Decorating Your Home For the Holidays

As you know, I enjoy decorating for the seasons. Last year I began storing my Christmas decor in my coffee table which is a giant wooden trunk (pictured above) and so this year, it was so freaking easy to get everything out. We only had to venture to the attic for the tree and a few strings of lights. Before I put my Christmas stuff in there, the trunk was empty. WHAT WAS I THINKING? So yes, this year it was so easy to get everything out to decorate. Plus, Caroline was old enough to actually be excited about decorating, so that gave us another boost to break out the holiday cheer.

After decorating this year, I realized my home is a little bit like the Home Alone house. Not because it's a mansion, but because my year round decorating colors are Christmas colors (with the exception of an orangey red as opposed to straight up Christmas red). How many of you have noticed that everything in the Home Alone house is Christmas colored? From wallpaper and carpet, to artwork and bedding - the whole house is subtly Christmas. Well, my house is like this too. For example, my living room rug is red and green and my kitchen walls are green with orangey red accents. I don't know what this says about me, but it makes my home feel extra cozy in December.

Embracing the Un-curated Fake Christmas Tree

In the living room, we brought in our velvet green pillows from the den and a vintage plaid wool blanket (which is actually for sale in the shop right now!). Also, we put up our trusty, ol' fake Christmas tree adorned with our old, new, handmade, store-bought, pretty and ugly ornaments we've collected through the years. We don't discriminate when it comes to ornaments. I started writing the year and who gave us the ornament on the ornaments a few years ago and now it's even more enjoyable to go through them each year.

*I draw (trace) a family photo every year for our Christmas cards. I turned 2015's into an ornament too.*

*David Sedaris's Holidays on Ice. A must read for the holiday season, right?*

Mixing in DIY Christmas Decor

Holiday decor on the fireplace bookshelf is important because this is the view from the sofa when drinking hot chocolate, roasting chestnuts and staring into the fire. This year I went with red/green/gold colored books, clippings from my juniper bush, pinecones, and dried orange garland. This was my first time to make orange garland and though it wasn't difficult, it wasn't as easy as I had envisioned. I think my mistake was threading the oranges pretty quickly after taking them out of the oven. I think waiting a day would be better (so they aren't juicy AT ALL), but hello, I had a Vintage Modern Holiday Home Tour to prepare for, so wait I could not. I love how they turned out though!

Decorating the Kitchen for the Holidays

In the kitchen, I added a few touches of the Christmas spirit- my most favorite being the Santa coffee mugs. I found Caroline a cute tiny matching one at the flea market last week. She drank out of it every day this week and then promptly broke it the day before this photo shoot. I found an adequate replacement from Target, but I can't get that tiny vintage mug out of my mind. Daly's mom says she has a bunch of tiny vintage Santa mugs though, so we have some hope for a replacement. (Don't you love that Daly's mom has tons of tiny vintage Santa mugs on hand?).

*Daly drank her coffee from one of my coffee mugs while she took photos. She enjoyed herself.*

*I wrap baker's twine around all bottles and vases for the holidays.*

Creating Happy Winter Vignettes in your Home

The dining room built-in is always a place for swapping out decor and Christmas decor is no exception. This year, a majority of the bulit-in is dedicated to my mini forest. Ever since Ashley Daly bought a whole forest a few years ago for the shop I have been wanting a mini forest of my own. Last year I finally did it. I went to the store after Christmas and bought the tiny trees and houses at 90% off. I plan to add to my winter forest vignette every year now until it's bursting with trees.

*I also added dried orange garland to the wreath.*

*Sorry, Patrick, for putting a Santa hat on Sasha. It just looked so nice on her.*

*My daughter likes to add toys to the vignette. Like snowmen peeping into the windows. Not creepy.*

*I also really want tiny vintage deer to add to my forest, but word at the flea market is those are really hard to come by. Please hit me up if you have a hot lead.*

*This Santa book belonged to my dad when he was a child.*

Using Natural Elements for Holiday Decor

And finally, the dining table. The morning of the photo shoot, I asked Patrick to chop down a branch from our bush tree (we have this giant berry bush that looks like a tree!) before work. He's so nice, he did it. Pro tip: always forage your yard for natural winter elements to bring inside for decor. Yard finds are both pretty and free!

*The dried oranges that were a little too burned for the garland found their way into a pretty green tray.*

*Here we both are... just taking photos of home holiday decor like you do.*

How do you Decorate for the Holidays?

That wraps up my vintage modern holiday home tour. Not pictured here is the den, where Caroline and I crazily strung lights everywhere and added a large cheesy plastic bell. Perhaps I'll share that on Instagram! Do you decorate for the holidays/seasons? We'd love to see your holiday spaces. Use #lifeonabeautifulbackground on Instagram so we can see!