Christmas home tour, part 1!

Hello my friends! It’s that time of year again – I’m joining 19 other bloggers for another series of beautiful holiday home tours:

My friend Just a Girl is our host and if you’re visiting from Decor Chick’s Christmas kitchen, welcome!

So here’s the thing…I had every intention of this being a whole house tour. Then I realized there was NO WAY I was getting everything decorated…and clean enough for pictures. And then I ran out daylight and couldn’t get any more good shots so this whole house tour is now a two room tour. But there will be more! Consider this part one of three…or five?

And I took 130 photos of just these rooms so I think you’ll be happy I’m breaking this up a bit. ;)

I was SO excited to decorate our “new” kitchen and family room for Christmas this year. The actual kitchen hasn’t gotten it’s makeover yet, but the layout is totally different and WE LOVE IT! Goodness, it’s wonderful.

I’m going to try to not talk much here and just let the photos do it for me:

I shared the kitchen shelves decked out for the holidays here but I had to share them again because I FINALLY finished the trim up by the crown:

Again, this area (where the table is) is where our sectional used to sit – that gives you an idea of how much space we gained when we took down a wall.

The to do list is just starting in the kitchen – painting the trim in the bay window is first up:After that…well, you’ll just have to stay tuned for the plan. :)

I didn’t do a lot of Christmas decorating in the kitchen this year – overall I’ve cut down on the Christmas decor I use. I much prefer to change up the items I already have out and make them look a little more festive.

I did add a little rosemary tree (I use rosemary for our Christmas prime rib):

And those curtains? A set of $5 towels from HomeGoods:

The kitchen table has a red, green and white runner and my DIY wood trough that normally sits on the fireplace: 

You can take just about anything, stuff it with greenery and pinecones…and it will look fantastic this time of year. Use what you have!

I have so many favorite parts of this room now – one of those being the new doors:

They completely, 100 percent, change the look and feel of the entire space. And they function so much better too – they were meant to be here from the start.

The family room got a few touches of Christmas, but I’m most excited about the fireplace and built ins:

 

I’ve been looking for skinny sconces for months and I found them yesterday:

 

They aren’t really sconces at all, but candleholders from Hobby Lobby. I got the idea from what Lindsay did over her fireplace. I took the handles off, hung them each with a nail and there. you. go. They are so pretty and exactly what I was looking for:

They are half off this week for $12! Love them!

Anymore I use real greenery for most areas inside – I just love the look of it and there’s no storing it year to year! It’s my splurge every Christmas, but this 20 foot piece I used on the mantle was only $15 at Lowe’s:

I let it cascade down onto the built ins and wrapped a couple strands of lights around it. On the top of the fireplace I just filled it with brown ornaments and pine cones:

I filled in some areas with cuttings from our real tree to fluff it up a bit. I absolutely LOVE it!

I found some beautiful (free!) printables that Kellie created last year and put them in our frames that lean on the built ins:

There are four total and they are so pretty! Love it!! I hope to use more around the house.

The metal candlesticks are all Goodwill finds from years back and I always seem to find a place for them at Christmas. They are so elegant and pretty!

I LOVE how this whole area turned out. The new “sconces” really make all the difference I think:

I have them centered on the TV but I may move them up just a bit…we’ll see. I’m just so excited I found what I was looking for. :)

I said I wasn’t going to talk, didn’t I? Oops. OK…I’ll shut up -- enjoy the rest of the pics!:

For the tutorial on that Pottery Barn knock off art, go here.

Just including this one because I loved how it focused in on the wreath in the reflection. :) At first glance I thought the whole shot was out of focus:

This reminds me…Elf needs to find a new spot for the day. :)

Whew! See, aren’t you glad I couldn’t take more pics?? I’ll be back with more of the house soon. For now I’m enjoying a couple spaces that don’t have pine needles all over the floor.

Next up on the tour is Emily from Eleven Gables! Her home is stunning! I’ll update the list of blogs as we go through the week but here’s the list so far:

Just a Girl
The Inspired Room
Kevin and Amanda
Home Stories A to Z
Decor Chick

Tuesday

Eleven Gables
Hi Sugarplum
TidyMom
Beneath My Heart

Thanks for visiting! :)