Simple Eclectic Holiday Decorating Ideas

On November 1 each year, I am the first person to shout, “Alexa, play Christmas music!” And that evening, you can find me wrapped in a furry blanket in my bed, snuggled up with one or more of my kiddos watching the first holiday movie of the season. Basically, if you have seen the movie Elf, then you understand my level of excitement about Christmas. My husband is the polar opposite of me when it comes to holidays, or really anything, and often likens me to Leslie Knope. Well, that would make him my Ron Swanson. With our ideas about holidays and our degrees of enthusiasm being radically different, I hope to be the one to pass on my love for all things Christmas to my children. I’ve decorated one of our main spaces, our family room, in a simple eclectic manner that fills us with joy.  Our patio, which is actually getting a little winter use thanks to Covid, is also decorated in a fun way that’s totally for the kids.  Finally, in our main bedroom, I added simple touches to create the perfect cozy space for those movie nights with my loves. Today I am going to take you on a tour of those little nooks and crannies where holiday memories are made. I also want to add a huge thank you to Krista aka The Happy Housie for hosting this tour filled with so many beautifully decorated homes. (This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support!)

If you are coming over from Nick & Alicia, welcome – I am so glad you’ve found your way into my home. Isn’t their home just beautiful, such a calming, glowing breath of fresh air!

We gave our family room a fresh makeover this summer with color blocking and paint, and we now love hanging out in this space. At the time of completion, we hadn’t yet changed the lighting and finally got around to installing these beauties from Hunter. (The pendant is from the same collection.)

I shared with you the mantel and all of its special details just last week, so head over to that post if you’d like to know more about it.  For today, we are going to focus on the rest of the room. To the left of the fireplace, we have a little nook that we’ve added a table and chairs to.  We can sit here and play games or build puzzles. If you look closely, you’ll notice paint splatters and scratches because I allow my kids to create here.

I kept the tabletop very simple with green glass candlesticks I purchased over 10 years ago, and wooden trees from Target’s little dollar section a few years ago.

To be honest, most of the time this table isn’t really set because my kids are using it, but let’s pretend for a day, shall we?

On each side of our fireplace, we have a pair of Ikea Besta cabinets to store games, puzzles, crafts, books, records and more. I added a touch of Christmas to their surfaces with yarn trees my mother made me years ago, vintage flocked deer, and our dog’s stockings.

Above each cabinet I hung shelves using these modern rustic brackets.

On this shelf, I added artwork made by Sawyer years ago and a book that gives all parents nightmares. And, of course, there’s a cherished photo of my now 15 year old in a Santa hat. I recently found these little wooden animals that remind me of the nativity at the Raleigh flea market, so I added those in as well.

The shelf on the opposite side of the fireplace is adorned with Emmy’s artwork from when she was little. I’ve also added art I helped Wilder make last year with his handprint, a Santa photo, a thrifted vintage VW bug with a bottle brush tree, vintage deer and a snowflake. The little retro car is a family favorite.

Just a year ago, I was so unhappy with how this space looked, but now it really feels like ours and my family enjoys sitting by this fireplace. Sawyer especially enjoys gaming from the sofa that faces it, and sadly our sectional shows it.

The sectional sits across the fireplace, and we can curl up here to watch holiday movies, or just stare at the Christmas tree just out of view here.

To make it extra cozy, I added some string lights to our DIY wall hanging. I am definitely on the team that thinks lights make everything better.

On the sofa itself, I used a mix of pillows I already had on hand including black and white striped beauties from Victoria Sturup’s shop and green pillows.

I added a velvet “Holly Jolly” pillow I found at my local TJ Maxx.

I also found a fabulous lush green Kate Spade throw this year.  It’s so soft that Sawyer wraps himself in it here to do his schoolwork, and has claimed it as his own.

Across from the table sits my vintage glass coffee table, adorned with favorite coffee table books and a thrifted midcentury wooden bowl filled with vintage snowball and green glass ornaments.

Wilder doesn’t spend much time in this space, so it’s the only place I could use my vintage ornaments… I have hoards of them in my attic!

I do want to share a few more photos of this space because after I originally shot it, we got our tree!  Now, this tree is the family tree and is not necessarily a looker, but it’s filled with loads of memories. It nestles in the corner of our family room. With this tree, I am very traditional, right down to the star on top.

What makes it special is the collection of ornaments… from those we collected when we had our first two dogs, both of whom had beagle in them….

to the family heirlooms…

to the Grover ornament that was Chris’ as a kid…

to the ornaments given to me by those I’ve lost along the way to cancer and suicide…

No, this tree doesn’t look like much, but there’s more than meets the eye.  We fill it with the old memories and smile as we think of our loved ones, and we fill it with new memories, and smile to think of our own children hanging them on their own trees one day as they remember us and these shared moments.  Pardon me as I grab a tissue.

Before we head out of this room, I want to show you a bit of the lay of the land.  This space is on our lower level, and just outside that door on the left is the patio. To the right is Sawyer’s bedroom which I will be sharing with you on Friday.  Behind that wall is his own bathroom, which is why we basically call this the teen mancave… And to be honest, he is the one who uses the family room the most, too!

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Let’s head outside to the patio.  As you saw last week, my front porch is very “me” and  more natural and neutral, but we have some fun colorful and vintage pieces from over the years, and this space was calling for them.

The snowmen back there are the most special part of this space.  Our old town of Myersville, MD, use to have a friendly little Snowmen on Main St. competition, and these are two of the snowmen we created over the years.  There’s a vintage Frosty-esque looking guy as well as a polar bear Emmy designed.

Because they had touches of red and blue in them, I pulled out some of my other vintage pieces that had similar colors. On the table, I added a vintage plaid wool blanket and a vintage bucket with the word “Bright” filled with huge pinecones. I also added this strip of bells I like to tell the kids came from Santa’s sleigh, although my older two know better these days.

As the days have gotten cooler, we won’t be spending as much time back here, but in this time of Covid, it’s nice to have an outdoor entertaining option.

I even added a vintage cooler, just in case I need to fill it with winter brews.

It’s always best to be prepared, in case friends want to come hang out safely, or we get a little snow here in NC and want to ride a rickety old sled. 😉

Lastly, I hung this sweet sign that I got a few years ago.  I have always loved red and pink together, and this sign between these doors makes me happy.

Let’s take one last look at the patio, and then head inside where I want to show you my bedroom. 

 

While I love our main living spaces for the connection they offer our family, my bedroom is my favorite space to decompress after a long day.  And with Covid and kids, many a day is long. (I want to add that the day I shot my bedroom my camera malfunctioned and deleted EVERYTHING, so I raced around to do a second shoot and the light was not as good… apologies!)

Our bedroom is a dark and moody space filled with cozy warm textures and colors.

I added the color block wall last year and still love it just as much as the day I painted it. For a festive touch, I added a banner that reads, “Oh my garland!” above the bed. On the bed, there’s a mix of linen bedding paired with a beautiful lumbar pillow from one of my favorite pillow shops.

I hand cut it last year out of gold glitter card stock, and to be honest, totally forgot about it until I pulled it out of a box this year.

Last year I draped fresh cedar greenery on the back of our bed, and loved it, but made the critical mistake of not soaking it first.  By December 15th it was crispy and I was afraid to turn on string lights.  This year I decided to invest in some faux magnolia garlands from Michaels that I will reuse each year. Our bed has two on it for reference. Woven throughout the leaves, I added a string of copper diamond LED string lights.

On my nightstand, I added a photo of Wilder and me visiting Santa last year.  He was a little uncertain, so I had to sit with him.  (Wilder was uncertain, that is.)

Above Chris’ dresser, I added a little touch of Christmas.

A bowl filled with vintage ornaments, a little greenery, and a Moravian star garland did the trick.

On the adjacent wall sits my own dresser, obviously the larger one. 😉

I also wanted to share this photo so you could see our fun hallway just outside the door.

I didn’t really do any decorating on my dresser, but my chair got a little touch of gold.

 

Well, my friends, that is all for today. Head on over to one of my very favorite homes in all of the blogs in all of the land… Cuckoo 4 Design.  I am very fortunate to call Julia a friend in real life, and I absolutely adore her.  Her creativity knows know bounds, and her home illustrates that perfectly… all of the macrame touches she’s hand made… SWOON!

Come back Friday to see my kids rooms decorated, and if you want to catch up on my main living spaces, or my porch and entry, click here and here. Thank you so much for visiting me today!  If you’re looking for anything from today’s post, I’ve put together a gallery for you below to shop.

This week I’m joining some of my talented blogging friends for the Christmas Seasonal Simplicity Series home tour week! We’re all sharing part of our home decked out for Christmas. Be sure to check out these fabulous Christmas decor ideas by clicking on the links below each image.

Sharing with me today…

Tuesday

Cassie Bustamante / Cuckoo4Design / Lemon Thistle / Love Create Celebrate

tatertots & jello / Jennifer Maune / She Gave it a Go / Clean & Scentsible

And sharing the rest of the week…

Monday

The Happy Housie / Inspiration for Moms / Maison de Cinq / This is Simplicite

Chrissy Marie Blog / Modern Glam / Nick & Alicia

Wednesday

The Handmade Home / Finding Silver Pennies / Joanna Anastasia / Amber Tysl

The DIY Mommy / My Sweet Savannah / Dans le Lakehouse / Fynes Designs

Thursday

Two Twenty One / Cherished Bliss / Life is Better at Home / All Things With Purpose

This is Our Bliss / Home Made Lovely / Place of My Taste

Friday

The Tattered Pew / Life is a Party / Rambling Renovators / House by Hoff

Deeply Southern Home / Grace in My Space /
Taryn Whiteaker Designs / Just a Girl and Her Blog