Come on in! Welcome to my Christmas House Tour 2018. A simple Christmas. Kind of.
In my defence I really did try to make it a simple Christmas this year. I even went so far as to only dedicate 2 full days to decorating as opposed to 3 or 4. I wrote it on my calendar and everything.
As you can see from the restraint on my kitchen cabinets I went simple here. Simple wreaths, no adornment. Done. But those cabinets have been decorated with those simple wreaths for years. It was the rest of the house I had to try to rein in.
I'm going to let you know I didn't exactly accomplish my goal of simple Christmas decorating. As it turns out, simple involves restraint. In just the past 24 hours I've ordered 14 things I don't need off of Amazon, eaten ¾s of a loaf of bread and let a friend know what I really think of his decorating. So. Clearly I'm not an accomplished restrainer.
I am that person who goes to an all you can eat buffet and even though I don't want to, even though it'll make me feel sick and it's gross, I pile my plate with foods from 7 different nationalities because I don't want to miss out on something good. I've dipped eggrolls in beef gravy. I'm an abomination.
So doing actual "simple" Christmas decorating was never going to happen and you should really give your head a shake if you thought it was going to. I mean even believing that I might accomplish a simple Christmas well ... , that just looks bad on you, not me.
Having said that, I did absolutely bring things down a notch this year. Just a bit. Just so I don't feel quite so overwhelmed by it all.
I'm sure you know what I mean. You love your house filled with Christmas decorations for the first week or two and then they slowly start to bug you. Close in on you.
You develop Christmas Claustrophobia.
So I didn't put out a lot of the little things this year. Like the vintage ceramic salt and peppers. Or the vintage elves that I really do love a lot and would actually look great on my new kitchen hardware cabinet now that I think of it. Hmm.
Speaking of the new kitchen hardware cabinet - I love it even more decked out for the holidays.
That's one real (the long needled pine) and one fake (straight from Ikea) garland on the top. I bought real pine rope and cut it in half. One half is on the cabinet and the other half is in the backyard staying fresh. When this one dries out in a couple of weeks I'll replace it with the fresh stuff hibernating in the backyard.
The bottom shelf of the cabinet holds my kitchen appliances like my ice cream maker, Sous Vide Supreme machine and Kitchen Aid which look a bit messy, so I've attached a few tension rods to the cabinet and just threw some holiday print tea towels over them. Later I'll probably make linen curtains for it, or something out of vintage aprons.
ALERT! As of the moment that I'm writing this post, my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker is on sale for $200 on Amazon.com. (not Amazon.ca sadly) That is a great, GREAT deal. It's wayyyy less than half price. It's a really good ice cream maker because it has a compressor built into it. That means it freezes the ice cream as it's making it. (You don't have a bowl you have to take out and store in the freezer)
You can see if it's still on sale by clicking this link to it on Amazon here.
So that's the kitchen. Not overly simple but not overly over the top either. I do not feel Christmas claustrophobia in this room.
Onto the dining room! Walk this way ....
I did two things in the dining room to simplify the decorating this year.
- I didn't put any ornaments on the tree. Just greenery and some sparkly branches.
- I didn't decorate the shelves other than two black, glittery reindeer.
CHRISTMAS DECORATING TIP
If you want to go with the least amount of waste with your Christmas decorating, decorate with food. Nuts, oranges, chocolates. You can't go wrong with the big 3. They make any room look festive plus you don't need to make room for storing them in your basement. You instead store them in your handy stomach.
Beautiful and delicious. Unlike eggrolls dipped in gravy.
No ornaments on the tree meant less time to decorate it and it'll mean less time to put it away.
Here's where simple got hard. For the past few years I've had a huge, massive garland on my portrait of Margaret. You can see it in this post from my Christmas House Tour of last year. I had strung together 3 or 4 different fake garlands to make one ginormous garland, and then I wove gold leaves, beads and ornaments through it.
It did not scream simple.
So I had to take a few garlands apart and dumb it down a bit. Have you ever tried to untangle 4 swags of garland entangled with beads, lights and glitter? It's a shitshow.
Wanna see the foyer?
That's pretty simple, right?
If you missed it the first time around, in the background, on the buffet, those are my DIY wax dipped amaryllis bulbs. No water, no dirt, no nothing, and FUN to make. Here's how to make them.
When I went into this whole "simple Christmas" mindset my goal was to decorate only with candles, greenery and twinkle lights. I've done fairly well with that resolve but it ended with my Christmas tree. The real tree, not one of the fake ones in my house.
I really wanted to do the tree with just lights on it but then I remembered the dried oranges from last year and I just had to use them again because I love them.
I was stunned and amazed when I opened the bag I stored them in and they still smelled like orange. They're darker than they were last year but they still look great.
Here's how to make those dried orange slices for your tree.
And then there were the candles that I made last year. These are NOT the thing for you to make if you like everything straight and perfect because no matter what you do these flip and flop. At least they do on a real tree. They might not on a fake tree.
The last room in the tour is coming up, the living room.
First of all, I'm not a big pom pom fan but I bought this pom pom blanket because it was SO soft. Again, I'd normally have some sort of official Christmas doodad on the end table but went with a few sprigs of pine.
The only thing that hurts my heart more than a homeless kitten is a flatscreen over a fireplace. But for now that's the only place to put it. I've tried it other places and it just looks so messy.
The living room is in transition right now so it's not at its best but hopefully it'll all get straightened out with a new couch and furniture placement n the New Year.
The chair. It's my spot. I can see outside with the windows open and if I just swivel around a bit I'm staring right into the fire. It's. My. Spot.
Directly across from my spot is this. The spot that I have so far refused to stick a chair into because it would make the room feel squished. I may break down one day and have a chair there but for now I like looking at this view. My rickety saddle stand and old saddle.
Like I mentioned earlier, decorate with food. I've already gone through an entire bowl of these mixed nuts in the shell this season (see aforementioned issue with restraint). So I guess my decorating style this really really boiled down to candles, greenery and food.
O.K., and the odd Christmas tchotchke.
O.K. Tour's over.
To put it all in perspective, take a walk with me through my house.
Everyone put your shoes back on and get out. I have some vintage elves to find.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
p
I'm laugh crying because you blew the candles out!
It's all lovely!
Karen
I did, lol. I figured that was a good clue for everyone to get the hell out. ;) ~ karen!
Susan Hillman
Karen, I so appreciate your emphasis on (and cheerleading for) natural decorating items. They really are so beautiful, healthy, and if not edible, compostable.
Addie
Love all your decor. Sometimes simple is more.
I have a solution to smelly blown out candles......they do make for a pretty picture but they are dirty and smelly. When you are ready to blow out your candles for the night....take an opened out paper clip, with the curved part dip the lighted (flame) wick into the melted wax. Flame goes out. Then straighten the wick back up straight. Flame is out and NO smoke or smelly. AND it is actually better for the the wick and the candle. Maybe you just did it for the picture which is nice.....but smelly.
Ardith
It's all perfectly beautiful, Karen. Cheers and Merry Christmas, Ardith
Nicole
I remember reading somewhere that TVs over fireplaces is a bad idea because the heat from the fire is bad for the flatscreen? Not sure if that's actually a thing, but I remember thinking "gosh, good thing I have neither!" :) I may need to make some dried orange slices, because I think cats dislike the smell and maybe that will prevent my felines from chewing the pine needles (and then throwing them up! Ew!). It might look weird to have the bottom third of the tree covered in orange slices, but if it prevents that situation, it's worth it!
Karen
LOVE your tour and your decorations. I would love to see the vintage elves...
Peggy Grobmyer
Lovely, just lovely. Merry Christmas!
Jane
The kitchen pig needs a Santa hat. Just a suggestion.,
Valerie
While I appreciate the classy restrained decorating. It’s beautiful. I would love to see your house decorated over the top. It’s Christmas. And the only time I like an excess of natural Christmas cheer. Garlands and wreaths and sprigs of berries hooray! And the feeling of peace and space come January when the decorations go away is so freeing and energizing.
Karen
Well, I've been decorating it pretty over the top for years. :) I really do find it oppressive by the middle of December. Kind of like I want to throw it all on the front lawn and burn it. ~ karen!
Lynda Loy
Love your decorating ideas for this year! I believe I wIll go the simple way too this time. Just lovely! Appreciate all the ideas and laughter you have brought my way this year! Merry Christmas!!
Diane Amick
I really really really really miss your giant mirror with 500 garlands on it. That one piece is always stop me in my tracks stunning. So.....I guess you did simplify this year ...unless you just didn’t want me to drool all over your mirror.
Karen
It's still there, I just ran out of light to photograph it this year. But it *is* in the video. I did the same thing as I did with the portrait garland though, I simplified it so it wasn't so ... much. :) ~ karen!
SH
That mirror garland last year was my favorite decoration of all the holiday decorations--loved it.
Barb
Thanks for the tour. Looks lovely. Merry Christmas!
kelle
So great! That large cabinet was worth every penny...it has such a "wow" factor! I love the simplicity of the decorating...seems like many of us are going this. Simplicity in decorating, simplicity in our lives. I love it!
Mary W
ADORE the festive food tree and how the new floors look in the dining room. But, decorating with a big white pole and big white balls? Are you OK? One year I made dried oranges and grapefruit slices and a grand wreath. It was gorgeous and I gave it to my brother as a gift. He proudly hung it over his dining room door. Then he had to take it down since it got black mold that spread to his wall required a deep cleaning and a new paint job. I saw him remove his name from the hat this year when we drew names for gifts. Florida has it's beyond beautiful beaches but they come with humidity levels in a constant 90 or above. I guess I'll stick to plastic slices but really love your natural look this year.
Karen
Big white pole? You mean the antique church pillar in the corner? And I have no idea what the big white balls you're talking about are, lol. I was amazed at how well the oranges slices kept from last year. No black mould but I'll keep my eye on them now! ~ karen!
jaine kunst
Classy and cozy! Well done!
Bunguin
OMG THAT END TABLE!?!?! With the 'end grain' twigs.... is that a DIY? That is gorgeous and I really need to know how and why and where it came to be (from).
Karen
It was from Homesense from years ago. It's a copy of a French designer table. I was going to make my own but then I found this one and bought it. What I love about it is that it has a HUGE drawer. ~ karen!
judy
That is magical,so calm and elegant. Thanks for all of the happy laughing out loud informing moments you have gifted me. I wish I could give something back of equal value-lacking that may all your wishes come true and the merriest of Christmases.
Julie
I just discovered your website when I searched for “diy wax dipped amaryllis bulbs”. So glad I did as I enjoy your writing style even more than your great ideas. I laugh as I see myself reflected in your thoughts! This is our first year in a new home in a new section of the country and we won’t be home at Christmas so I too am trying to simplify. And not doing too well! (PS the moving van delay of 5 weeks in storage in Arizona resulted in all my Christmas candles melting together in some sort of blob-who knew I can now recipe and cover my amaryllis bulbs)
Karen
I think I'd almost want to preserve the candle blob under a glass dome as a memento from the hellish move, lol. Welcome to my site Julie! ~ karen
Marmaloo3
A Christmas candle disaster? You MUST listen to The Vinyl Cafe's Stuart McLean reading "Christmas at the Turlington's" (it's on YouTube). It's a Canadian classic.
Brita Barlow
That's funny, my tree doesn't have any ornaments on it this year either. Just ribbon, berry sprigs and burlap poinsettias. I did dump some ornaments in a serving tray with pillar candles and put them on the coffee table. Other than that my decor is basically just candles and greenery too.
Karen
To me that's what really says Christmas anyway, candles and greenery. :) ~ karen!
Jody
Your annual Christmas house tour is always my favourite. So inspiring. Thank you for sharing.