Christmas Home Tour – Part 1

WARNING!!! If you are expecting a home tour of the perfect model home filled with fresh greenery, perfectly matching decor that looks like it came out of a magazine – this ain’t it! Some days I wish it were.  We are allergic to fresh greenery and we actually LIVE here with a psycho cat and a big lab. Not to mention that I just wasn’t in the mood to have every surface available decorated this year. Hey!  It is my circus and it is my monkeys!  I have to keep reminding myself that it can’t be perfect all of the time!  This is my Christmas home tour!

 

I was gonna show you all of the downstairs in one post but as I was taking pictures it occurred to me that it might be too much information overload. Plus, I would have to make sure everything was picture perfect – ALL AT ONCE!  Not gonna happen! So I am going to break it up into two parts for you.  Starting with my kitchen and eat in dining area!.

This year I am keeping it simple. Yeah, I keep saying that. Denial much?  I love my sweet hutch. It reminds me of one my Granny used to have! Here is where fresh greens draped across the top with candles and berries would be killer awesome!  Allergies – remember? Instead I have my Christmas dishes and my white dishes mixed together with a few other items.

 

Here is a close up of the shelving.  I love how versatile white dishes are!

 

The eat in dining area.  Again.. I just use the white dishes and add in my Christmas dishes. This table gets used everyday. A lot. So having a fussy tablescape is not an option for me. At. All.

I fought buying Christmas dishes for years.  Everyone I know had Spode.  I like it, I just wanted something different.  Something I could dress up but at the same time use daily.  We are pretty casual here at the Castle. I already have my grandma’s and my china. So enough with the china already!  A couple of years ago I found my Christmas dishes at Walmart of all places! The Better Homes and Garden line. And the price was super awesome.  ( Not getting paid by Walmart, just so ya know!) Besides the dishes, this line also has a serving platter, bowls and these sweet red bird salt and pepper shakers.

 

See how sweet the red bird salt and pepper shakers are? OH!  The placemats and napkins are also in this line.  Another thing that I NEVER do… buy everything in the line. Too matchy, matchy!  But for some reason I don’t mind these so much.  Although I would love to find the perfect black and white napkins to go in here!

 

Of course my kitchen would not be the same without my Chalkboard.  I love this. I let out my inner artist and just go with whatever suits me at that moment.

 

Moving into the kitchen I have this great “bump out” area behind the sink that is just screams to be decorated. Every year it is different. I never know what I am gonna put here. I usually have some plants or poinsettias here but this year I wanted a cleaner streamlined look. ( OK I am busted! I was too lazy to go buy them!)

 

This platter is also in the Better Homes and Garden line.  It fits perfectly on the countertop, in the corner of my cabinets. I love the vintage feel of it.

 

Here is the closest I am ever going to get to an Elf on the Shelf.  This vintage one was given to me by a friend and I love him! He reminds me of the elves that my Granny had at her house for us to play with.  So fun! These red ornaments were on the tree the first year the Hubs and I were married.  I have used them everywhere! Over time they have worn down and look a hundred years old. Love that!

Here is my one live plant this year- a small pine.  Thank you Kroger for putting all of the fun flowers right across from the  produce section so I would be sure to see it.  Love those impulse buys.  They even decorated it for me! It really looks good on the kitchen island. AND makes me wish for real greenery through out the rest of the house….

Thank for stopping by! Come on back next time for the rest of the tour – my living room, formal dining room and powder bath.

Until next time…..