Christmas Home Tour 2018

Welcome to my Christmas home tour! It's my favorite post every year. I've already shown you a few main rooms because they were so picture heavy. If you want to see more make sure to go back to the previous posts. I usually start my tour on the front porch, but this year I want to show you my foyer first because it's the most dramatic change.

I have a second tree! It's something I've thought about for a while, but finally bought one this year. The hammered gold tree collar is one of favorite new buys. My foyer table reindeer makes his appearance again, too. He's still my ultimate favorite!

I have rarely showed this view because it was unfinished, but between the new lighting and wainscoting on the landing I love it now. There are still future plans to finish it off. Hopefully, next year it will be 100% complete.

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I think this is my favorite photo this year. You get to see so many Christmas decorations in one shot.

Let's move to the dining room! I loved last year's dining room with the fresh greenery and white decor, but this year I wanted traditional color while still keeping it light and bright. A bit of burgundy with the ivory and gold neutral decor is all I needed.

I added fresh greenery in with my dried boxwood garland to make it more substantial. I absolutely love Christmas garland with fruit. Real pomegranates also repeat the burgundy color of the ribbons and bows.

A simple ribbon down the center of the table adds a bit of color.

My etched wineglasses I bought before Thanksgiving mixed with the new gold chargers. I love that I can use both for any holiday. A snowflake napkin ring adds a seasonal touch to the place setting.

I loved putting this champagne and dessert bar together. It was gone in minutes with three boys in the house! My husband and I enjoyed the champagne after spending several hours outside hanging Christmas lights.

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As much as I love these rooms the coziest spot in the house is in the living room sitting by the fire enjoying the lights from the Christmas tree. 

A battery operated strand of lights is such a pretty look draped across the gifts under the tree. These are my placeholders until I wrap presents. I should get on that!

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Just a few blue touches in the kitchen...

The breakfast room has a bit of traditional red. This is where I put the boys hot cocoa bar and our old whimsical decor from when they were young. I kept the table simple since it's where we eat most of our meals. I didn't want anything too tall or taking up too much table space.

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I have more traditional red outdoors, too. The garland is inexpensive from Wal-Mart that I doubled up on. I didn't want to spend much on something that was exposed to the elements. I added the lights and a timer myself. If one goes out it will be easy to replace. The ornaments are non-breakable from At Home. I can also replace the ones that start to show wear and tear by adding them myself. I wanted the red to be a bit darker, more of a cranberry color than the bright red from last year to go better with the brick. I used the remaining old bright red ornaments and mixed them with the darker red color. Costco has the best deal on large poinsettias, which is where I found these. 

I loved these battery operated wreaths with a timer so much that I bought one for each window. They were also on sale for $35! My favorite outdoor decor is wreaths and candles for windows. Unfortunately, I haven't found a candle that will fit with the shutters yet. We also have lights lining the yard and around the trees because that's what my husband and kids like.

I can't end a Christmas tour without a photo of Mario!

I hope you enjoyed this year's home tour! Don't forget to read the previous Christmas posts for more detailed information on several of the rooms. Happy Holidays!

The Dining Room is Decked Out for Christmas!

The best part of Christmas is the decor and food so naturally the dining room is one of my favorite spots during the holidays. This year I added a this a bit of burgundy, but still kept it light and bright by adding it in small amounts. It's a great traditional color for a more elegant look than bright red, and it goes so well with gray decor that still remains popular.

I love traditional homes with fresh greenery and fresh fruit in the garlands. I re-created this look in a more attainable manner by mixing fresh greenery with my dried boxwood garland, and adding pomegranates and faux berries to pick up the dark red color of the wreath bows. The runner needed a little something so I added a wide ribbon in the same color down the middle under the garland.

If you remember I added these etched glasses for Thanksgiving. I like them because they are seasonless and can be use as wine or water goblets. For Christmas, I decided to look for gold chargers to match the chandelier I installed a few months ago. I fell in love with these gold chargers the minute I saw them!

Here's a closer look. There are several versions, but I prefer these because the gold is combined with clear glass. I like gold, but not too much gold.

I decided to use my buffet as a dessert area this year. I'm not sure why I didn't so this before. It's functional and looks so cute! Maybe it will be a visual reminder throughout dinner to save room for dessert?

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Green, Ivory and Gold Christmas Tree

I just love this year's living room Christmas tree! It's my favorite so far. The ornaments are the same, but just adding a dark green velvet ribbon and new ivory berry picks completely changed the look. I just love how fresh it feels!

All lit up at night! I've always loved the way dark green and blue and white chinoiserie looks together. I had actually planned on blue in the tree, but the green velvet ribbon just spoke to me this year. The blue just didn't look right so I kept throwing color combos up on the tree with what I had on hand until it clicked.

A closer look at the white berry picks and green velvet ribbon. I also added gold leaf picks and a gold garland for a bit of glam. It is the holidays after all! I usually don't stage anything under my tree because it has always seemed over the top, but I wasn't a fan of the metal pole showing above the tree skirt. I am a total convert! It's so much better than being empty. I love the extra string of lights draped across the base too. I think I'll keep those and drape them across the presents when I get around to wrapping.

FYI-This tree skirt is no longer available from Pottery Barn. I have linked a similar one that matches my stockings.

I have a few more details to wrap up this weekend (I feel like I keep saying that), and then I will be taking photos for a home tour next week!

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My Favorite Christmas Decor

We can officially say it's Christmas time now that Thanksgiving is over! I've been putting away the last of my fall decor this weekend. My trees and mantel have been up a while because they are so labor intensive, but I'm just starting on the rest of the house. I never really have a plan when I start decorating. It just depends on what I'm feeling at the moment. I will try out different color schemes with what I have on hand until it starts to take shape. It's the one time of year you can easily and inexpensively change up your decor with just new ribbon, picks or ornaments. I use the same big items every year-garland, wreaths, etc. Here are my favorites!

Trees-This year I have two! They are both very inexpensive ones from Wal-Mart. Yes, there are better quality trees out there, but I just can't fathom paying that much for an artificial tree. I also add so many ornaments, ribbons and picks that you don't see much of the tree anyway!

Living Room tree this year (more photos coming soon)

Same tree last year-I did add 1 foot pieces of inexpensive garland in the bare spots. This year I added extra picks instead.

Stair Garland-This is from Frontage and a bit of an investment, but not so painful with a 25% off coupon code and free shipping they are offering right now. I have decided the extra cost for battery operated garland with a timer is well worth it. I'm not even sure how I would go about plugging this into a wall without tripping over the cord. I also like that this garland has so many varieties of greenery that it can stand on it's own without picks or ribbon.

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I blogged about these greenery ties last year I found at Home Depot. I didn't see them this year, but Target is carrying them. It makes putting up the garland so much easier than with zip ties or floral wire.

Wreaths-I am picky about wreaths! I love this one from Home Depot. Again, it is battery operated with a timer so there are no cords. What sets this one apart is how realistic and full it is.

I bought another one this year to go over my mantel. I did not wire this to my mirror as you might think. Home Depot carries a magnet hanger that I've linked below. You can also use it for steel front doors too.

I love dried boxwoods! If you don't like having faux anything in your home this is for you. 

My big, pretty reindeer! This is one of those purchases I couldn't believe I made. It's a lot more than I usually spend, and it takes up a lot of storage space. Thankfully, we have room for it and you can unscrew that antlers. I am so happy I bought it now. I look forward to bringing him out every year. He's on major sale right now, too!

Almost everything else I decorate with for the holidays is fresh or minor, like ribbon and picks. You truly do not have to spend a lot of money to decorate for Christmas. I usually invest in only one or two large purchases a season. This year it was the new foyer tree and brass tree collar (on sale too). You can find it linked below!

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Christmas Mantel 2018

I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week! I try to have all my Christmas decorations up beforehand, but I'm going slow this year as I'm changing things up. I love the twinkle of lights as we have Thanksgiving dinner. I used to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate, but when I was due with my son near Christmas one year I decided to get a head start. I never looked back and made it a new tradition!

There's so much new this year! The only thing that is the same is the magnolia garland. It's a pretty garland, but I love to layer it with either faux picks and/or real greenery. This year I have only a few picks of white poinsettias and gold leaves. I trimmed branches from a real garland to add fullness and a variety of leaves. I used less than half of it here. The remaining greenery will go in my stair garland.

I also bought new stockings this year. It's been something I've wanted to do for several years now that the boys are outgrowing the babyish ones I bought them as newborns. They come in different colors and monograms, but I chose the ivory with gold because they matched the decor in the living room.

This wreath was on my front door last year. I love how realistic and full it looks almost as much as I love that it's battery operated with a timer. That was a must for this mirror since I would need a ladder to turn it on. Thankfully, the wreath is still available this year so I was able to buy another one for the front door.

I love the extra strand lights in the lanterns from my foyer. I keep moving them around-foyer, by the Christmas tree, and by the fireplace. They are great in all those places, but I can see them best here.

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