Our Christmas Home Tour – Part 1
Take our Christmas home tour, full of simple and beautiful decor ideas that you can incorporate into your own home!
The thing that surprised me most when I started blogging was how long it took to create each and every post. I mean, those bloggers on Pinterest made it look so easy. I just whip up a craft or decorate a room, snap a few quick pictures, and put it up on the internet, right?
But what they don’t tell you is that behind every pretty picture is usually a list of approximately 10,000 things that went wrong before everything went right enough to get that beauty shot. And that seems to be exactly what happens with my Christmas decor each and every year, including this one! 😉
C’mon in and take the tour, and I’ll tell you about it!
Our Christmas Home Tour
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Now, everything started out pretty smoothly on the porch. I put up some garland around our door and stuck some (admittedly faux) trees in my planters. The pièce de résistance, of course, was the beautiful, fresh mixed holly wreath that my friends at Lynch Creek Farm were kind enough to send me. I break out into a big, cheesy grin every time I pull into our house and see it.
doormat | garland and mini trees- Pier 1, no longer sold
Things even went fairly well with the shelves in our living room. I had planned on doing a traditional color scheme in that space, but at the last minute I decided to slide in some of my favorite aqua decor pieces because, well, I just can’t seem to resist aqua.
But still, I’ve decorated those shelves enough times that they come together pretty quickly and easily, and the red and aqua made a happy little combo.
Next I got to the sunroom, and more specifically, to our Christmas tree… and that’s where things started to get a little dicey. See, I had planned on using the same red and aqua color scheme that I had used in the living room since the sunroom was right next door. So I put up the tree, added a little ribbon, put on some red and aqua bulbs…
And I hated it. Sigh.
How could a combination I loved so much just a few feet away look so not cute on my tree?! I didn’t understand it. But I also wasn’t going to sit there and look at a tree I didn’t love for a month. So I took everything off and started again.
So much for quick and easy, right?
But the good news is that this story has a happy ending. After I decorated the tree for the second time, I LOVED it. I guess sometimes it just takes a little extra maneuvering to get it right!
sunroom furniture | rug | lamp
I ended up taking out the red altogether in this space, just leaving the gray, white, silver, and some little touches of aqua/Tiffany blue.
I have always done the “wrap the ribbon around the tree” strategy in previous years, but this year I decided to try the “billowy waterfall” ribbon technique, and though it took me a bit to get it right, I think it ended up looking kind of fancy!
(My talented friend Kelley Nan has a great tutorial that talks about how to do ribbon this way here, and if you’re more of a “wrap the ribbon around the tree” person, my other talented friend Michael from Inspired by Charm has an awesome tutorial for that here.)
Another issue that I had when I was decorating the tree is that no matter how hard I tried, none of the stars I attempted to use wanted to sit straight at the top of the tree. I swear they were conspiring against me. 😉 So I showed them who’s boss and ended up just using two silvery stems I picked up in the floral department at Michael’s and stuck them in at the top of the tree.
I have to be honest, I was kind of shocked when, in my frustration at the stubborn stars, I stuck the stems up there and they actually ended up working out!
I think the lesson I learned here was that sometimes it’s actually good when things don’t work out the way you plan because then you’re forced to get creative and try something new, and that can work out even better than you had ever imagined. (And this definitely happens with more than just Christmas trees! 😉 )
Whenever our tree goes up, this chair gets displaced back into the corner, but it kind of ends up making a perfect little reading nook, so I don’t mind!
(Don’t be fooled. That’s definitely hot chocolate in that mug! 🙂 )
Our stockings also take up a little corner in this room. We don’t have a mantel, so we had to get a little bit creative. We made this cute stocking post a few years ago, and it ended up being the perfect solution!
And finally, I couldn’t end this little tour without sharing a few night shots. I have found myself wandering down here to sit in this room just to enjoy the twinkly lights… they do kind of end up feeling a little bit magical!
You can also visit part 2 of this year’s Christmas home tour as well as our previous Christmas home tours in these posts:
2018 Christmas Home Tour- Part 2
2015 Christmas Home Tour (Townhouse)- Part 1
2015 Christmas Home Tour (Townhouse)- Part 2
2015 Christmas Nights Tour (Townhouse)
Thanks for following along! Have a great week!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
You did a beautiful job with the decor, Abby. Even though things were frustrating at first, I’m glad you stuck with it. I hope you and your family have a blessed Christmas this year.
Thanks so much, Micah! Enjoy the Christmas season! <3
~Abby =)
Love the colors you used! my theme this year is purple, blue, pink, and bright green!
Ooo, that sounds so beautiful! Have a wonderful weekend, Ellen! <3
~Abby =)
Beautiful tour, Abby! I’m completely envious of your sunroom, such a pretty spot to sip coffee. I love that you hang a wreath on every window. We do the same and I don’t think it would totally feel like Christmas without them. Thanks for sharing your lovely home with us!
Aw, thanks so much, Amanda! Our sunroom is definitely one of my favorite spots in our house… love it! Have a wonderful weekend! <3
~Abby =)
Everything is so beautiful. I was smitten with the picture of the outside and all those gorgeous wreaths. Gorgeous.
Aw, thanks so much, Marty! The wreaths are new for us this year and I am loving them! Have a great weekend!
~Abby =)
Abby–
It’s beautiful and while I didn’t see the original version of the tree, you are right that it turned out perfectly! So glad you could join us on this year’s tour!
Thanks so much for having me, sweet girl! <3
~Abby =)
Your tour is so gorgeous, Abby! And yes, blog posts take SO much time – especially in the winter when you have to wait for a sunny day…
SO true! Thanks so much, Sara! <3
~Abby =)
Abby, It turned out beautifully. I was just saying yesterday how much time putting together a home tour takes. Thank you for always taking the time to do it so well and share with us! Amanda
You are too sweet! Thank you, Amanda! Have a wonderful weekend! <3
~Abby =)
Oh my goodness Abby the outside of your home looks amazing! I love the gorgeous sparkle of your Christmas tree at night. Such a beautiful holiday home tour!
Thanks so much, sweet girl! Happy Friday! <3
~Abby =)
Okay, so I’m loving the basket under your tree. Is it actually a tree stand? Or did you cut a hole in a basket?? We have a fake tree, and I hate that it doesn’t have a trunk…just a skinny pole. Would love to cover with a basket. Please share what you did!
Your tree is beautiful, by the way! I try to be somewhat theme-y and coordinated, and then my kids add random ornaments they make at school. Oh well. lol.
Hi, Alyssa! It is a tree collar from Michael’s. You can find it here: https://www.michaels.com/large-split-willow-tree-collar-by-ashland/10563510.html#q=tree+collar&start=2
Thanks for stopping by!
~Abby =)
This is my first time visiting your blog!! What a sweet sunroom! I love your tree. I especially love the stocking post!! What a fantastic idea!! I am going to share that with my son since he doesn’t have a fireplace.
Oh, good! I hope it will be helpful for him. It can be tough to find a place to hang the stockings without a mantle! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful week! <3
~Abby =)
I love how your waterfall billowy tree turned out, too! It does look fancy!! And the colors are subtle and beautiful. So, so pretty Abby!! Glad it came together for you. Hope your family has a wonderful Christmas!!
You are too sweet! Thank you, Heather! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season! <3
~Abby =)
I love that tree! I definitely want to play with ribbons and fabric in the future – for now, my family is way too attached to the ornaments and style we’ve had for the past 20 years… ^^’
Aw, thanks so much! It really is hard to break those traditions… so fun that your family enjoys them so much! <3
~Abby =)
I would have never guessed that you don’t normally do the waterfall on your Christmas tree! It looks absolutely perfect! Your home looks beautiful! I hope your family has a wonderful Christmas season!
You are TOO sweet! Thank you so much, Allyson! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas as well! Enjoy! <3
~Abby =)
So gorgeous, Abby! And you couldn’t be more right about all the work it takes for one post! Your home turned out fabulous, though!
SO much work! 🙂 haha! Thanks so much, sweet girl! Have a great week!
~Abby =)
Beautiful tour, Abby. Makes me think I need to get a new tree next year… I think I’m done with the ‘Noble’ look. I want something fuller, like yours! Love the aqua… of course! 😉