Christmas Home Tour: Part One

I had so much fun decorating for Christmas this year! Last year was our first year in our new home and I wasn’t exactly sure how all the Christmas decor would work – I feel like it always takes some time to settle in a new house and figure out what you can do. In terms of color scheme, I typically go for more traditional Christmas decor. Red is my favorite color and while I limit it in my decor (mainly to a few pops in the kitchen), I make it much more of a focal point for Christmas!

This year, the biggest change was bringing in a fake tree. Two main reason for this:

1) I liked the low maintenance aspect of the tree and getting to keep it for longer. Our real tree last year was beautiful, but it was so dry by Christmas, I felt like I had to take it down sooner than I wanted. Plus, I wasn’t a huge fan of the belly crawl to be able to water the tree.

2) The vast majority of vents in our house are floor vents and since we couldn’t put the real tree near a vent, we were very limited on the placement of the tree. With a fake tree, we were able to put the tree to the left of the TV in the living room, instead of the right. Since the spiral staircase isn’t on this side, we have a lot more space and it’s not nearly as tight.

I searched high and low for a Christmas tree. Seriously, there’s a spread sheet that includes height, branch and light count, type, width, price, etc. If you’re in the market for a fake tree, let me know and I’ll be happy to share! I ended up going with a GE tree from Costco  (they were out on the Costco website, but I think this one from Lowe’s is similar). The main reason for choosing this one was the branch to height to light ratio (I put that spreadsheet to good use!). And, while I wasn’t looking for LED, or even pre-lit, that’s what I ended going with and I’m so glad we did!

For the mantle, I kept it pretty simple using the existing mirror and adding a Christmas ball wreath with some matching ribbon from the tree. I have two matching wreaths that I snagged from my former employer when they were cleaning out the office before a move – the other is on the back of the front door. I always love a little sparkle for Christmas and incorporate glitter via silver and red ornaments throughout the house. The picks on the mantle are from Pier 1 and the string lights are Pier 1 as well – I love these lights for places where I don’t have outlet access, like our mantle. Keeps the cords to a minimum. The stockings add a more rustic touch with the burlap (from HomeGoods), which is also reflected in the Christmas tree ribbon.

Around the TV, I added to mini-poinsettia plants – out of reach from curious dogs! The red and white matched the ribbon on the tree and mantle so I couldn’t resist these from Lowe’s, along with the mercury glass Joy candles. I love being able to have a TV stand big enough to add some festive decor to!

Because we had the pre-lit tree, that meant I had a ton of extra string lights so I added lights, garland and ribbon to our spiral staircase and the landing upstairs. When all the lights are on, our living room is VERY festive! My husband joked that our GA Power bill was going to be sky high this month, but it’s totally worth it.

On the sofa table, I swapped out my fall pine cones with a vintage silver bowl that my mom’s cousin gave me. I’m trying more and more to use these types of pieces in my decor rather than let them sit in a closet collecting dust. These pieces, along with some of our wedding gifts, are all too pretty to sit in storage except for special dinner! A few pine cones and mini-ornaments, along with some garland, bows for the existing candle sticks and more Pier 1 lights bring a festive holiday cheer.

Stay tuned for the dining room and outdoor decor!

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