From our home to yours

December 23, 2014

This year I really did less than ever with the holiday decor – I actually wanted to do more but time just didn’t allow. Next year I’m starting in October!! Kidding. As far as you know.

Of course like every year I didn’t really get the bug to do a lot of decorating till the past week or so – when things are crazy. It never fails. And in a few days I’ll be soooo ready to take it all down! :)

But with each passing year I like things a little simpler. I used to have a ridiculous amount of Christmas decor (I still have a lot) but now I much prefer to use what we already have and make it work for the holidays. Fresh greenery is my go to for years now – it’s free (from our yard) or pretty cheap (at the store) and NO STORAGE. Whoot!

Here’s a final look at our home at Christmas this year – I can’t believe how fast this season has gone!

I’m totally in love with these LED lights this year – I actually picked up these at Kirkland’s over the summer!:

led battery lights 

led battery lights

They were $10 for five feet and are battery operated. Even better – these have a timer option! I so wish I would have picked up more! I’ll be using them year round for sure.

They make for a pretty nightlight in our powder room:

plank walls bathroom

That little tree was from Ikea (someone mentioned on Instagram that those are less than $4 right now!) and I picked up a wreath as well:

ikea wreath

I wish I had grabbed another one of these – they have great texture and fullness!

I shared my crazy cheap Pottery Barn advent knock off last month:

Pottery Barn advent knock off

I absolutely love it – we hung it in the mud room and the Bub loves grabbing one of the bags every morning. One of my readers created one and hung it on the wall under her cabinets in the kitchen – I thought that was brilliant!

I showed you our new family room and kitchen earlier this month. I love pulling out the metal Goodwill candleholders every year:

free Christmas printables

They were all brass when I got them and now I’m kicking myself for spray painting some of them.

It was so fun to decorate this new space – we absolutely love it!:

Christmas decor toursimple Christmas decor

I think there are only four things you need for easy, pretty Christmas decor – fake snow, ornaments, greenery and lights. That’s it. You can fill accessories you already have sitting around and the greenery makes regular spots look festive:

simple Christmas decor

I didn’t do much in the kitchen – mainly just some decor on the shelves and table:    kitchen shelves Christmas decorating

I’m already dreaming of how fun it will be to decorate the “new” kitchen next year!

Printables are another biggie – along with my four staples they are becoming my favorite fast and easy way to add some Christmas touches. I printed off my Fa la la’s again this year:

Fa la la prints

And again…a bowl, a tray, a candleholder? Put ornaments in it. Easy!:

easy Christmas decor

I love our stairs and I love dressing them up this time of year:

Christmas stairs

I just wrapped the fresh greenery around the railing, added some lights and then filled my Ball jars with snow and small ornaments. I put an LED votive candle in each one. Love this view to our new back doors:

The new library/den didn’t get as much decor this year either – just a few touches of greenery really:

DIY bookcases DIY built ins

In my opinion everything doesn’t have to scream holidays -- just adding a big thick cable knit blanket feels warm and cozy. :)

I love to add little holiday touches in our bedroom too – it just got some greenery and our skinny tree:

DIY headboard

I shared that room and how I decorated that tree in five minutes (and for cheap) here. I think it may be my favorite tree. :)

photo tree

Although I say that about all of them. :) Bertha is pretty amazing too:

gold red brown Christmas tree Be sure to follow that link to see all of the beautiful homes linked up to the annual party! And if you’d like to see more of our decorated home you can check out my Instagram account. :)

From our home to yours…Merry Christmas and happy holidays!! I hope yours is wonderful and you have an absolutely lovely time. I will be back next week!

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Comments

  1. Beautiful - I love seeing how others decorate at this time of year! A very merry Christmas to you all!

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  2. What a lovely blog! I've loved the countdown for Christmas picture :)
    I'm starting a blog about decoration, design and crafts, if you're interested you could take a look ^^

    Keep reading you :)
    I'll keep

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  3. Lovely - so pretty and inviting!

    Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  4. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family! Love reading your blog, it's the first one I look at each day! EVERYTHING looks beautiful! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

    GS

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  5. Your house is lovely around the holidays! Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

    Becky
    www.beckyandbrittany.com

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  6. What amazing ideas, love the countdown just wonderful.

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  7. HI - While cruising through multiple blogs this past month, I found a reference to cleaning paint from brass and then shining the brass up. I remembered the details, but forgot the link. I tried it today to clean off some tarnished cabinet knobs. It was this clean-up trick, painting them or buying a whole bunch of new cabinet hardware. It worked... and if I still decide to paint them, I know that everything is clean of any hand oils and dirt as well as the tarnish.

    This took a while to trace, but the sources are "I Heart Organizing" link party for November that had "The Homes That I Have Made" post on stripping paint. The original inspiration came from the Rehab Addict of TV fame. Whew...but I believe in proper linking history!

    The sources suggest using a crock pot, but since we are dealing with paints and metals, I used an old pot, never to be used in cooking again. I heated water, placed the hardware in the pot to soak and kept the temp on low heat with the fan on, just in case. Since I was just cleaning the brass, I tested the items after about 2 hours. I used Bar Keepers Friend with a old rag and the brass just cleaned up so fast. The parts, that were tarnished so bad that I thought it was just brass plate, cleaned up. The parts, that were just dark, turned tacky so it must be just oils and dirt. But, it also cleaned up beautifully. Caution - there is water inside the knobs - I shook out the water and will let dry on a rack over a heater vent until I don't see any liquid coming out. I don't need a rusted mess if I just reinstalled the knobs on regular screws while still damp.

    Here is one of the links.... http://www.thehomesihavemade.com/2014/10/brass-hardware-removing-paint-and.html

    I wonder if the painted candle sticks will clean up as well as the brass hardware - it is worth to give candle stick a try for renewal.

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  8. Your home is beautiful! I especially love the jars on your staircase! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

    Hopping over from Ms Moozy's Open House

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  9. great post!

    https://www.etsy.com/shop/OneofakindVintage1

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  10. Very beautiful post with amazing furniture pieces and decorating ideas. The furniture used here sometimes reminds me Christopher Guy or Koket

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  11. Looks awesome! Ilove all the greenery:) I second the crockpot method for removing paint on brass! I bought a (badly) spray painted brass elephant from the Goodwill 2 years ago. I set in my crockpot overnight and the paint just peeled off. Like magic! I did use a crockpot liner so we wouldn't get chemicals in our food. Might be worth a try...

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  12. love the way you present all, i must say very very interesting blog...

    Eden Outdoor Living
    http://edenoutdoorliving.com.au/

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  13. Happy New Year!

    Thought--could you put the printables back in the frames after Christmas & leave Fa La La hidden in the frames all year long? At the ready..

    Chrissy

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