berries, and pincushion proteas make a simple manzanita wreath special.

To keep the pincushion proteas fresh, put their stems in floral water tubes. Insert tubes in wreath, hiding tubes with moss, twigs, or other greenery.

Washington apples and prunings of bloodtwig dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) brighten a wreath and garland of cedar and Douglas fir prunings.

Use a wire wreath frame and attach 8-inch-long cedar and Douglas fir clippings, working counterclockwise.

Tuck in 8- to 10- inch dogwood prunings. Make a hole through an apple segment, pass an 8-inch wire through fruit and wrap around greenery and frame, twisting ends together.

Winter is the time for citrus in California; pair garden cuttings of kumquats with salal and boxwood.

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