Christmas House Tour 2012 Stop #7....SURPRISE!

What an incredible honour to be part of the Jennifer Rizzo Holiday House Walk 2012.  And absolutely no pressure at all, save for the incredible line-up of homes.  Speaking of, please take a minute to stop by my sweet friend Kelly's home (stop #6) at Eclectically Vintage.  You'll be glad you did. 

Welcome to our humble home.  We recently painted our doors in a rich black and I just love how the large berry wreaths look against them.  I used local winter greens to decorate our planters, which will be further enhanced once sprinkled with snow later in the season.  While we have yet to receive any snow, it is cold outside, so please come in...

This year, I was undecided which theme or colour scheme to use for Christmas, but I knew that things would eventually fall into place.

Inspired by the beautiful colours of the grain sack ribbon pictured in the Souvenir magazine, I decided to use a clean and fresh palette for the dining room, integrating pops of red throughout.  Even though red is not my go to colour, I humbly think it works in this space.

I decided to decorate our new flocked tree with all homemade ornaments, hung using vintage clothes pins.

Faux grain sack ribbons, mini stockings and stars.  I love the tree as is and didn't want to saturate it with too many ornaments. 

Instead of a tree skirt I opted to use my collection of picnic baskets and adorn it with some of the kiddie's stuffed animals.  Not only do they look sweet, but they add a special meaning to the tree.  

There is nothing like the coziness of a Christmas tree glow to warm the home.  Sitting on this old farm bench my husband had built are a French chicken wire basket I made and three fresh pomegranates that emphasize the natural Christmas feel of our living room.

There are so many homemade elements in my decor that have special meaning.  The guitar in the background that our youngest son is learning to play, the homemade burlap vase with the number 9 (our house number and my husband's favourite number) and a little glittery skate cut out of music sheets that our daughter and I made. 

I adore that old wooden crate that used to belong to my late father-in-law.  I smile every time I look at it. 

Adjacent to our living room is our dining room, where I decided to keep the decor to a minimum.  I once again incorporated just a little bit of red to make it coherent with the rest of the decor. 

And for our hutch, I used a mostly white pallette to keep it fresh and simple.

Let's move on to our family room, where things are a little (a lot) different...

Our family room is where we usually entertain as it's adjacent/attached to the kitchen in an open concept.  As it's not visible from the living room, I have the flexibility to decorate it in a very different way. 

It's here where I like to pretend I'm a designer and play with my mantel.  Can you believe that I purchased that tree at a second hand store for $49.99?  I am so in love with it.  It's romantically soft and just screams white Christmas. 

I decided to keep a momochromatic scheme on the tree and add just a few turquoise bulbs here and there to tie in with the decor on my mantel, which I will share with you in more detail later on this week. 

Pearls, cream magnolias and some more homemade ornaments

I just love that warm glow.  It says home to me.

 Here is a tiny peek of our mantel...

 And my very first Christmas sewing project.

In preparation for this housewalk, I took hundreds of photos, which of course cannot be shared in one post.  But I will be sharing many of them in the next couple of days and would be honoured if you would come back to visit me. 

In the meantime, please visit the next house - Stop #8, the amazing Sadie Olive.  Once you do, you will understand why I am over the moon honoured to have been included in this housewalk.  

(click on the button to take you there)

Thank you so much for taking some time to visit our home - it has been our pleasure having you. 

And remember, you can find the entire list of homes at the talented Jennifer Rizzo's, who not only coordinates this amazing tour with such professionalism, but in a very caring manner.  Thank you Jennifer. 

I hope you have a beautiful and inspiring day! 

much love,