I wasn’t planning on doing much Christmas decorating beyond the living room and dining room, but once I had the Christmas music playing and the tree decorated, I felt inspired and just kept going. I love it when those moments of inspiration and energy happen.
I don’t want to go overboard with trees and decor, but I want to add little touches and hints here and there. Some greenery, pinecones, a pair of mittens. Just simple things that make a statement about the season, but aren’t overt Christmas decorating. So, that’s what I did in the foyer…
A large ironstone bowl that was displaced when we shuffled furniture for the tree in the living room tops the pine chest. I tucked in a few pinecones I collected from the ground around pine trees near the entrance of our neighborhood.
I also added a faux eucalyptus garland over the antique coat rack. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I love how it added color and texture.
I hung a pair of knitted mittens (I ordered mine from THIS Etsy shop last year) from the coat rack along with one of the little brass bells I shared about in THIS POST.
I love that Christmas decorating doesn’t have to be fussy. It can be whatever works for you…for your mood, your budget, your capacity. I love the eucalyptus garland so much that I ordered a couple more so I can decorate the banisters. I wasn’t planning on doing that this year, but I changed my mind! I think it will look pretty mixed with some evergreen garlands with pretty ribbons trailing on the ends.
I ordered THIS RIBBON in Moss & Navy…
I’ll let you know how it looks once I get it up!
How have you approached Christmas decorating this year? Are you doing more than you thought you would, because you get into it? Or are you keeping things very simple?
Oh, the winner of the original oil paintings is Jennifer R. “goshopjr”. Congrats!
Lovely, as always! Simple is always just best isn’t it? So glad you’ve kept the pretty little pine chest there – for now anyway! I’m in Camp No, it’s not too big for that spot!
I just really love it there, so I’m going to keep it there until I want to change it!
Did I miss the next art sale you were having? I try to keep as up to date as not to miss it, but maybe I should be checking somewhere else. Will you be giving a heads up or posting randomly? Would love the chance to purchase something.
As always it looks so festive! Is that your purse hanging up? so pretty and different, is it vintage? I really like it!
Very pretty display! I, too, would like to know how you hung your wooden shoes?
Thanks!
Maureen
Wondering where you can order garland from and have it before Christmas?!
I went a little overboard this year… with the lights and greens… especially since we got a new pre lit tree that fits our space better… garland on the fireplace with lights, garland over the kitchen window…. christmas trees in a corner of the kitchen, tree in the guest room… lol Everything looks lovely as always! I bought a set of those bells and I’m amazed by how heavy they are!
Simply Beautiful, as usual!
Love your wooden shoes. I collect all sorts of them as my family is of Dutch ancestory. I would love to hang my collection on the wall like yours. How did you manage this? Merry Christmas!
I had originally planned to keep the decorating really simple this year, but once I got started I couldn’t stop! I love twinkle lights in the winter when the nights get so long, and the more I put up, the better I felt. So I ended up with more Christmas decor than I’ve done for years?. Who knew? Happy holidays to all!
YES!!!!!!!! I too am of Dutch ancestry…….we have several pairs of Dutch wooden shoes and I’d like to display. How did you hang those you have shown????
I love the wooden shoes hanging in that spot, whether you have other décor there or not!
I, too, had not planned to do a lot of decorating this Christmas but after reading blogs like yours and seeing the wonderful ideas I could not resist adding a little more to our home!!! I am sooo glad I did and thank you for the inspiration. Stay safe and GOD Bless???
I love the simplicity of this. It’s so funny that we struggle to find eucalyptus garlands here in Australia yet eucalyptus is native to here. We do however have a endless supply of European pine garlands. ?? I do have bowls of gumnuts instead of pine cones. I hope you have a safe and happy Christmas ?
Some red berries tucked in those wooden shoes would look cheery.
Nice and simple works for me! Are we going to get to see your bannisters too?
I don’t ever decorate for Christmas. But I do like to decorate for Winter some years. Sometimes it’s hard to separate the two…. But it’s the seasons I like to decorate for instead of holidays in particular.
I confess I did more Christmas decorating than I did last year. I felt I needed the extra joy that the season can offer for this year.
Everything you do brings a smile to my face. 🙂
xo,
Karen
I like the “klompen” too!!! In fact I have to take down my dutch shelf yet tp put up my Christmas decorations! Hmmmm is it possible to add a picture of it here? Lol!???. Diane Vruwink Carlson
This is darling. The mittens are perfect. The ribbon is beautiful.
My decorating is (for me) minimal this year. When we moved from our beloved mountain home in 2013, I gave away the artificial tree, string lights, wreath, garland, etc. and only kept the tree decorations that were special to me or my husband. This year, we were blessed by being able to buy a new-to-us home and leave our apartment, which means starting over with Christmas stuff. Those of you who have bought a house, you know that any “extra money” goes into the house for awhile, until things are the way you want it. So, I decided to save the money that I would have spent on a tree, in order to do “fixing up” instead. I am going to wait until the January sales to buy Christmas decor, so I made do this year with string/fairy lights hung under kitchen cabinets, around the living room window, and encircling the front porch bannisters, also a handmade wreath on the front door and a handmade “JOY” sign in the kitchen window. I actually like it.:)