So our 1st Annual Ugly Sweater Christmas Party was a great success, and I finally have the time to sit down and share some of our home with you. I hope that you were able to visit some of the other blog home tours last week! There were some pretty amazing homes, and I still have a few left on the list to gawk at myself. This is our 1st Christmas in our home, so I was really excited to decorate this year. After years of military life and moving, I finally feel like this is really HOME.
I hope you enjoy....
Welcome to our home!
There are no grand decorations on the outside, just two simple fresh fir wreaths that I picked up. Come on in...
Through the front door, I have a long and skinny console table that I may tend to overdecorate for the holidays. My entry needed something really lengthy, but not too deep. This one measures in at 84.5" wide and 17" deep, making it a perfect fit for my not-so-wide entryway. Here are a few different angles and close-ups of some of my favorite Christmas decor.
I snagged this awesome glittered banner on Black Friday at Dillard's. I had been stalking it for awhile, but 40% off was so much sweeter. We also used it as an outdoor background for our family Christmas photos.
I just love these snowy owls...
As you can see, I love all things silver, gold, and especially mercury glass. I love mixing the metals and textures that are so different but blend so well. I have tried to collect lots of different shaped items and textures, but still making sure that everything compliments each other.
Click
here to view the Potterybarn Tivoli Long Console Table pictured.
Our entry opens up into our dining room and living room. To the right is our dining table and the home of our newly acquired "skinny" Christmas tree. Our ceilings are really high, so I knew I needed some height, but I didn't have enough room for a traditional sized tree. I found this lovely nine foot pencil style on Walmart.com for $99 with free shipping.
And I topped it off with a little glittery pick of leaves and pearls...
There aren't a ton of gifts under our tree yet, but here's the first-
(I have added a few since I took this pic).
A friend at our party asked if our gifts were real or just for show...what a compliment! I LOVE pretty packaging! I get excited when I see a beautiful package, don't you? I'm sure my two year old doesn't care and would probably prefer something with some sort of character involved...Unfortunately she has ME for a mom....
I previously posted a mini-tutorial about how I "fluffed" up our dining room tablescape. I hope you all had a chance to see the treasure I found for the centerpiece, but if you didn't, here is the finished product. Under all these layers, there is an amazing wooden caddy.
Its a great staple to change up for any season.
I found these great mercury glass beauties at our new Home Goods store...a set of four large glass ornaments for $9.99
I let the garland flow over the edge and I love the look...
Straight in front of our entry and dining room is our living room. I would have absolutely loved to decorate my mantle with a huge garland full of lights and sparkle, but if any of you have a husband, there's a good chance you have a large flat screen above your fireplace too. Even hanging stockings is a challenge. The slightest obstruction of screen view is purely prohibited. So I did my best to decorate the hearth below, but it's just not exactly what I had in my design brain. It may evolve eventually, but here's the current state.
I stuffed this old lantern with lots of pinecones, and added a glitter bow to each urn.
Directly across from the fireplace, and behind the sofa is a large brick wall. I currently have a small half-circle console there with a 4 foot tree on top.
I hung glitter pine cones from each buffet lamp to tie it all together.
I love the glow of the lamps and the tree against the brick at night.
To the right of this little table is a tall wooden ladder that I use to hang blankets on. I started hanging all my Christmas cards down the side this year. It's hard to find places to display those great photo cards, but this seems to be working for the time being.
I tried to add little touches of Christmas in a few other rooms of the house but mainly focused on the living areas. There's a little butler style bar nestled in a nook between the dining room and kitchen. We store our liquor in the cabinet, but usually the counter serves as a catch-all. I normally have a hard time finding things that look right on it. I decided to put out our family Christmas photos and add a little decor around the frames, and I think it added a nice personal touch.
There is a little cookbook nook (as I call it) to the left of our kitchen sink. I added a rosemary tree from Home Depot and a little wooden snowman that I bought years ago at Hobby Lobby.
I bought this great wooden chalkboard easel at Michael's awhile back for my best friend's baby shower decor. I figured it was a good investment for showers and parties...and boy, was I right! I can't get enough of this cute little rectangle of wonderfulness...the possibilities are endless! I set it out on the other side of my kitchen sink.
I wanted to add something to our kitchen dinette table, but didn't want anything too big since the table is pretty small. I thought these large berry ornaments looked nice sitting on top of these two mercury glass planters from ZGallerie. I found the cute little wire basket at World Market.
I find it difficult to find enough space in a bathroom to really decorate, so I just added a few little goodies to the shelf above the toilet.
I hope you have all enjoyed this little glimpse into our home this Christmas. There are still a few decorations that I would love to put out, like my mother's white ceramic nativity scene. I am currently searching for the perfect spot to fit it in...I have a few ideas in mind, but haven't carried them out yet. Maybe I'll get it up and share it with you before the holiday is over.
Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful
CHRISTmas season!
-Lacie
