Blogger Stylin’ Home Tours Christmas 2015

Welcome to Blogger Stylin’ Home Tours Christmas 2015, friends!  Today really kicks off the Christmas season for me.  37 bloggers are all sharing how they’re decking their halls and getting ready to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. 

Decorating for Christmas is always one of my favorite things.  I usually choose a theme and color scheme, buy a good bit of new and DIY, and no nook or cranny is left untouched.  I love it.  But this year, I’ve been craving simple.  While I love my normal decorating, it can sort of take over the season.  I decided that I wanted to focus on the purpose behind the season and enjoying it with our family.  I made a rule that I wouldn’t buy one single thing for this tour other than the live greenery we buy each year.  No pre-planned color palette, no new pillows and throws, nothing other than items I already had.  I wanted to just have fun creating with what I had and I think it’s the most fun I’ve ever had decorating for Christmas!

Our house is still “unfinished” and you’ll definitely see glimpses of that in this tour.  But I decided to let that go and see the beauty in the imperfect.  That really symbolizes what the meaning Christmas is all about to me…something special comes into the unfinished and imperfect and makes it beautiful.

Nothing says Christmas to me like live pine garlands.  I buy some every year from Trader Joe’s and at $6 for 20 feet, you can’t beat it!  I love draping them over every doorway and surface that I can. 

We finished up our entry recently, just in time for Christmas.  I really wanted to give it some Christmas love to greet us right inside the door.

I put our nativity on the entry table so that it’s the first thing you see and it reminds us of the reason for the season.  I bought this nativity six years ago when we were engaged.  I was so excited to have it for our new home and our first married Christmas and now, I love putting it out each year.

Each year, I get questions about it.  I found it clearanced at a small Christmas shop.  I love how the old, rustic nativity pairs with the modern Britt Bass abstract.  On the other side of the entry, we have a little mudroom that’s getting a lot of use now.

I’ll talk more about my new cotton finds in a minute, but I’m in love with this simple cotton wreath!

I went simple in our dining room this year.  No tablescape or elaborate centerpiece, just a magnolia garland and some candles.

I know the dining room looks very different than the last time y’all saw it!  We just recently made a few changes and I’ll be talking in detail about it later this week!

On the other side of the dining room, we moved in our hutch from the last dining room.  And I jump at any opportunity for an extra Christmas tree.

While I didn’t plan an overall theme up front like last year’s tour, you’ll see that themes in certain areas still emerged.  That’s just naturally how I work as I started decorating.  I wanted a berry colored garland on this tree to pull out the reds and pinks from the thrift store floral behind the table.  I cut strips of some fabric I had in my stash and tied them together to create long garlands.

I kept all of the ornaments neutral: pinecones, gold and silver.  The buffalo check “tree skirt” is a throw from Target that I love!  I know you’ve seen it in a lot of different spaces in my photos – I love moving it around!

The kitchen is the biggest example of making what you have work.  I know many of you will remember from my last kitchen post that this room is still very much unfinished.  We really wanted to finish it (install lights, sconces, the hood, and shelves) before Christmas, but we just ran out of time.  Instead of stressing about it or taking our holiday weekends to put towards it, we decided to push it until after the new year and make it work for now.

On the sink wall, we hung artwork over the electrical boxes where the sconces will go.  Don’t worry, the hubby is an electrician, so he made sure we were safe.  A little garland over the window and one of my favorite childhood Christmas keepsakes in the window sill make me happy.

On the wall over the stove, we just had a big, empty space.  A hood and shelves will fill this space soon, but instead of staring at the blank wall until it happened, we decided to dress it up just a little.  Thrift store art takes center stage over the stove and live wreaths hang on each side.  My Christmas tree collection is the perfect centerpiece for our island.  It still leaves plenty of room for cooking and serving.

Even our bedroom got a little Christmas cheer. While I love using color, I also love having a very neutral space where I can really change things up for different seasons. 

We still don’t have a headboard or really any decor in this room, but big euro shams, art, and colorful patterns create a statement.

I love this mix in our bedroom right now and I especially love that every single item was either handmade or purchased at a thrift store (other than the white comforter).  That’s right up my alley.

And now for the main event.  The living room steals the show, for me.

 

I’m so happy about the new chandelier.  I’ll share details on it later this week, too, but I sure do love how it turned out and how it sets off this room.

I got the art for the fireplace a little while ago, but haven’t shared it yet.  It’s from Minted and I love how it ties this whole room together.  It’s not technically “for Christmas,” but I love how it looks with my decorations this year!

The fireplace is painted my new favorite shade of dark green, Benjamin Moore Hidden Falls and I love how things pop against it.  I love statement and sort of haphazard garlands on a mantel.  I first layered on a live pine garland and then this cotton beauty.  I’ve been hunting for a cotton garland and wreath for the last several years and finally found some that are decent priced.  I picked them out for my Thanksgiving tablescape, but they didn’t get here in time.  Perfect for my Christmas decor!

The stockings are our “traditional” stockings.  My mom made the “L” and “C” stockings for our first Christmas.  I painted on the letters and was so proud when we hung these up!  In other years, I’ve considered using something else that matched that year’s decor, but I’ve decided that hanging these year after year and remembering their history is most important to me.  The other two are for Gracie and Rosie and I purchased them last year. 

For this tree, I made a tassel garland out of plum fabric that I already had just by cutting and tying. 

The skirt is a woven thrift store throw I found years ago that has a variety of colors in it.  For the ornaments on this tree, I decided to stick to colored balls.  I’ve collected a variety over the years from thrift and antique stores and Hobby Lobby.  I put them all together in here and I love the classic, but colorful look it has.

We had to move the new living room chairs to the opposite side of the room to make room for the tree and I’m actually loving them there!  They may stay after Christmas, but for now, I love that all attention goes to the tree.  There’s just something so magical about twinkling lights and glittery ornaments.

Even little Rosie is captured by the magic of her first Christmas tree.

Thanks for touring our Christmas home, y’all!  I had the best time creating and decorating this year and I’m still going!  I’ll be sharing our family tree and Rosie’s room decked out for Christmas next week.

For now, I’m just soaking up every day of this magical season here with my family.

Head on over to the next stop on the tour, my talented friend Anissa from House Seven Blog.

And make sure you check out the rest of the tours with the schedule below:

MONDAY:

The White Buffalo Styling Co.

House Seven

Bliss at Home

Mimosa Lane

Swoon Worthy

Claire Brody

Nesting with Grace

 

TUESDAY:

The Makerista

Simple Stylings

Amanda Katherine

The Sweetest Digs

Iron & Twine

Style Your Senses

Dream Green DIY

WEDNESDAY:

Hunted Interior

Cuckoo 4 Design

The Chronicles of Home

Go Haus Go

Chic Little House

Burlap & Lace

My Fabuless Life

Desert Domicile

 

THURSDAY:

Rain on a Tin Roof

Michaela Noelle Designs

Dwellings by Devore

A Creative Day Blog

Restless Arrow

DIY Playbook

Julie Blanner

Craftberry Bush

 

FRIDAY:

Inspired by Charm

withHEART

Dimples and Tangles

SG Style

Place of My Taste

Primitive & Proper