I’ve been so anxiously awaiting my turn on the 12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes!! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!!
EXTERIOR
(see all the details here)
I stuck with the traditional red and green colors on the exterior of the house, and throughout most of the inside as well.
I often get asked how we attach our wreaths to the windows. I use large suction cups with hooks, and clean the window and the hook before using so that they stay put for the duration. Our windows are double hung, so for the upstairs window, we pull them top down and just stick the wreath out and attach it that way. The lower level can be done from the ground.
I string my front door garland with both mini white lights and two strands of the larger C7 old-fashioned style lights. It makes it super bright and sparkly from the street.
I have used the same ribbons around the front door for six years. Since it is covered it doesn’t weather much. I just bag it up in a trash bag and stick it in the attic each year.
The wreath was from Hobby Lobby years ago and I added the 12” indoor/outdoor white monogram from Scrappin Plus last year. You can see all the details here.
I used the same wood monograms on each of the entry doors.
FOYER
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Now, without further ado, y’all come on in. I use bright red velvet and gold ribbons and pheasant feathers in the foyer.
LIVING ROOM
(see all the details here)
The living room is one of the few that departs from the traditional Christmas colors, but I love it just the same. I have decorated the “fancy” tree with birds, nests, oysters and coastal inspired ornaments. I add a whole bag of flocked picks to the tree before decorating it to fill it in and give it a snowy look.
The peacock ribbon is new this year. It was love at first sight right there in the aisle at Hobby Lobby.
I made the coffee filter wreaths a few years back. You can find the how-to here.
Tucking a little swag of garland on top of sconces is one of my favorite ways to bring Christmas to every corner of the house!
DINING ROOM
(see all the details here)
I had so much fun changing up the dining room this year. I used white and silver and just adore how it turned out.
Sister got me the two silver reindeer at least ten years ago. They have attachments to add candles in the antlers, but I love them without.
I layered a remnant of white fur from Whit’s FROZEN Sven costume on top of the linen pleated runner that mother made.
I used a rosemary topiary for the centerpiece. It smells divine and I will plant it in our garden soon!
The china is Butler’s Pantry by Lenox, sterling is my family pattern Strasburg by Gorham, crystal is Waterford Lismore Tall, bowls are from Pottery Barn and custom monogram on linen napkins is by Number Four Eleven.
This room is impossible to photograph at a good angle. I tie wreaths with white ribbons to the backs of the side chairs at Christmas.
We keep our Nativity on the buffet. It was one of the first Christmas decorations I bought on my own about fifteen years ago.
KITCHEN
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In the kitchen things return to the colorful red and green scheme. I added a lot of polka dots this year to make things super cheerful. We do a lot of special dinners during the holiday season for the littles.
The preserved boxwood wreath is from Southern Homes & Gardens. It has held up beautifully over the last eighteen months.
I swap out all of my regular china with Spode Christmas Tree for the holidays. It has to be the happiest Christmas china around!! I am SO glad that we had this on our wedding registry. Mother and Daddy-O add to my collection each year.
The mini kitchen tree has a collection of Spode ornaments. I especially love the ones from our wedding, our first home and baby’s first Christmas. Our happy everything plate gets topped off with a playful elf for the holidays!!
I picked up the darling gingerbread house at Kohl’s a few years ago. And year after year after year the littles both try to eat it when they lay eyes on it for the first time.
I traded out our Halloween cereal bar for naughty and nice snacks. I’ll give you ONE guess which ones went first. General Mills has since sent me their holiday cereals so that will go up next week!!
I added an ikat polka dot runner to the table (fabric remnant from our patriotic porch pillows). Mother is making me a few fabulous red plaid pillows for the bench that I hope to get very soon!!!
(Whew! This is getting really long. Hope y’all are hanging in there…)
DEN
(see all the details here)
This is my favorite room of the lot this year. I just love all of the red and gold and how cozy and sparkly everything is.
I swap our most of our year round pillows and blankets for red ones. Once upon a time I had a red and black den… good thing I hung on to some of that stuff.
We’ve had some very warm days and I adore keeping the doors open to the porch.
We have to move one of the chairs from in front of the fireplace to the window to accommodate the tree. I also brought down that cute bench from the attic and quickly recovered it in left over fabric from the sofa pillows to add seating. I think I’ll leave it year round!
This is my very favorite tree of all. It has all of our family ornaments. I can tell you where and why each one was purchased or who gave it to us, and there are hundreds. Everything from Radko and Waterford to hand-made school ornaments has a place here. It is a true walk down memory lane to put this up each year, and we love adding to it as we travel and celebrate milestone accomplishments.
I fell in love with the leopard ribbon at Hobby Lobby and added that to the traditional red and gold that we use each year.
The stockings are from Ballard Designs and the wood monograms are from Scrappin Plus (painted gold).
My monogrammed Initial Proper pillow is perfect with all the red and gold. I swapped out pictures with all of our Santa greetings this year. I’m not sure why that never occurred to me before, but it is a lot of fun to look back on. John cannot seem to understand that the red faced crying baby in the older ones is HIM, NOT his brother.
I picked up the gold glittered trees on a visit to bestie R a few years ago. And, come to think of it, that signed Big Easy Style book (we met Bryan Batt!!) was from a visit to bestie R AND I own the House Proud book because his home is featured. So let’s just call this corner a little ode to Ron…
FAMILY OFFICE
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Since this room was just finished a few months ago, it was fun to have something to start from scratch with as far as Christmas decorating goes. I’ve always always wanted a Lilly tree and this seemed like the perfect place. I’ll give a full tour and sources soon, but here’s a little sneak peek.
Find the free printable Merry Christmas, y’all here.
WHIT’S ROOM
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Both of the boys have their own trees and ornaments, which we add to every year. Honey and I both choose one that is representative of something they loved, did or accomplished that year.
I will always love his snowman painting from preschool. It comes out each winter!
A few little Christmas pillows and nutcrackers are tucked into places.
JOHN’S ROOM
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Now, we go all out with decorations in John’s room since this is where both boys sleep and play. I held on to his red quilts when we re-did the room and just love how cheerful this space is with the tree, Christmas bedding and peppermint themed happiness in all corners!
I moved their Advent tree up here this year, which is perfect since it is inevitably the first thing they check upon waking. I have since filled each pocket with a little tag noting a special Christmas experience or activity for the day.
Mother made the Mickey stockings for the boys a few years ago. The Old Try print to the right is one of my all time favorites. It’s Christmas themed, but we leave it up year round it’s so good.
BOY’S BATH
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I just threw up the boy’s red towels (because I have them) and put a strange little holiday gator on the back of the potty (because I had it) and called it a day in this room. The boys never, ever use their bathroom. I suppose the navy blue behemoth tub in the master is hard to resist.
GUEST SUITE
(see all the details here - bedroom)
I love adding a few Christmas touches to the guest suite, because between Thanksgiving, two birthdays and Christmas, Mother and Daddy-O spend quite a few days here!
PORCH
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After the den, the porch is my favorite place for the holidays.
Most of our days are still warm enough to enjoy it, and we love spending evening sipping hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows in the fire place.
Bestie M recently gave me the fabulous strand of oysters. Neither of us was exactly sure what it was intended to be used as, but I think it’s beautiful just draped on the coffee table.
I set up our hot chocolate station again this year!! I also FINALLY hung the coveted oyster wreath that Paige, Ron, Lauren and I have all been hunting down at various Home Goods stores across a few different states.
I filled the clamshell with greenery before layering back in the usual fishing floats and oyster shells.
And, last but not least, our little garden even got crowned by a wreath!
I am SO excited to finally share my holiday home tour with y’all... although I think taking pictures and writing the actual post was more exhausting than the actual decorating :-) I have all of the makings of an entire Georgia Tech Christmas basement from our old house but have yet to set it all up here. The way the littles tear around down there just doesn't lend itself to a tree full of collectible ornaments. Besides, I think one more tree would do me in. LOL
Merry Christmas!!!
xoxo
Don’t miss the 2nd Annual 12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes!!
12/1- Evolution of Style
12/2- Amanda Carol
12/3- Dixie Delights
12/4- Simple Details
12/5- Shine Your Light
12/8- Driven by Décor
12/9- Dimples & Tangles
12/10- The Creativity Exchange
12/11- The Little Black Door
12/12- Steward of Design
12/13- Oak Ridge Revival
12/14- Day for you to link up! (Check back here for details)
Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, <a href="http://www.iheartnaptime.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: