If you missed it, I shared the details about our 2025 Christmas tree HERE. In this post, I’m sharing how the rest of the living room looks dressed for Christmas this year. Here is the view through the doorway from the kitchen…
curtain rod | curtains | rug | pillows | sconces | paint color
I do need to say that we don’t usually have this many pillows on our sofa! I learned a long time ago that sofas and chairs photograph better when they are generously styled with pillows, quilts, blankets, and throws. This is the room where we watch movies and hang out, so the sofa is usually in disarray, styled for comfort instead of photos!
Anyway, it is fun to play around with the styling and make the room look nice, even if those pillows will be on the floor as soon as I give the guys the all clear.
dog painting print | stag antlers | sconces | green velvet pillow | wrapping paper | sofa
I usually don’t get too fussy with the Christmas decorating in this room. I like to bring in some faux greenery here and there, and then I’ll dress the mantel. Otherwise, I want the tree to have top billing. In past years, I’ve added some Christmas touches to the side tables, but I left them alone this year.
I also like to move around the pillows depending on the season. I rarely go out and buy new pillows, but I rotate ones from other rooms in the house to change up the look. These green block-print pillows are usually in the foyer, and the green velvet lumbar pillow is on our bed, but I brought them out for the winter because they “read” Christmasy to me, even if they aren’t Christmas-specific.
I also move quilts and throws around to change up the look of the room seasonally. I’ve shared in the past that one of my favorite rooms in an old Country Living decorating book shows how much the look of a room can change by swapping out the slipcovers and pillows with the seasons. I make my own slipcovers for the sake of economy and customization, not so much because I love sewing, so I’ve only made one set of slipcovers for my furniture. Maybe one day I’ll get a bee in my bonnet, though, and finally make a second set so I can change them out with the weather warms up and when it cools down again.
The mantel is even simpler this year than it was last Christmas. I hung four garlands, two deluxe Norfolk Pine garlands mixed with two eucalyptus garlands, and that’s it. I added a couple of LED real wax candles in vintage candlesticks, but didn’t rearrange the mantel.
Often, when I’m decorating for Christmas, I’ll put out some decor and then live with it for a day or two to see if it feels like enough. Some years, it feels like I need more, and others, like this year, simple feels just right. This room is small, and there is already a lot going on, so it doesn’t need very much.
pleated lampshade tutorial | pine garland | eucalyptus garland
I did make one change since last year – I finally put a second coat of paint on our custom-built mantel. I primed and painted it after we built it, but the new wood really soaked up the paint, and after I cleaned up and called the project done, I realized it would need one more coat. Finally, this fall, I pulled out the paint and a brush and knocked it out in about ten minutes. You would think I would learn by now that I let these silly little projects I leave undone grow in my mind, and end up being no big deal.
You can find the details on how we designed and built our antique-style custom mantel HERE.
And, in case you’re wondering, this is where our TV is located…
I always crop it out of the shot, because who wants to look at a big, black rectangle? I would love to have it in a cabinet, but some concessions need to be made to the men in the house, given how gracious they are about my antiques and decorating. Sometimes life and practicality supersede aesthetics.
I hope you enjoyed the tour of our cozy little living room.
You can find more Christmas & winter decorating inspiration HERE.
16 Responses
Your home is so beautiful.
Thank you!
I love that you let your tree be the focal, highlight of the room and used a beautiful, yet simple garland for the mantle. I kind of did the same and let my mantle and tree be the highlight with just light touches of Christmas decor on my coffee table and end tables. Oh, and I get the pillow and throw dilemma if you have a male(s) in the house…lol. I take some photos of my perfectly karate chopped throw pillows and beautiful snowflake throw on my sofa before my husband takes over and messes it all up.
A huge thank you for showing your television! I find it odd that so many designers pretend we don’t all watch tv! I resisted putting the tv over our fireplace in our den, but it was the only logical place and it’s where we spend most of our time. As a kindness to me, my husband finds a picture of seasonal “art” every morning on YouTube so I don’t have to look at a black box all day!
Yep, it is life!
Lovely, as always. Forgive me if you’ve posted this somewhere, but would mind sharing what clips whatever you use to anchor your garland?
I just tap small nails into the top of the mantel, and then secure the garland with florist wire.
Absolutely gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. It is such a privilege to be able to share in your home’s peace and beauty even from afar. I love copying little snippets, and telling others (my husband) that this is how “Miss Mustard Seed” does it and they nod their head knowingly and I go blissfully on changing things, while he goes back to the news. Thank you for giving me new ideas! And, Merry Christmas!!
About the large black rectangle of a TV in a nice interior is a no, no for me, I suppose that we are lucky that in our Brooklyn house, we created a small room, the only one that is carpeted and that we call the TV room, we use it to exercise or watch movies. No one else ever sees it. Some fancy apartments In Manhattan where I painted murals etc. most clients have TV with a motorized lift inside a custom made furniture, or much cheaper a simple lift hidden behind a piece of furniture, it moves up and down with a remote.
I would love to hide the TV! In our Minnesota house, we had just one TV in the basement family/TV room, so the entire first floor was TV-free. That’s what I would prefer, but this house is different. Maybe one day I can find the perfect cabinet to shut it away and the guys will go along. 🙂
Wouldn’t you just love to have one of those frame televisions that you can display impressionist paintings on? I sure would! My daughter had a Monet on hers yesterday. I thought of you. 🙂 Your Christmas home looks beautiful.
So I start reading the blog and say to myself how does her family deal with the pillows. THEN, of course you immediately tell us. Later I wonder okay where is the TV and again the unpretentcious Marian tells us. That is jus ONE of the reasons I love your blog amough all the other reasons. Thank you for always being you. LOVE your holiday decorations.
I thought the same thing Terry! I love the look of the pillows but it’s just not practical when someone wants to sit down. I thought to myself “how does she do it with teenagers in the house”. Marian is unpretentious and lives in a real world, in a beautiful home she has created.
Ha! I love it. 🙂
Same!
My first thought was that the pillows on the sofa wouldn’t fly in my house–thanks for giving us the real scoop (and thanks for showing us the tv!). This is beautiful, and I love the kitty cat poses!