I am so excited today to share with you our Christmas decorated dining room. I put a lot of thought and planning into my decor this year and I am so pleased with how it came out. You might notice that I tucked the hutch over in the corner and I took down the gallery wall over our serving buffet. It took me about half an hour to move that hutch all by myself with everything still in it! But I wanted to "quiet" the space so that there was plenty of room for Christmas fluff. Plus before the busyness of the holidays, it was nice to live in a simplified space.
My tree is heavily inspired by The Nester's spread in Better Homes and Garden's Christmas Ideas this year. Though I would say I love my decor more than any year before, it is amazing that it is a result of using less decor and using things I had around the house. I went for more of a handmade feel using a variety of textures in the tree and hangings from the windows.
The mirror used to be on the opposite wall. To fill in the new empty space, keeping a collection of candles on our dining table filled it in while adding a little extra shimmer and sparkle.
The only really "new" things I added was making a few finger knit garlands for the tree and windows as well as making a tree skirt by hot gluing on a ruffle. It took me about half an hour and has been something I have been wanting to make for years! Glad I finally bit the bullet and made it. It is so cute!
I am going to make a blogger confession and state that these are fake wrapped gifts. I don't do too many fake things around here...I stage a bit and fluff...but this is my first real fake decor. Not sure if I should apologize or feel proud that I have arrived to a new level of blogging status! But either way, this year we are doing minimal gifts and "couple's baskets" as I am calling it, so I may not have much to actually wrap. Plus I am not done with my Christmas shopping. So pretty fake gifts it is!
Hanging from the window is a finger knit garland, burlap (I stapled together for length!), and lace. The three mediums add a lot of texture both natural and feminine.
On the hutch are my collection of trees. I would say these are the only "things" I have put out so far this year besides garland and wreaths. They add a lot but are so simple. I also like that they create an entire display by having a collection.
The buffet is really simple. I wanted to keep it empty for serving food off of.
Previous years I have been really into bright colors for Christmas. This year I stuck with a neutral palette with just a touch of blue and pink in my regular decor. It is hard to break free of old ways...especially when it is decor you only use once a year. But I am really happy that I branched out and simplified. It was much less complicated yet still prettier in my opinion.
Here are a few shots without the lights on. I like the white balance of the natural light all on it's own but the tree looks fairly bare. I thought about going to the craft store to get more fluff. But I figured the tree will always be on so no need to add more for the sake of these photos!
Seeing these pictures make me so thankful for that sliding glass door. This room had become the hub for decorating because of the lighting and the fact that it is used more for entertaining. It makes life a little easier to do the majority of my decorating in one place with just a few other touches around the house instead of trying to evenly decorate the entire place like I have in the past.
Are you an au-natural decorator or do you enjoy color for the holidays?
