Christmas Home Tour 2014

Welcome to my 2014 Christmas home tour. 

I didn't get everything done that I had planned this year. Between the fall down the stairs and then the cold and bronchitis, I just decided to make due with what I have gotten up and chill with it. I planned for more fresh cut greenery... but I have quite a bit of faux greens from living in the desert. So I'm just sticking with no fuss. My dept. 56 village is still boxed up, it can join us next year.

So come on in out of the cold and take a tour of our beach cottage in the woods.

Come on into the entryway...

I'm pretty fond of this garland from Costco. It's huge, full of lights, and looks great after three years of use.

 

Our first room is the den. We chose to put the tree up in here, it shines through the front windows and has great atmosphere for family Christmas movies.

 

We love to snuggle up in here with the stove running and the Christmas lights on inside and out.

A cozy room for book reading or movies.

 

Next room in the tour is the living room. The big fireplace and the view of the winter woods give this room a cabin feel. I played that up with some decor in deer themes. I also added some vintage wool throws. The brown one on the chest is a vintage blanket from an airline and the plaid is a vintage Pendleton, both thrift store finds. 

 Our mantel features a couple of DIY projects that I actually got done. One is the stocking sign: our mantle is quite narrow, I knew that my stocking holders wouldn't fit with the garland. I found this cedar board in the garden and painted the signs and added hooks for the stockings. I think this is actually more secure than stocking holders. No more kiddo's with bloody heads after pulling their stockings down. (Yes, that happened)

The other project was adding custom burlap cuffs to our Pottery Barn stockings. I wanted a new look, but didn't want to buy new stockings.

 

Next up is the kitchen and dining area. 

 

I used some left over burlap from the stockings to make a simple no-sew runner. 

 

Take a break for a cup of tea and some chocolate chip banana bread.

Our last stop is the master bedroom. A simple addition of my Pottery Bard winter cardinal duvet and a thrif store wreath make the bedroom a snug winter retreat.

 

The winter light comes through the windows with a view of the treetops. 

That ends our tour this year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Linking up to these parties:

French Country Cottage

The Shabby Nest 

My Romantic Home 

Tatertots and Jello 

Halloween Candlelight Tour

Welcome to our cottage candlelight Halloween tour. We are a bit Halloween crazy around here, but we have two boys that are young enough to have sleepless nights if things look too creepy. So we go with classic Halloween colors, with a touch of cutesy and glitter. Of course lots of pumpkins everywhere. 

Our fireplace dressed with small pumpkins and gourds. My white owl vases, a white trellis I borrowed from the pouch, candles and a Halloween bunting that I picked up at an after season sale. 

I found these cute "haunted house" votives in a store on the island.

A touch of glittery spiders.

I switched out the vinyl ottoman for my hubby's wood trunk. It's wood adds some fall color to the room and it has great storage. More little pumpkins and my Pottery Barn napkin pillows. 

I use mostly LED candles. With my curious boys who like to experement by putting random things into flames, I only light real candles in high places, or after 8:30 P.M. So these candles are my friends, I can have the cozy glow anytime of the day, worry free. These happen to be the remote controlled candles from Costco, I'm pretty happy with them so far. 

The china hutch has been turned into a Halloween village. I collect Department 56 buildings and I love how they look at night. They also make some spooky sounds, so no need for a soundtrack if you have a Halloween party.

The nook's table is kept simple. A poison place mat and some leaves added to our lantern. The boys regularly slather the table with maple syrup, so I need the surface to be kept clear for wiping down. I have a black lace "spiderweb" table cloth I can put on it for a spooky dinner. 

Behind the sofa, more fall candle holders on top of a spooky runner. Can you spot the friendly ghost on the shelf? 

The old sewing machine has a friendly witch, and a spiderweb cauldron candle holder. My glass cabinets have some ceramic pumpkins added to the white and china.

And more ceramic pumpkins on the other side of the kitchen.

The stairs are decorated with a bit of creepy cloth and a garland. The entry table holds a friendly, glittery witch with her cauldron (really a scented wax warmer) a spell book that actually holds candy. One of the Pottery Barn napkins for color and some real leaves from our maple tree.

Thanks for visiting, come back soon for look at our outdoor Halloween decor. Check out our trip to the pumpkin patch too. 

Linking up to:

Savvy Southern Style

Domestically Speaking

The Cottage Market