Holiday Home 2022 Part One

Every year in October I think, I am not going to change my holiday decor this year and most years, within a few days of thinking that, I start plotting changes. This year I decided to not decorate with the snowy whites and snowflakes I have been using the past few years and replace them with warm browns and yellows, wood, and antique golds. I couldn't be happier with the results--this may be my favorite tree ever!

Keep reading to get all of the details and my hints and tips.

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We bought this fake tree ten years ago for 75% off at Lowes post Christmas. When we bought it we had normal eight foot ceilings. The next year we moved into our old schoolhouse with 12 foot ceilings. Since then I have been trying to add height to it. I've used an old green wagon (the one on my front porch) and a wood crate I built. This year we decided to add a real tree trunk to the fake tree. 

To do this we used a log we had and drilled a big hole in it to fit the fake tree pole in. We attached the trunk to a heavy board to secure it and make it stable. It turned our 7 foot tree into a 9+ foot tree. I love the rustic, authentic touch it adds to the tree.

To keep decor cohesive and looking like it all coordinates I try to keep key words, themes, and colors in my mind. This year those words included antique gold, brass, nature, organic, simple elegance, wood. it helps me so much when I am thrifting for things.

I replaced my white wood bead garlands with new ones I created with dark, light, and gold wood beads from a thrift store beaded car seat. The gold beads I made by placing the beads in a plastic bag with a small amount of antique gold Rub-n-Buff. (BUY IT HERE)

I used the Rub-n-buff on a silver star topper from the thrift store. i also added gold satin ribbons to the tree. I will share more about the ornaments next week.

I bought gold tinsel for the tree, but decided against it for a couple reasons: it is a choking hazard and we will have our 20 month old grandson here for Christmas, and I decided I didn't want to remove it after Christmas. In the old days we just threw that stuff out with the real tree. I added one string of twinkling mini lights from Target to the tree. I love how they twinkle and went back for one more strand, but they ere gone. These are in addition to the tree lights.

The tree is just so warm and glowing and lovely.  Have you found the yule log channels. they sure help the whole Christmas decor look when you have a big, black TV in the middle of your holiday home.

The wall by the tree is our main focal point. This wall is getting painted after Christmas as i am phasing out most of the grey. Until then, i am working with what I got. I decided to bring out a large, vintage skiing photo I blew up and printed at Staples several years ago. Although it doesn't match my key words, I liked the size, the neutral black and white, the vintage look, and the skiing theme. I still might add a touch of gold Rub-n-Buff to the frame. 

I draped a snowy garland with added battery lights across it and down to the octagon wall shelf that holds a struggling plant. A green, metal star from the thrift store got the antique gold treatment too.

Above the octagon shelf hangs a vintage watercolor of a winter scene that I bought at the thrift store. I put it in a barnwood frame to add a more natural and organic touch, I draped some faux greenery and gold bells (Bells here) on one corner to give the frame and display a little more visual weight.

It took a bit to decide what I wanted on the other side of the large ski photo and tried a few things before I landed on something I liked.

I took another barnwood frame I had and layered it with a green frame that I glued on. I added a thrift store mirror to the back and hung a wreath I made from a thrift store frame. Notice the barnwood frame, the gold bells, the gold frame and gold star area all repeated elements that help tie the wall decor together.

This round cheese box (along with the octagon shelf) are a part of my everyday wall decor so I decided to leave it. I removed the fake plant in it and added some bottle brush trees and a vintage ski figurine dated 1966. I hot glued these in and made it snowy with fake snow, I faced the skier toward the tree because I thought if she was on the other side, she would be hidden too much by the tree, Turns out it isn't hidden, but I decided to leave her facing the tree.

A little log home from the thrift store also got battery operate lights. It is fun hanging on the wall and reminds me of an old house, the Tinsley House, at our local Museum of the Rockies. The log house ties in with the log house in the watercolor painting. the skier coincides with the print. Having at least two similar items helps to create a cohesive look.

So, that is my holiday home tour so far. I have already shared my front porch HERE and my entryway HERE. This is the first view of my great room as you walk in from the entryway.

Oh, I almost forgot that on the opposite side of the tree and TV sits a couple plants including my Christmas cactus that is just starting to bloom.

It should be in full bloom by Christmas. Tune in next week for more of my holiday home. Until then, I will be sitting here enjoying the warm, glowing, festive view.