I guess a lot of you are wondering whether or not I've ever got a peanut stuck up my nose.
I haven't. And since I don't have children I've never had to take one to the doctor with a peanut stuck up their nose. I'm not sure what it is about kids and sticking things up their noses but I can say that once they grow up, boys still like to stick things where they don't necessarily belong. This was proven once again when I was cleaning up to start Christmas decorating and found 14 foil easter egg wrappers smashed between the arm of the couch and the couch cushion.
The fella.
More than 2 years on the lam and I'm still finding weird things he stuck in weird places.
I should have known something was off with him when he told me in no uncertain terms that pizza toppings should be underneath the cheese. And he was serious.
The thing about decorating the house for Christmas is for some reason I feel like I need to clean the house up first. Clean, tidy, reorganize a bit and THEN I can start dragging the Christmas crap out to make the mess of all messes. The sparkle-twig mess. Once the Christmas decorating is done, I do it all over again, cleaning, tidying and vacuuming up enough sparkle and twigs to choke the Abominable Snowmonster.
Today I'm just going to take you through a casual tour of my perfectly propped and presented house at Christmas. My house does not look like it does in these photos anymore. There's currently a mess of gingerbread making stuff in the kitchen (for an upcoming post), the wine is gone and there's a smashed tree ornament in the front hall under the tree.
But for the most part this is what my house looks like at Christmas. Just a little more lived in. Because I'm living in it and all.
Welcome to my home.
The bedroom high boy.
Guess what These are original pine floors from 1840.
Guess what again? I'm probably going to spend my time off at Christmas sanding all of the floors in my house down to raw wood.
Ernie, is unlikely to help me with the floor sanding task. Apparently.
BRAND new white Rough Linen duvet cover. This is the article that pushed me over the edge in terms of wanting to sand down my floors to raw, unfinished wood.
The living room. The DIY snowglobes on an antique silver tray light up the room at night.
The cozy spot. Excellent for reading, snacking or general nesting.
Those cute toast coasters.
Big, HUGE, puffy garland is back in style, but i still like my sparse stuff. Plus it takes up way less room in small spaces.
Every single thing you see her was either used or discount.
This entire area cost a total of $150. Including dresser, stocking, lamp, and gold foo dogs.
Decorating doesn't always require a lot of money. Sometimes just some patience waiting for the right thing at the right price.
That white nutcracker however was $742. Just kidding. Like $10 or something.
The front hall is where the live tree goes every year. This year I went for a skinny, very, very sparse tree because I wanted it to look as natural as possible. It has holes in it and is kind of sickly looking.
I love it.
I've been collecting (and breaking) ornaments for years now.
The entire tree is decorated with them.
Some have even come from readers who weren't as in love with antique ornaments as I am or whose house didn't suit having them on their tree.
Antique timber wood bench. Discount store fawn.
My old custom made field boots for horseback riding. Sadly they were custom made for someone else so they were always a little bit big on me.
If there's one thing I could leave up all year long it would be this tree.
Downton Abbey meets Duck Dynasty on the dining room table.
This gold tree is the second thing I'd leave out all year long.
Paperwhites. You love the smell of them or you hate the smell of them.
I love the smell.
My niece things they smell like own vomit.
Christmas doesn't necessarily have to completely sparkle and shine. But a little bit is good even if it's just wine glasses.
I still love my kitchen.
Which is a good thing since I spend most of my time in this room.
Those curtains you see under the counter are Rough Linen. In the winter I put them up and in the summer I take them down.
Yeah, I bought those two oranges with the leaves just for the photo.
You should too. Even if you aren't taking a photo of your kitchen, a couple of oranges with leaves have as much homey, Christmas impact as any doo dad accessory (provided you set them right beside two supercool Christmassy doo dads)
Several photos later and I still love my kitchen.
This truck was a Christmas present for myself a couple of years ago.
You know how sometimes you know you like something but have no idea how much you really love it until you get it home? And for 2 years straight you say I'm so HAPPY I bought that! This truck is one of those things.
Yup. It's Christmas.
In Wednesday's post I'm going to walk you through some of these photos and give you all the tips and tricks I have for decorating for Christmas or Hanukkah. It's the one season where everyone can be an expert decorator. It's very difficult to screw up Christmas decorating. Because unlike with men, at Christmas you can almost stick anything anywhere and have it be O.K.
Wendy
Hi Karen. I love your house. Everything about it. If I didn't have to live with one fella and two little fellas (the former doesn't see clutter, and the latter leave a trail of socks, Lego and Pokemon cards where ever they go) my house could be like that. Happiest of Holidays. W.
Barb
One of my favorite things about your home is how you so freely mix every imaginable style...from antique to contemporary. And it all goes so well together, I think because you use so much white to keep it "calm". You certainly inspire us all to go for the things that speak to us!
Jack Ledger
Inspiration, inspiration.........where do I find that? I remember, in a galaxy far, far away, I enjoyed the toil of decorating my home for Christmas. Now moving on to 70 years old, inspiration has gone the way of the dodo bird. However, so the neighbours don't start whispering terrible things about me, I have put a string of boughs and lights across my veranda. Who knows, maybe I will get invited over for an eggnog or two.
By the way Karen, your home is lovely. I like to think that maybe some of that inspiration in that galaxy far, far away found its way into your genetic pool.
Karen
Well instead of getting inspired, you could just come here for Christmas. ~ karen!
Laura Ingalls Gunn
Perfection. All of it. That swoony lady picture in the dining room-I'll be dreaming of her for days on end.
Ev Wilcox
Thanks for sharing your home with us-as usual your decorating is wonderful! The all-white nutcracker is so "you". There is too much to go on about because every photo is full of your tastes, and done well. My house was built in 1806, and the flooring upstairs is poplar wood with incredibly large planking. I doubt we will ever sand it down though! Good luck with that job, it sounds huge! And Merry Christmas Karen!
ellen
It's clear you don't have a dog. Candy wrappers stuffed anywhere would be discovered in minutes! Your house looks fabulous!
Brooke
Just LOVE everything, in every picture! So cheery and spare but cozy...wonderful job. Two questions: I see (I think) some battery-operated candles on your mantel. Any recommendations on them? I'm thinking of getting some rechargeable ones, but want them to look as real as possible. I have a couple of pillars that are battery-operated, but I'm going through batteries like a reindeer through carrots (reindeer DO eat carrots, don't they?)
Also, I adore your kitchen...it's just delightful. What do you use to polish your stainless steel appliances? I don't see even a HINT of fingerprints, smudge, cooking dirt...You must have very thorough cleaning elves.
Linda in Illinois
Is that an animal skin rug in your hall?? it is beautiful. I want.
Your house is gorgeous ! Your style is perfect inside and out.
I can't wait for your posts..
Happy Holidays
Carol Hogan
Dear Karen - I would like to move into your house because I LOVE every single bit of it.
PS I am way nicer than the fella and I never stick my candy wrappers in the sofa.
Mary
Thanks for the monday morning house porn :-) . You have me a bit concerned about stripping the floors - 175 years of patina gone forever.
Karen
Hi Mary. No, lol. It isn't 175 years of patina. That's only the case when you're talking about a barn with unfinished wood. These are finished floors that have probably been sanded and refinished several times over the past however many years. Actually the bedroom/upstairs floors were only uncovered by me 16 year ago. They were under carpeting and had never seen the light of day so there wasn't much patina to speak of. It was subfloor really. Wood doesn't really gather much of a patina when it's been treated or finished with any kind of coating like urethane. ~ karen!
maggie van sickle
My little Grandson says pizza toppings first and then cheese. Maybe the fella had a point. Just sayin Karen and by the way love the simplicity of your decorating. Elegant and simple,
my kind of stuff.
Thera
Beautiful! I love all of it! Can I move in please? Or at least visit?
As for men I have a hubby, a 15 yr old male and a 17 yr old male, weird stuff is stuffed everywhere here, until I find it.
Socks, wrappers, kleenex, dried shriveled baby carrots, you name it I have probably come across it in my house.
Now in all fairness the 13 yr old female is a slob too, however, she leaves all her stuff all around but in obvious-middle-of-the-floor-hall-stairs-bathroom piles.
I am a Virgo and they are slowly killing me, help please lol.
Carol
Two years isn't bad on finding those Easter egg wrappers.............it took me almost 10 years to find a decorated Easter egg that was hidden in a wreath hanging on an inside door..........never even had an odor.........found it when moving..........
dede
When my daughter was two, she piped up at the dinner table and said, "peas hurt". It took three adults to hold her down while I went up her nose with a hemostat. It was so funny. Why do people put things where they don't belong?
I'm glad you owned up to your house being perfect only for the pix. I might get depressed if I thought it looked so beautiful all the time.
Leave those floors alone and go on a beach holiday instead. What the hell.
Karin
Love the whole house, but those floors were the first thing to catch my eye! And, hate to say it, but Ernie doesn't look like he's likely to help you with anything at all - not the floor sanding, not the dishes or the laundry, nothing. I suppose it's all about Ernie? I know that's how my cat, Louise, feels about things. It's all about Louise. Happy Holidays!
Leisa
Beautiful job! It looks very magical and inviting!!!
Korrine Johnson
Absolutely dreamy...
laura
Love your style. I wish you and thee fella were still together. Videos and posts were hilarious.
Heather
who drank the wine?
marilyn
i can't believe it took you two years to find those easter egg wrappers!
Karen
I found another one yesterday!!!! It was balled up in the back of a bookcase! ~ karen