There isn’t much I love more than the glow of Christmas lights in the house and I’m known to start slapping them up the minute Thanksgiving has passed. I want to get every second of glow I can without actually entirely steamrolling Thanksgiving.
My living room, of course, has been decked since October for the Home Depot Holiday Style Challenge (you can see all the photos HERE) but the rest of my house only joined the festivity party this past week.
If you’re coming over from DecorChick, hi! Hope you’ll stick around awhile :) Emily’s tour was so beautiful, wasn’t it?
We’re going to travel in a big circle through the house today and visit the kitchen, family room, living room, and dining room. Starting in the kitchen, I draped a faux pine garland across the opening between the main part of the kitchen and the eating area, which I currently have set up as a wrapping station.
The paper lanterns in the corners and the geo garland are all from Target. I’m pretty sure the geo garland is store-only but you can find the black and white striped paper lantern and plaid paper lantern online.
I hung square preserved boxwood wreaths on the custom glass doors of the built-ins in the back of the kitchen and added a black and white striped ribbon and cluster of mercury glass ornaments.
I’ve been using the kitchen table as command central for wrapping gifts. Keeping all my supplies in one place definitely helps streamline the process.
On the opposite side of the kitchen I set up a little bottle brush forest on the black and gold console table. You can find a tutorial for making the windowpane mirror HERE.
I love the sparkle that the assorted silver balls add but you would not believe how hard it’s been to keep my four year old away from them. I found three under her pillow the other day. I love a mini disco ball too but they apparently sing an utterly irresistible siren song to her.
Moving into the family room, you can see where we set up our “family tree” – my girls helped me decorate with gifted ornaments we’ve all gotten over the years and I was determined not to micromanage them as they went about their merry work. (tutorial for the DIY lacquered grasscloth coffee table can be found HERE)
I didn’t move any of the ornaments they put on the tree and didn’t have any particular scheme in mind. And you know what? I love it in all its eclectic glory.
I made the Moravian star-inspired tree topper out of scrapbook paper leftover from an old project – click HERE for the easy tutorial. It only takes about 30 minutes and costs less than $10!
On the mantle, I hung our stockings and layered clippings from the yard with the DIY dollar store ornament garland I made last year.
I used my girls’ monogrammed stockings that we’ve had for years but made a couple new ones for Scott and I out of some scrap fabric, faux fur, and pom pom trim. I also made the colorblocked pom pom charms (tutorial HERE).
On the other side of the fireplace is our living room, where I left most of the decorations from the Home Depot Holiday Style Challenge, though you’ll notice a few little furniture and decorative changes. (tutorial for the DIY wood beaded pendant light can be found HERE)
In the dining room, I set the table with the easiest little embellished placecards – I just hot glued a sprig cut from my yard onto the corner of each placecard. (details on my recent dining room makeover can be found HERE)
I decorated my hutch and buffet with preserved boxwoods and giant pinecones, and reused the DIY “Noel” sign I made last Christmas.
Across the room I hung Ikea Strala stars in the bay window.
I also gathered my small collection of Byers’ Carolers, made right near where I grew up, on the buffet below the window.
They’re such exquisitely-made dolls but I love them just as much for the connection to my hometown. Taking them out of their boxes each year makes me so happy.
And with that, we’ve literally come full circle. If you were walking through with me we’d be back to the kitchen where we started. I hope you enjoyed the tour and be sure to swing by the next stop, The DIY Playbook, and see what Bridget and Casey have been up to!
And if you were paying attention, you might have noticed I promised three tutorials this week – for the tree topper star, the fur-edged stockings, and the color blocked pom pom charms. Check back tomorrow for tutorial #1!
Here’s the full tour lineup – you won’t want to miss any of it!!
My Fabuless Life
Scout & Nimble
Primitive & Proper
Sand & Sisal
DecorChick
The Chronicles of Home
DIY Playbook
This, That, & Life
Wednesday
Desert Domicile
Design Post Interiors
Tatertots and Jello
Southern Hospitality
In my own style
Retro Ranch Reno
Iron & Twine
Thursday
Jones Design Company
Finding Home
Jen Rizzo
Home Stories A to Z
Dimples & Tangles
Simple Stylings
Run to Radiance
The Thriftress
Friday
Inspired Room
Beneath my Heart
DIY Showoff
Just a Girl
A Home Full of Color
Rain on a Tin Roof
Eleven Gables
Burlap and Lace
Sarah M. Dorsey
I’m still swooning over your living room, chandelier and fireplace area. But Love the rest of course too. The stars look so pretty in your bay window as well. Merry Christmas my friend.
Thanks, Julia :) We’ve actually been hanging out in the living room now that’s (sort of) furnished and decorated!
oh my wow! your home is sooooo beautiful!!!! i love the diy tree topper, and the mantle is just breathtaking!!! and i love having a wrapping station…. better than the floor i crouch on in the guest room!
I bet you’re just an amazing multi-tasker. Squats and gift wrapping at the same time. Amazing. Thanks for the kind words, wish you could swing by for some tea. Or wine, whatever ;)
or maybe both because i might pass out there and wake up and need tea.
Subject: Re: New comment posted on The Chronicles of Home: Christmas Home Tour 2014
Your home looks so beautiful! I can’t take how dreamy your fireplace and tree are!
Thanks so much, Gabbi! First thing I do every morning is turn all the lights on. It just makes me so happy!
I could look at your home all day, Jennifer! I love your style. such a great mix of things you love! Onto the Christmas decor, your mantles, trees are my favorites! Beautiful!!
Thank you, Pam! You are so sweet :) I think I’m feeling an extra dose of fun decorating this year since I did NOTHING last year with moving.
Beautiful. Love your vignettes! Your beaded chairs are so amazing. Such a great find.
Thanks, Emily! I know, I still pet those chairs every day. My favorite in the whole house, by far :)
I keep scrolling back thru your home tour & peering at all the awesome. Mouth gaping. That diy star is calling my name & the family tree? Sweetest thing of all.
You are just the sweetest. Thank you :) I really had to shove down some impulses to move my girls ornaments, like when they’d cluster six together and leave a giant blank spot. but I kept thinking, “Memories, not perfection.” Trying to remember what matters :)
Jennifer, everything looks so pretty! I’m still so in love with your blue Home Depot Holiday Challenge! Thank you so much for joining in, friend!
Thanks, Lindsay! Great tour as always, can’t wait to catch up on all the other tonight!
So beautiful! Love all the touches of greenery!
Thanks!! Fresh greenery is my favorite. We had this amazing weeping cedar tree at our old house that had THE BEST clippings. I totally have wanted to sneak back and steal some! Definitely adding one of those again whenever we update our landscaping here.
Jennifer! so so so lovely! I really need some carolers. I love them so much! Going to go back and look at it all again! xox
You would die at my mom’s Caroler collection. She must have at least a hundred. They look so magical scattered through the house. I just love them!
so so pretty!! I love the garland with the paper lanterns!!
Thanks, lady! That’s one of my favorite parts in person but I think looks the least exciting in photos. It was SO HARD to photograph with the three big windows behind it. I just couldn’t get the light right.
Just as I suspected! Perfectly lovely in every way! Love the colors you used and all of your pretty vignettes. And I was just looking into making a wood beaded chandelier so I am going to HAVE to check out the tutorial!
You are very kind :) I highly recommend the chandelier – it sounds scary with 1500 beads but goes pretty quick. Downton Abbey and some bead stringing!
Amazing! That tree topped it the best. And I could never in a million years photograph my wrapping ‘station’…. that would be cruel/ ugly/ and unusual punishment… but I love the idea of just having it out. I wait too long and then am up all night. Looks SO festive!
Welllllll…the station was s bit styled and straightened ;) But I am doing wrapping there. So far just for my girls birthdays (both this week) but the rest is coming :)
You have a gorgeous taste – very similar to my own :) I’m obsessed with the DIY wooden bead chandelier. I recently made a crystal chandelier and am checking out your tutorial now!
hammerandheelsblog.com
Just checked out your chandelier – what a great idea to embellish it that way! And thanks for the nice compliments!
So pretty and I adore that tree topper you made and of course your HD room :) Merry Christmas to you and your sweet fam! xoxo
Thanks! Tree topper details coming tomorrow. Just about to make my way through the tours..see you at your place in a minute ;)
It’s all so pretty! You already know I love your living room with the pops of blue! And your dining room is so lovely all decked out for the holidays!
Thanks so much, Brynne! I wish the Christmas season around the house was two months, it always feels way too fast to me!
Gorgeous! Using paper lanterns as ornaments is genius! Can’t wait for the tree topper tutorial!
Thanks, Caitlin! Those plaid lanterns spoke to me in the store…or maybe it was the voices in my head…50/50 ;)
Sounds like your daughter got the decorating gene and knows a good disco ball when she sees one :) I love the paper laterns!!
I didn’t even think of that! She moves stuff around the house constantly but come to think of it, so do I!
I adore this so more. That pop of rich blue has me drooling each time I see it! You killed it my friend!
Thanks, my dear! I am obviously feeling the blue this year. I love it so much with Christmas red!
This is gorgeous! I love everything about it, girl. You did an amazing job.
Hugs, Jamie
Thanks so much, Jamie!
So beautiful. I love how classic, yet fresh it all feels!
Thanks, Gwen. What a nice compliment :)
Jennifer your house looks so lovely all decked out for Christmas! I especially love that you let the kids decorate the family tree and have fun with it! Your moravian star is gorgeous, the vignette of bottle brush trees, and all you greens and ornaments, all so pretty and warm. Enjoy your festive home!
Thanks, Lisa! I wish it could all stay up for longer than a month, it always feels so short! But then I suppose that’s part of what makes a decorated house feel so special around the holidays.
Love the edition of paper lanterns on your garland! So festive! I think we have the same navy and white wrapping paper – couldn’t resist that one at HomeGoods! Happy Holidays!
I just couldn’t say no to those plaid paper lanterns :) And yes, Home Goods for the wallpaper! It’s my absolute favorite place to buy it.
I’m so in love with EVERYTHING!! I love the simple garlands on the mantel. It’s all AWESOME!!
Thanks for the nice comment!
Jen, it’s all just fabulous! I still stop and stare every time I see your living room with that amazing chandelier that you made, but I’m loving your sweet little family room tree with the birdcages, too! Merry Christmas!
Thanks so much, Jennifer :) The family room is the room we hang out in the most (obviously) and I do love that that’s the tree we all did together.