Christmas Decorations for Your Home
This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure PolicyWell, friends. This just might be one of my favorite days here on IBC. Not only am I sharing my Holiday Home Tour 2016 and my Christmas Decorations with you, but today marks the official beginning of 12 Days of Christmas!
Now, if that’s not exciting enough, I’m also honored to be participating in Jennifer Rizzo’s Holiday Housewalk. I’ve watched with wonder as she has hosted this tour for several years now. When I received an email from her asking me to join the seasonal fun, I was filled with holiday cheer. This year, more than 30 bloggers are sharing their Christmas decorations! . Each blogger has a unique style so it’s inspiring to check out all of the homes and their festive decor.
If you’re currently on the tour and coming over from Ella Claire, welcome to Inspired by Charm (or IBC as we call it around here). Kristen of Ella Claire is amazingly talented, so it’s an honor to follow her on this tour. Wasn’t her home stunning? Check it out here if you missed it.
How Do You Decorate Your House for Christmas:
Okay, now that we’ve taken care of the preliminaries, let’s get on with the tour! (I recommend listening to one of my holiday playlists to set the mood while browsing. You can find them here.) We’ll start in the living room.
As you might have noticed, thanks to a new rug, this space has a different look. Last year I celebrated the holidays with cool blues, teals, and greens. This year, things are feeling warm and cozy.
Before we go any further – I know how much many of you liked my previous rug. I loved it, too. However, I was ready for a change, and this rug from RugsUSA offered me just what I needed.
With the new rug in place, I opted for traditional reds and greens to create a warm and cozy space that’s ideal for enjoying a Christmas movie on the couch with a big cup of hot cocoa in hand.
I also managed to squeeze a tree into this space. I found this slim flocked pencil tree that fit perfectly next to my couch. Decorated in hues to match the room, it’s the perfect festive accessory.
The star of my mantel this year is this pair of elk antlers that I scored at a local thrift shop. I actually live in Elk County, PA so the antlers are quite fitting. In fact, one of largest roaming elk herds is about 30 minutes from my house.
Adorned with fresh greens, copper ornaments, and acorns, my mantel is dressed for the season.
My DIY wood stockings also made a return this year. You can learn how to make those here.
Side note: Be sure to check out Shop IBC if you’re looking for product links. I’ll try and link up most things there to make it easy to find and shop for products.
Since I eliminated the aqua from this area, I also picked up a new lamp to better suit the space. I also couldn’t resist this #naughty pillow from Grandin Road.
Now, let’s turn on those twinkle lights. I tucked a dimmable strand of LED wire lights into the greenery around my mantel. They are awesome. You can find them here.
My tree adds such a magical glow to this space. I’m so happy I was able to finally have one in this room. Those adorable wood ornaments are from Tree Hopper Toys.
Colorful Christmas Decorations for your Home:
Okay, let’s head over to the office.
If you’re new to IBC, my house layout is a bit weird because it used to be a bed and breakfast. At one point this living room / office space combo was sectioned off by a bathroom. Then it became a gift shop. At this point it’s just a big fun space for me.
This is where the blog magic happens.
Over by my desk, things are looking the same. However, I found a new home for my printer (It’s in my closet thanks to wifi printing.), so I had a bit of extra space for decorating.
These trees LED candles from Grandin Road look great on a wood tray embellished with fresh pine. The geometric himmeli wreath over my Stendig Calendar was a HomeGoods find! I love it.
In this room I added yet another tree next to my office table.
I create a entire post on this Fun, Festive, and Flocked Christmas Tree. It actually has a little surprise to it. If you want to check out it’s secret, you can do that here.
This tree is mostly decked out in ornaments from the allen + roth collection at Lowe’s. They are carrying these beautiful geometric ornaments this year, and I just couldn’t get enough of them. That beautiful plaid ribbon was a HomeGoods find! It’s perfection!
I also baked up this beautiful gingerbread village with a cake mold I found at HomeGoods. That’s another little sneak peek at things to come during this years 12 Days of Christmas! (So many things to look forward to, right? I’m such a tease!)
My favorite nutcrackers returned to my perfectly pink dresser. Paired with the newest Elf print from Lindsay Letters, it couldn’t get more perfect. “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?”
As we move into the dinning room, you’ll notice I filled a white vase in my entryway with fresh winterberry. This stuff is just gorgeous. I want to put it everywhere. This is the first year I’ve used fresh pine and berries in my home. I’m not sure I can go back to faux!
I also picked up two of these gold peace signs from CB2. Given the state of the world these days, I couldn’t imagine a better way to greet my guests than with a sign of peace.
I tied them up with black satin ribbon and more fresh pine.
Christmas Decorations for your Dining Room:
Over in the dining room I opted for metallics, black, and just a touch of green.
Going with mostly blacks and golds made me a little nervous since black isn’t a traditional Christmas color. However, with lots of sparkle, it came together better than I could have hoped.
A few years ago, I never would have mixed gold, silver, and copper. This year, I broke the rules and just went for it.
The inspiration came from various sources, but it all started with this Designer Lit tree from Grandin Road. It’s unique in that it’s lit with over 6,000 tiny LED lights. That’s not a typo. It really has 6,720 lights to be exact. (Unfortunately, it’s currently sold out for the year.)
I’m not an expert at beautifully capturing Christmas tree lights (The the dreary gray weather wasn’t helping either.), but this is a stunner.
Pure magic!
It’s definitely not traditional, but when you’re decorating with gold and black, tradition kind of goes out the window.
Along with lots of glimmering metallics, this tree has gold sequined unicorns, faux fur ribbon, and an owl tree topper. I’m so lucky I get to experiment with new trees every year. I honestly never expected a tree like this, but I couldn’t be more excited to celebrate around it.
Over in the opposite corner of the room, I upgraded my $5 thrift store bar cart to something a bit more refined and larger for serving up holiday cocktails. (More about that soon! I’m trying to get one to giveaway!)
I’ve set the table with a variety of things I found at HomeGoods. From the big mercury glass trees to the faux fur table runner to the dinnerware, black, white, and metallic never looked so chic. I’ll be posting more about this tablescape in the coming weeks over on the HomeGoods Design Happy blog.
I’ll also probably pop back in to talk more about this tree. There’s just so much holiday cheer. I can’t fit it all in one post. I did tuck a few presents under the tree topped with my free printable gift tags and DIY concrete ornaments.
Last, but certainly not least, I wanted to try something totally new this year.
Rainbow-Inspired Christmas Decorations:
I decided to style my staircase banister with garland. This is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m crazy in love with it. I chose the soft pine garland from Grandin Road which has battery operated LED lights, complete with timer. Set it and forget it. (I’m sad to report that this garland is currently sold out for the year. However, you can check out some of their other garlands HERE.)
With the green garland in place, I simply wrapped it with another garland of Christmas balls. (You might remember that I used it on my flocked tree a few years ago.)
Two simple steps yielded this dramatic, colorful, and festive garland. If you come and visit me, you might find me sitting on the stairs gazing at it. (Please bring me a cocktail because I’m not moving.)
I’d say my first staircase garland was a success.
And that’s a wrap for my Holiday Home Tour 2016! I have a couple dedicated posts coming up where I’ll show you around my kitchen and take you upstairs, so please stop by in the coming weeks. The festive fun continues!
Now, don’t forget to continue on the Holiday Housewalk. Next up is The Yellow Cap Cod. Sarah is such a talented decorator. You’re going to love how she’s decked her halls for the season. Head on over and check it out.
Thank you so much for joining me for all the festive fun today. If you want to see more of my home or how I decorate for other seasons, you can find all of my home tours here. If you’re on the hunt for more holiday inspiration and christmas decorations, click here for those posts.
Happy Holidays to my friends both old and new!
Michael, I always love seeing your Christmas trees and your stairway garland is AMAZING!
Hi! I’m deep in an IBC Christmas rabbit hole, so commenting three years too late. Every Christmas post is so good! Randomly though, can I ask where the wooden bowls on your dining room table are from? Totally expecting them to not be available anymore but there’s always a chance!
I’m not a red/green christmas fan but OMG have you given this combination a fresh spin. Love your ideas in every room. Thanks for the wonderful inspirations.
Oh my gosh, What are you doing in elk county PA? I grew up there and didn’t know there was any style in existence up there! I have been following you for a long time and had no idea. Your web site is amazing! Keep it up!
Your home is so lovely and your Christmas decorations are perfect! You got skills! ?
Beautiful a clean and refreshing look
These are all beautiful….
Love your style and mix of old world / new world charm! Thank you for the inspiration!
I have looked at each picture a dozen times- simply gorgeous!
Hello, Michael. You’ve done it again. This year’s Christmas decor is fresh, energetic, colorful, modern. Well done you. Cheers and Happy Holidays, Ardith
I’ve been feasting on Christmas decor blog posts this week but yours truly stands out in creativity and originality. What a magnificent job you’ve done! Bravo for not following the herd.
Beautiful
This is SO beautiful as always!! I love every inch of it (and I think I’m off to buy me some of those rose gold balls!!)
I’m your newest and biggest fan!!! LOVE your trees….and that stairway garland is absolute perfection!
This sounds as if I’m stalking … I’m not… You said you live in Elk County. Would you house be in Ridgeway? There are so many beautiful homes there. We spend many weekends at Benezette.
Hey Joyce! No worries. 🙂 I’m actually in St. Marys. But yes, Ridgway has some beautiful homes!
xo Michael
I love it! Especially the copper ornaments on the mantle and the gold sequined pillow on the couch. Very festive. My living room is black, white, emerald green, and gold all year. So, I think your dining room looks great. I add red at Christmas but maybe I won’t next year… Thanks for the inspiration!
Your home is gorgeous Michael! The garland on the stairs is perfect and yes I’d leave it up all year LOL
Susan
Michael, Michael, Michael…. ? You NEVER disappoint ! You can do no wrong! Beautiful trees !