Jessica Chastain's nostalgic Christmas decor turns her home into a festive grotto – design experts say her traditional look is setting trends for 2024

The actress uses a natural tree, nutcrackers, and wooden figurines to perfect one of this year's holiday's biggest trends – and it's replicable from $8

Jessica Chastain
(Image credit: Marc Piasecki via Getty Images)

It's that point in the year when trend forecasters share their predictions for the holiday looks we will be seeing over the next month – and with them comes playful colors and TikTok-inspired aesthetics that are dominating conversations on social media. As fun as these looks are, however, our favorite 'trends' are those that will look just as fashionable in years in the future – and sometimes, that involves looking to the past. Jessica Chastain's Christmas decorations perfect this ideology.

In 2021, the actress shared footage from her New York apartment, which she had decorated for the holidays, and her style is just as trendy this Christmas. Chastain opted for a strong nostalgic theme – featuring traditional wooden figurines, nutcrackers, and a classic red and white theme on her natural Christmas tree. The timelessness of her ornaments and color scheme means they're similarly set to dominate trends this December, as design experts explain.

'2024 has been the year where we’ve all been chasing that sense of nostalgia, whether it be through our fashion choices or beauty looks,' comments Cassandra Leisz, Creative Director at Ruggable. 'Therefore, it’s no surprise that one Christmas trend set to reign this year encapsulates tradition for a nostalgic Christmas.'

Shop the look

'When we think of traditional Christmas decor, we automatically think of timeless festive toys, such as The Nutcracker [much like Chastain's], statement poinsettia arrangements, needlepoint fireplace stockings, and the traditional color palette of deep, warming tones of rustic reds, forest greens, and glimmering golds,' Leisz explains.

You can shop these traditional Christmas essentials inspired by the actress's space here.

'To ensure you master a timeless, nostalgia-filled look this Christmas, decorate a real tree, refresh your linens and softgoods with plaid tartan patterns, style your gathering spaces with taper candles, heirloom treasures, and vintage finds, and keep your favorite Christmas album on repeat for maximum festive vibes,' Leisz adds.' We'll be refreshing our feed to see how Chastain styles her home this year – but we can hazard a guess that it'll be just as timeless.


Megan Slack
Head of Celebrity Style News

Megan is the Head of Celebrity Style News at Homes & Gardens, where she leads the celebrity/ news team. She has a history in interior design, travel, and news journalism, having lived and worked in New York, Paris, and, currently, London. Megan has bylines in Livingetc, The Telegraph, and IRK Magazine, and has interviewed the likes of Drew Barrymore, Ayesha Curry, Michelle Keegan, and Tan France, among others. She lives in a London apartment with her antique typewriter and an eclectic espresso cup collection, and dreams of a Kelly Wearstler-designed home.