Happy December, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”.  Every year I tell myself I’m not going to overdo it, take my time and enjoy the process, but then when the time comes, it’s just so hard y’all. I have definitely done better this year, but I need to keep pacing myself. I think the best way to avoid the stress is to plan in advance. You can go to this post here  Christmas Planning & Color Ideas to read some of my tips on preparing for Christmas and some color scheme ideas. I’m loving the way our holiday home is feeling this year and I’m happy to bring you along on a tour….

Welcome

This year I wanted to make some changes with our decor and keep it simple. In our old home we had several separate rooms so it was easier to allow different themes for each room. But with our new house, the open concept is a bit more limiting. When you have a large open space, it’s best to keep things very cohesive and simple otherwise the space can look very cluttered and confusing.

Also, selecting various focal point areas can keep the busyness and cluttered feeling to a minimum. If decorating overwhelms you, I highly suggest picking some of your favorite areas to concentrate on . This can take away the stress and expense of the overall decor. Sometimes, less is more and if you have focal points spotlighted, it draws your eye to one place instead of everywhere. Planning ahead can really help lessen anxiety over the decorating if that overwhelms you. Look through Pinterest or Instagram way ahead of time to get some inspiration and start gathering your decor early while the sales are good and the merchandise is still available.

This year for the front porch I decided to do a very similar look as last year. I love the outside to look more natural and prefer to use real greenery. Since we live on a lake in the country, it fits the look of our home much better. I kept it a little more simple and decided not to add any bows, ribbon or “foofoo” items and go with a more natural look.

PORCH

 

 

The greenery arrangements in the urns were so simple. I just gathered greens from around the yard and put them together. You can visit this post for more details SPRUCE UP YOUR DOOR STEP FOR CHRISTMAS WITH THIS EASY GREENERY PROJECT  or you can visit my Instagram account for a video tutorial saved in my story highlights.

 

Another area that is a great focal point is the entryway. This is the first place people will see your home so if you were to only decorate one space, this should be it. Make it inviting and tell the theme that will follow throughout the house.

This year my theme or the look I wanted was a lot of layered natural looking greenery paired with my black and white decor and pops of red. Y’all I haven’t used red in my decor for years. I’ve had a neutral Christmas home for at least 5 years. I was a little hesitant at first but we are loving how just a few touches of red add to the festivity of the whole look.

ENTRYWAY

We have a huge open concept home so there isn’t technically a foyer. So I’ve had to designate the entryway by the arrangement of the furniture. Our fireplace is one of the first things you see as you enter the front door, so I wanted to make it grand and tell the story.

 

I started with the large sign as my focal point above the mantel. Any large sign or mirror would be perfect. Next I layered about 4-5 different types of faux garland and picks. I popped in a few flocked pieces to tie in our tree and a few other areas. I think the flocking can soften the look and make the greenery pop. Don’t be afraid to mix regular and flocked greenery I think they compliment each other nicely. I then added some antlers and pinecones for more natural elements and texture. The garland that is cascading on the right side is anchored at the top my a small finishing nail on top. You can also use command hooks for securing garland.

 

For height to draw the eye up to the sign and fill in the space I added various sizes of black candlesticks. For light I’m using battery operated timer candles. Y’all these are fabulous for Christmas decor. I love how they automatically go on as the house starts getting darker, and they turn off when we go to bed. I highly recommend them and they are much safer than candles!( my son is a firefighter so all safety around here). I also added mini wired timer lights in the garland as well.

The white and black stockings stand out against the dark mantel and we hung them underneath with cup hooks. I did not want to cover up or take away from our beautiful new mantle. I then embellished the stockings with some little sprigs of red berries and eucalyptus to tie in the color. Little chalk board tags are used for each persons name.

I had originally added the red satin ribbon but after looking at it, I felt that they were too bold and took away from the greenery and my main focal point. I didn’t wasn’t the first thing people saw was the red ribbon.

 

For another visual effect, I hung various ornaments to bring in my color theme with fishing line. They are anchored in the ceiling with clear tacks.

 

A fun mix of pillows in the color scheme helped to tie in the decor and give a cozy festive feel to the room. For most of the vignettes or arrangements throughout the house, I utilized different sized dough bowls and layered in all the greenery varieties, and tucked in candles, pinecones or flowers.

The other focal point in our entryway is the console table. I kept it very simple highlighting the mirror  with a greenery swag and a papier-mache deer head. The deer was painted with white chalk paint and the antlers were glittered with gold. A few small finishing nails in the mirror hold the arrangement in place.  A simple arrangement and chunky wood candlesticks with birch candles and it’s done!

 

Heres another vignette using galvanized houses in a galvanized tray. Tiny lights are inside the houses and light up at night. Then I just placed in some greenery as a final touch

 

Another great place to spotlight is a stair banister. This is where you can really add some drama and festivity to the whole house. This year I draped 3 different types of garland starting with a pine that I added lights to. I use garland ties to attach mine to the railings. I then tucked in berries in a few places. I love making my garland cascade down the front of the banister and adding a large ribbon. I think it makes such a beautiful statement and actually if that’s all I had to do, it would be the stairs!

 

 

 

At the top of the stairs, I just added 3 heights of flocked trees in old crocks and left them naked. I just love the simplicity but the sparkle it adds.

In the main area of the great room, I used pillows in various prints and textures to create the cozy festive feel since the tree is the main attraction in this room. This year we decided to place the tree in front of the windows looking our to the lake view. Best of both worlds here don’t you think?

Here’s a little trick I use for placing ribbon on the tree and it saves so much money. All I do is cut 12″-18″ strips (I layered two ribbons this year) make sure they both are wired. Then just make a loop and tie off with wire. Just place the loop on a branch then tuck the end back in so it looks like they are coming out of the tree and wrapped inside. Easy peasy!!

 

 

 

 

DINING ROOM & KITCHEN

Our dining room is basically part of the great room so I like to keep i simple. I added some very realistic pine to the chandelier and some over the back door. I change-up the table with various centerpieces throughout the season. I will be sharing several tablescape ideas next post so stay tuned.

 

 

In the kitchen I went super simple. Above the cabinets I put my tree farm sign and some simple trees. A festive wreath on the stove vent and two cabinets wrapped with stripe ribbon and mini wreaths attached.

Then in my open cabinet I placed some small greenery and little house throughout the space. These little gingerbread houses were just painted white ceramic houses from the Target dollar section.

 

 

Supplies:

Ceramic Houses

Brown chalk Paint

White puff paint

Small sponge brush

 

 

The last space I decorated for this tour was our master bedroom. I never used to decorate it, but since its right off the main room, I love being able to see some small touches of Christmas in the room. And the twinkle lights are so cozy & romantic I must say! I just added som greenery on the headboard, A red Amaryllis flower and a festive, cozy pillow.

On our bedroom mantle I started with some frosty, cascading greenery. I wanted to keep with the same colors coordinated in the room by using the white, creams & gray tones. So I incorporated my bottle brush tree collection and I love how well they go with the room. I also added my collection of vintage ornaments displayed on a cake stand under a cloche.

 

 

I still have to do our big family traditional tree in our loft upstairs. I will share that when we finish it. It’s really my most favorite & treasured item because it holds all of our ornaments collected throughout my childhood and my own kids. Every year the received an ornament related to an activity or even that year. Talk about nostalgia! I can’t wait to share it so stay tune friends! Also, you can visit my Instagram page and go to my story highlights for details on video of  demonstrations and style tips on all the main areas.

I hope that you were able to get some inspiration and styling tips for your own home. I’d love to know what you think and feel free to ask any question, I’m happy to help. I appreciate you and I hope that you have an amazing Christmas holiday! Just remember the reason for the season and “do you” . Don’t compare or judge yourself against anyone else. Do what you makes you happy friends!!

HAPPY DECORATING