Since Christmas is tomorrow, I figured I should finally blog about how I decorated my home this year for the holiday season. :)
To give you a little backstory, Christmas for our little family last year was kind of a downer. Two cases of the flu and a case of hand, foot, and mouth kept our household under quarantine most of December. (Thankfully, we had at least picked out a Christmas tree shortly after Thanksgiving, otherwise, it probably wouldn't have happened.) On Christmas Day, we had almost no gifts under the tree and I was literally on the couch the entire day with the flu. Needless to say, it was no fun. Looking back, even though it was terrible at the time, I am so thankful that we simply had each other...even if we had nothing under the tree and even if we all felt awful.
THIS YEAR, however, I wanted to be sure I made more of an effort to really make our home feel like Christmas (and to stay as healthy as possible obviously...fingers crossed), especially because our son is now at an age where he can understand and participate so much more. Plus, I knew we would be having a variety of people in our home this holiday season, which was another reason behind wanting to put in more of an effort this year. I hosted my work Christmas party in my home this year, and we will be hosting my husband's family tomorrow on Christmas Day and my parents on New Year's weekend, as well.
Since I knew we would be having lots of guests in the house this holiday season, I wanted to make our home feel festive, yet warm, comforting, and inviting. While I love the traditional red and white color scheme for this time of year, I decided to take a more minimalist approach to our decor this year. Inspired by Scandinavian holiday decorating and interiors, I stuck to a strict color palette of black, white and craft paper brown with silver and gold sprinkled here and there. Our Christmas tree, which normally is a wonderful, crazy collection of colorful ornaments from our childhoods took a backseat this year to a more subtle color palette of white and silvery metallics. Ultimately, the overall look and feel of our holiday decor this year ended up having a Scandinavian meets modern farmhouse vibe.
A new rug (purchased from RugsUSA) softened the overall look of our living room, and a fun letter board message set the tone for our "Jolley" holiday festivities. :)
Our mantle, which had been a wall of family and travel photos for the last 2ish years, finally got a much needed refresh. Photos came down and were stored for safe keeping, and the mantle was decked out in branches from a couple juniper trees that we had to get rid of (thanks Hurricane Irma), modern brass candlesticks, and a simple rope wreath which hung from a black grosgrain ribbon on the mirror. I also got crafty and made the simple white pom pom garland to add a cozy, whimsical touch.
A large basket filled with floor pillows and black and white throws and oversized scarves nestled next to the comfy wing chair. This ended up being a favorite spot by many who came to our home this holiday season.
I am a HUGE fan of gift wrapping so this was obviously a detail not to be overlooked. I continued my minimalist color scheme of black, white and craft brown and chose a select combination of stripes and buffalo plaid patterns to keep things cohesive. Finished packages were tied up with chunky black yarns or off-white twine and finished with simple white hang tags.
And here is a sneak peek of what Archer will be getting from us this year! I am SO excited for him to have this adorable little table and chair set. Pint-size Scandinavian perfection! I want it in my size, too! :) I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and blessed Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus our Savior!
