Join us as we count down to Christmas with our very stylish friends. This week, stylist, photographer & decorator Kara Rosenlund shares styling advice for a casual Christmas lunch. Portrait of Kara by Jason Starr.

My Christmas style is a juxtaposition of casual and traditional - traditional details in amongst a casual environment. Our Queensland hot, humid heat always plays such a big role on Christmas. Therefore my Christmas style is very much dictated by the heat and casual is best. Christmas Day is always at home and is always outdoors to catch the bay breezes rolling in; either on the back deck or in the backyard under our big old tree. Very casual, though I never overlook the little tender details of setting the table and decorating the house.

This year I will be buying plants as gifts because nothing beats nature, plus we all need more green in our homes, it's the colour of life.

My failsafe Christmas styling tip is an old set of quoits. Quoits have become a bit of a Christmas tradition in our family, plus the old weathered sets look so beautiful. After Christmas lunch we kick off our shoes, fill the wine glasses up and we all play a few rounds in the backyard and have a few giggles, while getting the body moving again after Christmas lunch.


Image and styling by Kara Rosenlund.

On Christmas day I keep my sanity with music. Each year my husband Timothy O and I I put together a 'mix tape' of new and old music which we have discovered throughout the year which we call 'Songs for the Table'. We burn the playlist to CD a few weeks out from Christmas and send them out to friends and clients. So even if things on Christmas day go a bit pear shaped we know that at least we have the music covered for the day.

All I want for Christmas is to be with family because life is just so very fast paced and there really isn't anything like being around a humble table with the people you love the most to reflect on the year gone by and to really appreciate each other's company. Time is the new luxury.

This Christmas I will be serving individual entrée serves of sand crab lasagna to kick the feast off…. It's such an iconic Australian addition to incorporate seafood into Christmas Day, so each year this is how I like to do it.

My biggest Christmas faux pas was when I got way too excited about having my turn to host Christmas and I turned Christmas into some opportunity to trial out a trendy degustation menu with twelve courses with matching wines for each of the twelve courses. Lucky no one remembers that Christmas too well, as mixing all that wine together definitely took care of the memories.

We love Kara's style - you can see more of it on her website, her blog, her Facebook page and via her Instagram feed @kararosenlund (and follow her husband Timothy @timothy_o). You can also shop her vintage wares online at her Travelling Wares store, though if you can catch Frankie the caravan it's even more of a treat.