Welcome, friends!

I’m sharing a tour of my home decorated for the holidays on the Jennifer Rizzo Holiday Housewalk Linky Party.   Each year, bloggers share their homes all decorated for the season.  If you haven’t already, you can head over to the party here to see some jaw droppingly gorgeous homes and lots of holiday inspiration.

Come on in and I’ll show you around.  In my home, we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, so you will see touches of both.   I try not to go overboard with decorating for the holidays, and instead focus on embracing the season with simple touches.  My goal is to create a cozy, festive and joyful space, and not something that looks like Santa’s workshop exploded in my home.  It’s a struggle, though, because there are so many amazing ideas floating around the internet and I want to include them all!  To my normally neutral home, I added in some touches of red, fresh (and faux) greenery, and a few vintage and thrifted finds.  And of course, some DIY’s and a couple of new things, too.    I have so many photos to share, so I will keep the talking to a minimum.  Just sit back and scroll.

Entryway

This is my front door which is adorned with a simple wreath I made last year.  I found a pretty scarf at the Goodwill that matched the color of the door and wrapped it around a wreath form.  So easy.  The door is painted in Benjamin Moore Wyeth Blue, which is a lovely soft blue green.

As you can see, we don’t have a formal entry.   The front door opens up directly into the main living space, which includes the living room, dining room and kitchen.     I created an small space in the corner for boots, jackets and backpacks.   I added the planks and some hooks to define the corner as a mini mudroom.  And my kids actually hang up their coats and backpacks after school.  Win!  Behind the French doors is our office.

 

The Hans Brinker-esque antique ice skates were a gift from my mother-in-law many years ago.  I bring them out for the season.  Aren’t the curled tips and hearts on the blades so charming?

Office

This is our office which also functions as a guest room of sorts.   I gave the night stands a makeover using Old Fashioned Milk Paint in Tavern Green.  It’s one of my all time favorite greens and I had to figure out how to work it into my home.  You can see that makeover here.

Living Room

 

On to the the main living area.  Again, just a few red touches and some greenery.

 

 

Gold bells from Target tied around a painted thrift store frame.

 

This the same view, but just a bit later in the day giving the tree lights a glow.

Another shot of the tree at dusk (which was 3 pm here in Seattle! ha). I even have a few gifts wrapped.  I normally end up frantically wrapping gifts in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve. I’m trying to avoid that fiasco this year.

Dining Room

This is the dining area.  The farm table is another DIY project I tackled last spring.  You can see the before and after here.   The vintage wood bead chandelier was a Craigslist find.  I added a bit of cedar to it for a rustic touch.

I set the table with natural elements for a casual and rustic feel.  Birch candles and pine cones in a ceramic bowl, pomegranates and fresh bay leaves, and winter greenery in a pitcher.  Instead of napkins, I used mismatched red and white dish towels at each place setting.  The deer plates were a new purchase from Pier One.  My daughter saw the table and asked if we were having pomegranates and leaves for dinner.

 

Kitchen

I didn’t go overboard with decorations in the kitchen.  It tends to get cluttered as it is and I didn’t want to add anything else.   I love collecting things, so it’s hard not to put it all out.  I find that I am much happier, though, in a space with less stuff.   I have to constantly edit.   I swapped out some of the accessories on the shelves and added some red to keep the flow from the living and dining rooms.  The marble island is kept (mostly) clear and makes the perfect spot for rolling out cookie dough.    My husband saw this photo and pointed out that the island is currently covered in Sam’s Club rotisserie chicken and doughnuts.  Just keepin’ it real.

The cake was for my birthday. I added some fresh raspberries, mint from the garden and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  Edible decor, the best kind.

Den

Next to the kitchen is our small den.  I normally have blue decor in this room, so I just added a couple of seasonal pillows and greenery.  The white dipped blanket ladder was another recent DIY project.  I blogged about it here.

The storage cubes were a garage sale find from last summer.  They are vintage Thomasville campaign trunks that are in near perfect condition.  They belonged to a woman in her 90’s who was downsizing.  I left them in their original wood finish to add some warmth to the room.  Pushed together they make a great coffee table and also provide some much needed storage.

This is the small wall in the den that I normally use to photograph my furniture makeovers.  It’s a sliver of wall between the kitchen and the French doors leading to the back garden.  I found the vintage Drexel Accolade campaign bar cart/buffet at the Goodwill earlier this fall.  I staged it with the intent of selling it, but now I’m thinking I may just keep it.  It’s the perfect spot for the Menorah.

A dreidel around the deer’s neck.  Why not?!

Master Bedroom

The final indoor space is our master bedroom.  My goal was to create a relaxing winter retreat.   For the first time, I put up a tree in here and I am loving it.  The alcove in the corner forms the perfect spot, and the soft lights in the evening are so calming.  The bedroom is very neutral, with various tones of white, gray, linen and muted browns.  I added texture with soft and cozy bedding made of washed linen, velvet and faux fur.

I recently painted my nightstands a pretty charcoal gray.  I used Fusion Mineral Paint in “Ash.”  This paint is amazing and has unbelievable coverage.  The nightstands were previously a creamy white and I painted them with just one coat.  I also replaced the hardware with pretty vintage brass pulls left over from another piece.

On the opposite side of the room is a little sitting area.  The ottoman is a Pottery Barn knock off that I DIY’d with a yard of faux Mongolian faux fur.

A pretty candle and another gift wrapped.  Yay!

Garden

Even the chickens and chicken coop got a little holiday cheer.  I painted the coop last fall using Old Fashioned Milk Paint in “Sea Foam Green.”  You can read about it here.  For the holiday season, I added a boxwood wreath, a string of lights, and some greens in my olive buckets.  Oh, and of course every urban farmer should have a pair of red boots . . .

 

and a chicken wearing a blue scarf!

Happy Holidays from my flock to yours.   Thank you so much for stopping by.

Susan

Linking with Up to Date Interiors and Eleven Gables