It's a rare Friday evening post from me. It seemed like a nice time for you to relax and have a look around my Christmas House tour. A place where you will find ideas, tips, prices and projects to do. Or not. Feel free to be a slacker and just have a look around.
Table of Contents
Living Room
We'll start off in the living room because that's the room with the dog, the tree and the fire.
Living Room Christmas DIYs
I have full DIYs coming on how to do a couple of things you see in this room. The first being the clay pots on the mantel with the moss balls. Inside each is a pot, with an amaryllis bulb just starting to grow. I won't have flowers by Christmas but hopefully I'll at least have stems.
Picture those pots with tall, blooming amaryllis flowers coming out the top of them. I can't remember if I planted red or white in them so feel free to picture them as any colour you want.
The art on the television is just AI generated art so I wouldn't have a big black screen there.
Over in the corner I have a pedestal bowl with some of the oranges I dehydrated this year. They're recognizable as "this year" oranges because they're still bright orange.
Over the years, as they age the oranges get darker and darker. As I was setting them up I got the idea to put battery operated copper wire lights under the oranges so they glow and realized if I used the old kind of lights the heat from them would be enough to scent the living room with oranges.
I mentioned this to one of my sisters who had ANOTHER idea - which was to put a coffee cup warmer under them. Brilliant! It was ordered and set up within 12 hours.
10 minutes later my whole first floor smelled like oranges.
15 minutes later they smelled like burned oranges.
The cheap mug warmer that I clocked at 140℃ (284℉) is being returned unless I decide to keep it for cremation purposes.
Now the tree.
I bought Twinkly lights on Black Friday this year. Twinkly is a brand of light that became really popular last year despite a single strand costing hundreds of dollars.
For real. I bought a single set of 600 lights. They sell for $250 US or $275 Canadian. I got mine for $125 CA on Boxing Day.
They can create pretty much any combination of spinning, still, rotating or sparkling colour combinations you desire. The lights are made and developed by a tech company in Italy. Automatic fancy points there.
And yet with my new Twinkly lights that can produce any colour variation, any pattern from spinning candy canes to ombre rainbows, ... I set them to warm white. Like any other $30 set of tree lights.
That's because I wanted you to notice the hundreds of antique glass balls on the tree, not the lights. With the crazy lights on you don't notice the ornaments - especially in a photo. The twinks always always steal the show.
I was going to show you all the examples of what they can do but there are a ton of videos of them on Youtube. The lights are currently set to rainbow.
There's my ugly couch still sitting there in the living room. I managed to throw half of the sectional away last year which is how I can now fit the tree in my living room.
I've had sofa purchasing paralysis for a little over a decade now. I've thought about a support group.
I also sold my fake Eames recliner and ottoman this spring which gives a lot more space in the room.
Foyer
For such a small house it has quite a grand entryway. The foyer is opposite the living room and offers the best views for Philip who is also much grander than the rest of the house.
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I work a lot at the tulip table. If I sit in one chair I can see outside, if I sit in the other I can see the television and fireplace in the living room.
I have a plan for something to display on the centre of the tulip table this year but no idea if I'll have time to get it done. You'll be the first to find out if I get this mystery thing accomplished.
Which is not the mystery thing I was working on a few weeks ago that has turned into the most mediocre DIY I've ever done. Can't wait to show you.
The buffet is fantastic for putting out entire collections. Most of my mini trees were gifted to me over the years by my friend Anj. The ceramic light up tree is a new addition I bought on Amazon in 2022. Canadian Tire carries them for $50 as well but they're sold out. If you're in Canada the ceramic trees like mine are a bit overpriced at $80 for the 15".
Collections
If you have a collection of anything - Christmas trees, decorations, nutcrackers, whatever - grouping them can have more of an impact than scattering them around the house.
Those berries!
This is Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) a native shrub to Ontario. These 3 stems cost me $15 from a local market. I immediately looked into planting them. To produce berries on stems like this you need 1 male winterberry and about 5 females.
I don't think I have room for that many winterberries.
Dining Room
The room I love to pass through but rarely actually use. Two or three times a year I'll have a big dinner in this room, but other than that I mainly take a turn to the left, which lands me in the kitchen.
I always plan to eat in here and when the fella was around (I had a live-in fella for 10 years) we always ate in the dining room because it's the only table to sit at.
Currently I eat my dinner at around 9 or 10 at night. I usually do it with my plate on my lap on the sofa. My preferred method of dinner eating would be at a kitchen table in front of a window looking out at acres of rolling kittens. That wasn't the hand I was dealt.
The train set that blows smoke and makes sound I ordered a few years ago is going strong.
I found a use for the green hairy balls I grew this summer. Sadly the longer they're indoors the more shrivelled and thusly unattractive they're getting.
I got rid of more Christmas decorations than I realized when I organized in January. Oops. I made up for it with a bowl of oranges, dried orange slices and different sizes and styles of pine cones.
Copper Wire Light Tips
If you're using copper wire lights for something like this display or the bowl of orange slices, pay attention to the amount of lights you're getting and the size of the battery pack.
Don't buy 33' of lights if you're only lighting a small area.
For these uses, I'd use a 10' length of copper wire lights with a battery pack that holds 2 AA batteries.
Kitchen
The place where the table isn't. But I still love my kitchen. I could fit a table in here but I'd have to get rid of my apothecary unit and my antique candy counter that I use as an island. I'm not willing to do that because those two pieces are where I store everything.
If I got rid of them where would I put all my stuff?
I'll tell you where because I know exactly where ... I would pile everything on the kitchen table.
Cheap Tricks
- Wrap 2 different ribbons around anything (like this old fake wreath) if you aren't good with bows.
- Buy nuts in the shell, pine cones and oranges. They always look Christmassy plus you can eat your decorations after the season.
- Pile excess ball ornaments into anything you can fit them in.
- Stick a red satin or velvet bow on it. Anything.
Also the wire lights. I've mentioned them over and over again but copper wire lights really can be stuck, smushed or twisted onto anything to create instant cozy Christmas/Hanukkah. Plus they don't take up any space to store.
You know it's Christmas when the Wonderbread gets hauled out. If you guessed it's for making Christmas Eve bacon wraps you are a bacon wrap expert.
And there you have it; The Christmas House Tour 2024. Amazingly everything is exactly the same as they day I took the photographs. I haven't moved or changed anything - other than the colour of the Twinkly lights.
Hettie
I love it all, Karen. Beautiful! I made the orange slices as you suggested. They're lovely, and I'll copy your clever idea to illuminate them in a bowl. Have you considered looking at MaxSold for a couch? A lot of ugly couches come up but occasionally there's a gem. If you're lucky, you might only have to pay a dollar, which leaves lots of cash for reupholstering should you want to. Happy hunting!
Karen
Hi Hettie! I'm nuts over these orange slices. I use them everywhere. And yes! I look on MaxSold, Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace but I've calmed my hunt down for now. I'll find it when I find it. :) ~ karen!
ConCanDo
Gorgeously gorgeous! Thank you. Happy holidays.
Karen
Thanks! It does feel particularly cozy this year. ~ karen!
Rochelle
Karen,
Your home is beautiful and delightful! Thank you for sharing.
I am curious how you created the AI image for your television screen?
Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Rochelle
Karen
Hi Rochelle. That particular image I did with Photoshop using an AI generator within the Photoshop software. Basically you tell it what you want an image of and it creates it. You may need to generate the image many many times until it looks reasonable though, lol. ~ karen!
Rochelle M Fernley
Great! Thank you.
Marie
Thank you so much. I live with a Grinch so your posts mean a lot to me.
Karen
Several more unGrinchy posts to come so settle in. :) ~ karen!
Gretchen
By jove! You've done it again! Thanks for sharing your cozy, cute, and warm Christmassy home. Truly an inspiration! (and fun!) Cheers!
Becca M
You’ve done it again Karen! Your cottage is especially cozy at Christmas. I am inspired every year and this time I can’t wait to dehydrate some oranges - no coffee warmer, check! If it weren’t for you our tree wouldn’t be decked in all the beautiful bows.
* please never get rid of that apothecary unit*
Merry Merry Christmas to you!
Karen
Thanks Becca! The orange slices are my favourite because I can use them almost anywhere for instant Christmas that looks beautiful. I would never get rid of that apothecary so don't you worry. ~ karen!
Elaine
Your home looks very Christmassy. I agree with 'all my stuff would end up on the kitchen table comment'. We don't have a kitchen table either but a long peninsula counter so that's where everything ends up. Wishing you the best of the holidays.
Patti_is_knittinginflashes
As always your house is just beautiful.
Does that mug warmer really heat to 140 degrees? I’m looking for one for my husband and none that I’ve found keeps his coffee warm enough.
We are having friends over this year for wine and a charcuterie board. I think I will include those yummy looking bacon wraps. Does thin sliced bacon work best?
Karen
Hi Patti - It really did get that hot. I took the surface temp with my pizza oven thermometer. Salton brand - it was the cheapest cup warmer I could find. ~ karen!
Cindy
Everything looks beautiful and cozy!
Thank you for the great lighting tips!
Love your sense of humor!
Merry Christmas 🎄
Cecilia Eichenberger
Lovely! thanks for the tour.
Wendy
The dehydrated orange slices remind my favourite seasonal decor tip from you. This year I hung them from a small spruce I dug up from the forest and potted by my front door. Hopefully with the early watering and now snow on it I will be able to replant it somewhere in the spring. Added bonus to the orange slices, the birds love them, so I have to dry a bunch every other week. I have pine/spruce cones that are 25 years old still in use also. Lovely, lovely home and decor.
Kimberly
Love it, love it, love it…
Laura
Talk about a curated masterpiece…your house and decorating are beautiful!
Is it possible to provide a link to the garland on your apothecary unit? I know you replaced garlands last year and provided a link for one you used over a large painting of a woman, but I’m not finding one for that particular garland. It’s perfect, and just what I have been looking — in vain! — for!
Thanks for providing such a fun site; I love taking a break here!
Kathryn
Love your cosy house and decorations, especially with Philip making his regal appearances in the pictures. I was laughing at the Wonderbread on the counter until I read about bacon wraps! Have you got the recipe?
Karen
Hi Kathryn. Yes! You can find the bacon wrap recipe here.
Gretchen
“My preferred method of dinner eating would be at a kitchen table in front of a window looking out at acres of rolling kittens.” Your whole house tour is a delight but rather than truly taking in every detail, I sit here baffled and obsessed with this one sentence. My old cat could shed no light on the subject of all those rolling kittens… 🤨😊
Karen
Then my job here is done. I have baffled. ~ karen!
Nina
Did you mean gamboling kittens? Because I could look out my back window, coffee in hand, and watch that! (Love the house tour 😍)
Karen
Rolling kittens like rolling hills. But kittens! But they could gambol as well! ~ karen
Nancy Solak
I agree, Gretchen. ACRES OF ROLLING KITTENS--never knew I wanted that, but now I do. I'll ask Santa.
Sioban Mccoy
I love your house and decor. So warm and comfortable. And the flow blue pitchers are great. When I was young and poor I just put bows on everything and it looked great! Your suggestion stands the test of time. We used to have Winterberry in Maine. Now in VA and none to be found. Also what is the brass coffee thing on the island? I love your blog. It always makes me laugh and contains useful information. A great combo.
Karen
Thanks Sioban. That's my goal. Laughing and learning. The brass thing is my Aarke water carbonator. I got it for Christmas a few years ago from my mom. I *love* it. ~ karen
Maggie
Lovely as usual so cozy hood job Karen
Karen
Thanks Maggie. :) It's pretty cozy. ~ karen!
Mary W
Looks festive and ready for Santa. How many Wonder Breads do you use at Christmas? The bag is rather festive, also.
Mary W
Forgot - It would be a bit of a change from puzzles but maybe fun for Christmas - hide wonderbags around before taking pictures and see you can actually count the correct number for a hide and seek game. I'm so good at telling you what to do - wish I took my own advice but it's easier to wait for your posts to get all Christmasy - thank you!
Karen
I'm trying to get a series of puzzles done for the Christmas break! Fingers crossed. ~ karen!
Karen
I left the bags in the photo when I realized how good they looked! I'll use those 2 loafs although I'm making my way through one and I haven't got to the bacon wraps yet. ~ karen!
Sharon Dore
Does Philip have tree beside his bed or other dog level decor?
Karen
Philip's almost as tall as I am. We share the same view of all decor. ~ karen!
Kelly
I don’t usually enjoy what I call “look at me” articles but I have to say I more than enjoyed every word, clever phrase, and the photos gave me some much needed Christmas spirit!
Thank you for sharing!
Karen
Thanks! This house was *made* for Christmas. ~ karen!
RandyP
I can only echo comments I've made over the past several years - your artistry turns a simple cottage dwelling into a stunning holiday home... lacking only the Hallmark Christmas movie starring the lovely homeowner/artist who creates it. "Lady Monochrome Finds a December to Remember". The script almost writes itself.
Karen
I really should get it into a Hallmark movie. I could serve them appetizers from my electric train while they shoot. ~ karen!