Christmas Home Tour - Part 1

Hey y'all!  Happy Tuesday!  Today, instead of the usual Transformation Tuesday, I thought I'd open up our home to show you how we decorated for Christmas.  My intentions were to give you the grand tour but after going through 400+ pictures, I realized that it's best to share it in two parts.  Today, I'll give you a glimpse of our front porch, entryway, living area, dining, and kitchen.  Part 2 will include our guest room, guest bath, master, laundry, screen porch, and back deck.

So grab a cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or any drink of choice, sit back, relax, and enjoy our Christmas home tour!  I'll try not to bore you with all the details and let the pictures speak for themselves!

I tried to keep everything pretty simple this year but as usual, it changed as I began to decorate.  I found myself adding more and more!  I stuck with neutrals inside mixing rustic with glam in mostly silver with a little gold mixed in.  You might also see a few reindeer! (More like a lot!)  Outside I used the traditional red but keeping it rustic as well.

Front Porch:  

All of the greenery was cut from our yard.  I like to mix it in with my artificial garlands and trees.  If you saw my fall home tour (here) you'll probably notice that I used quite a few of the same pieces.   I use these key pieces a lot from season to season.  The yardstick star was a DIY.  (tutorial here).  I love how it all came together!  Though you can't really see them in these pictures, every window is dressed with a wreath and an electric candle.  I turn the candles on at Thanksgiving and leave them on continuously throughout Christmas.

 Entryway: 

I absolutely love my faux pallet gate that I made several months ago (tutorial here)).  It has been a great piece to decorate.  The deer head I purchased from Homegoods.  The Peace, Joy, and Love sign was a project from last year that worked out perfectly.  The deer silhouette pillow I made this year.  It's an envelope style pillow cover with ragged edges.  And if you've been following me a while, you might remember the stocking from a few posts back. 

  

The armoire is layered with an old window and another yardstick star.  The feather tree I purchased from Target many moons ago.  The chair holds an Ikea throw, a Target $3 tree, a present or two, and a pillow wrapped with reindeer ribbon.  The ladder is a DIY from several years ago and one of my first projects with power tools.  During the holidays, it's adorned with a burlap clothespin card wreath (also a DIY) and jingle bell garland from the dollar store .  I display all of our Christmas cards from years past.  I love digging them out from year to year.  It's amazing how our children and grandchildren have changed so quickly.  I also keep giftwrap and tags handy for any last minute wrapping.

Living Area: 

 

  



 

 

 

The living area really speaks for itself.  I love how cozy and wintery it looks.  The plaid pillow covers I made from another Ikea throw.  The reindeer pillow I purchased online after falling in love with it on IG.  I do miss having a mantle to hang our stockings from but they look pretty good hanging from the bookcase.  I added a few Christmas touches to the shelves with things that I already had.  You may also have noticed that I like to use Christmas ornaments throughout.  I love displaying them in baskets, bowls, trays...just about anywhere!  A few were DIYs this year.  You might also spot a few reindeer throughout.... this kinda became my theme this year.  I displayed my Willow Tree nativity on the dresser turned entertainment center under the tv. I've been collecting pieces for the last several years now.  My mom gave me the stable many, many years ago and it's one of the many things I treasure. I also try to find creative way to display gifts.  There's never enough room for them under the tree!  Our tree this year is one of my favorite!  We've been buying a real trees for several years now.  I love how it smells...not so much all the needles.  With the lights this year, I used two different sizes of LEDs.  It makes all the difference and I'll be doing it again and again. I enjoy having the Christmas tree lights on whether day or night.  If we are home, they are on from the time our feet hit the floor till the time we go to bed.  I transformed to more of a rustic style tree about five years ago so I've been collecting ornaments over the years.  I try to purchase a couple of new ones every year.  This year I added touches of silver and white. 

Dining:

 

 

With an open floor plan the dining space and living area are together.  I always dress our dining table from season to season.  I love white dishes because they are so versatile.  The centerpiece is a DIY pallet tray layered with candles, a reindeer, and pinecones.  The black and white plates are also a DIY project made with Wal-Mart $1 plates and a sharpie.  I dressed the hutch with greenery, a few ornaments, and candles.  Again, I tried to keep it simple.  The bench by the back entry worked out well to display my Pottery Barn inspired snowman pillow.  You can read how I made the pillow here.  I also made the plaid mitten garland with leftover fabric from the Ikea throw that I used for pillow covers.  (I was inspired by a sweater mitten garland I saw at Target.)

Kitchen:

The kitchen also got a few Christmas touches.  The reindeer candleholder on the bar is affectionately known as Rusty Reindeer.  I found him a few years ago at a flea market for $3.  He's been included in our holiday décor every year since.  In the kitchen window I added a tree, wreath and another reindeer.  I like to use things in the sill to camouflage the cords from the electric candles.  The wreaths are layered and held together with burlap ribbon.  I also have a hot chocolate bar set up with all the fixings on our small DIY island.  It's become the focal point in the kitchen and quite a yummy treat!

So that's it for now!  I hope you enjoyed it!  I'll be sharing Part 2 over the next few days!   See you soon!

Jody