I’m chuckling to myself a bit as I type this, knowing full well that, 3 measly days before Christmas, y’all have way better things to do than check out pictures of my house all gussied up for the holidays. But you know what? Were it not for the motivation of doing this post, I probably wouldn’t have “finished” (such a slippery word when there are entire rooms which are a) untouched by Christmas decor and b) in need of some serious attention) decorating or cleaning or taking pictures to document it.

So, yeah. Thanks for the motivation. Even if you are thinking, “Yeah, yeah, Abbie. Get to the point. I have gifts to wrap!”

I think, if I’m remembering correctly, that you will be seeing some new angles of my house. Well, not new so much (maybe? can’t remember for sure) as rare since I usually only shoot one room at a time, and I usually stick to that room only so as to avoid including the chaos that is quite likely just outside the camera’s reach (think: baby eating lunch in a high chair, twins scattering toys about, half-opened drawers, a sink full of dishes, etc.).

The kids and I worked really hard to clean up the WHOLE downstairs minus our all-purpose catchall room (which we call the “dining room” but is really a glorified mudroom since it’s directly off the garage, and we never, ever eat in there), the bathroom, and the guest room where Nola was napping.

I issue all of these disclaimers because I know that, were I to see this much of the house of a woman with six kids looking this put together and clean, I would probably want to put my head through a wall, beat my chest, and cry out, “Woe is me! I am a hopeless basket case!”

Maybe that’s just me. But no. I know it’s not. Because you’ve told me it’s not.

So! Take courage, dear heart (I love Aslan). Not only is my house never ACTUALLY this clean (for more than 30 minutes at time), but as I was sweeping the kitchen one last time, I realized that if I didn’t start snapping pictures, I would lose my light, so I just swept the rest of the junk around the corner of the island out of sight and called it good until I finished shooting pics.

HA! And now you know the truth, and hopefully the truth will set you free from any twinges of unwarranted mama guilt or yucky comparison.

ON with the pictures!

christmas

I really couldn’t bring myself to do anything too crazy with the Christmas decor (I never do), so I mostly put out a few doodads plus some pillows and called it good.

christmas16

As far as the above shot goes, the snowflake pillow is from Target (after Christmas last year on major sale), the joy sign is from Marshall’s (I painted the board and attached it to it), the greenery on the shelf is from Michael’s (and the heart shaped baskets are a several years old purchase from Marshall’s that will have to pried from my cold dead fingers one day), and the “Joyeux” and “Noel” pillows (see first pic) are really just pieces of burlap fabric that I hand-lettered with a Sharpie pen and then pinned on top of two other throw pillows (here’s hoping my kids stay away!).

christmas15

The glitter star garland is from Marshall’s this year, the burlap cone + Christmas tree are from the Target Dollar Spot, and the sparkly silver wreath is from Hancock Fabrics. The red wreath over the windows is actually a fall wreath on sale at Pier 1, and I added the sparkly ribbon (on clearance at Hancock Fabrics) and the Dollar Store white poinsettias to Christmas it up a bit. The word tree at the bottom of the shot is from Hancock Fabrics too (I love their Christmas decor…especially when it’s 70% off!).

christmas30

Here’s a better shot of the word tree. I get frustrated with the commercialization of Christmas and how generic the decor has become, so I love, love, love that each of the words on this little tree are so meaningful and full of truth.

christmas24

The “Joy” sign over there on the left on the wall is from Ross.

christmas44

Turning around to the other side of the room…

christmas11

I loved getting to use prints from Paint and Prose for the wall. I included our Joy to the World, The Lord is Come, Noel, and Give me Jesus prints to stick with a (mostly) black and white color scheme since there are already so many other pops of color in the room.

christmas12

The Christmas tree stocking holders on the little white shelf on the left are from Goodwill, and I painted the color-blocked tree art above the tv one afternoon when I should have been doing laundry.

Christmas14

These adorable ornaments came from a chopped up tree limb and were hand-painted by my sweet friend, Jenny.

Traveling even further across the room, we have this little bench + toy bin nook.

christmas10

I scored that HUGE vintage globe at a roadside flea market and love the pop of whimsy it adds in that corner. Throw in a $3 “Joy” pillow from Target, and I was happy to leave well enough alone.

christmas8

This is one of those shots that you don’t normally get of my house (especially since I was standing outside our French doors on our patio when I took it. It’s also proof that I didn’t manage to sweep all of the crumbs off of the living room floor either.

christmas23

christmas22

I made that duct tape flower “joy” wreath years ago–I think the first year I was blogging? And I pull it out every year and find some spot or another (usually the tree) for it. This year, it prettied up a Big Lots fake wreath, along with some more hand-painted ornaments from Jenny. I honestly can’t believe it’s hung (ha. ha) in there for so long. Duct tape. Who knew?

Continuing down the hallway into the entryway…

christmas28

All of you furniture purists will rejoice that I have not gotten around to painting my piano yet. It’s not because I’ve changed my mind, though. Just haven’t found the time.christmas29

These spray-painted branches are another Christmas staple that I’ve incorporated into my decor in some way, shape, or form every year for about 4 years now. I love the way the colors in the ornaments play off of my twin Kim Parker paintings (same painting twice; just hung in different directions).

christmas25

Oh, and since we’re getting dangerously close to the cluttered “catchall” room, let’s turn around and head back to the entrance, where this is first thing you would see as you walk in my door.

christmas26

More carry-overs from years gone by. I made the snowflake garland a few Christmases back, and the “Thrill of Hope” burlap is from last year.

christmas27

Heading back around the corner…

christmas18

This has nothing to do with Christmas, but can I just tell you how stoked I was to score this Chiang Mai Dragon pillow for a measly $20ish (can’t remember exactly) on a Facebook Swap ‘n Shop? Pillows just like this sell for a minimum of $50 on Ebay and Etsy!

christmas19

This is one of my favorite little shelves to style. I keep it on a pretty much constant rotation of my favorite Paint and Prose prints plus those pretty Puffin in Bloom books plus an Anthro plate. christmas21

Even the kitchen got a couple of festive touches.

christmas7

(The deer head pillow is from Altar’d State, and the wood star tree is from Marshall’s, as are the gold polka dot pillows, but they’re old).

Probably my favorite is this adorable apron that I bought at Marshall’s for my sister-in-law.

christmas5

Of course, now that I’ve seen how cute it is hanging in my kitchen, I don’t want to give it away. Hmm. Christmas greed. It’s a thing, y’all. Even though it shouldn’t be.

christmas45

I kind of love this happy, crazy corner in my kitchen. I didn’t style these shelves anymore than they already were or doing anything other than take Steve the Scale and nestle him in between the two best “entries” from a gingerbread house making night with friends. Oh! and I crafted that super-simple little “Christ is Born” garland from a set of note cards that just screamed Christmas to me.

christmas46

Continuing into the breakfast nook…

christmas4

I kept things super-simple in here with a red table runner (from Marshall’s) and a–uhhh, what would you call that thing?–full of ornaments.

christmas31

Throw in a little faux greenery + pine cones from Michael’s and some water glass stains (this table is hardly precious to us, can you tell?), and it was as festive as it was going to get!

christmas34

christmas33

 

And again with the crazy unstyled shelves. As far as I’m concerned, if you have a profusion of pretty things, styling is kind of superfluous since floral china–for example–will look fetching no matter what!

christmas35

Aaaaand there you have it, folks!

christmas details collage

Waaaaaay too many pictures of a colorful, not terribly traditional, but still very “us” Christmas house tour.

P.S. In case you’re wondering, our tree is up in the “big room,” which is where we gather on Christmas morning since it gives us so much more room to move and play.

I’m signing off for the week, but I wish you the very merriest of Christmases.

May the truth of Jesus’ birth fill your hearts and minds with hope, peace, and joy this blessed season!

8 Comments

  1. So fun! I enjoyed figuring out a little more of the floor plan of your house. Thanks for sharing!
    Merry Christmas!

  2. I admire your style! It makes me very excited to get going on decorating my home. But I guess we should finish putting in flooring and actually texturing the walls first 🙂

  3. Every time I visit your house, I swoon over the colors. You just have the knack for combining fun color and pattern. Love your creative flair.

    Merry Christmas to you and yours!

  4. Enjoyed the pictures. Your first paragraph made me chuckle, because of course, I have other things I *should* be doing. But looking at pictures on-line is so much more entertaining.

I love hearing from you guys!