Holiday Around Our Farmhouse – This Year “Done Is Better Than Perfect”

I almost didn’t shoot photos of our whole house this year because I was behind on life, was set on not overwhelming myself, and wasn’t terribly impressed with what I had done (as well as have some behind-the-scenes personal/business stuff that is taking so much of my brain space and time right now). But I had to style out a few areas for a partner and some of you were so encouraging and supportive that I figured I’d show you what I did, without rethinking the styling (although admittedly some of it does look super cute now that I see the photos – I’m SO HARD ON MYSELF these days). So while there is a lot of design still up in the air, here is how our holiday decor landed this year.

Entry

Faux Pre-Lit LED Alpine Trees | Woven Boucle Striped Christmas Throw Pillow | Oversize Embroidered Textured Lumbar Throw Pillow (similar)

I just put two pre-lit alpine trees in the corner + two pillows and called it a day, but those dogs are really selling the space. I think these Alpine trees (these from Terrain and others around the house from Target) are my favorite addition to the holiday decor market. They can be shoved in so many corners, don’t need decor, and just add life at night when the lights are off.

Winter Sweater

Now in case you are wondering why I didn’t put a wreath on that incredible painting by Melinda Forster, it’s because there is a big wreath through the glass front door right in front of it – so you can’t double wreath. I could have put a swag of cedar over it, but again – just didn’t. But look at my pups! Zipped Sweater linked here (I’ve been wearing it almost every day)

Bench With Gallery Wall

Wreath | Red and White Ribbon | Sweater Knit Square Throw Pillow with Pom Poms | Sweater Fleck Jacquard Knit Lumbar Throw Pillow | Color Block Boucle Throw Blanket

About a month ago I did hang this little gallery wall which is making me happy:) So for the holidays I threw a couple of green pillows on the bench and hung a mini-wreath over the art.

Sconce | Bench

I put a red and white striped ribbon on the wreath and used twine to hang it from the sconce. I’m on the fence if I should remove or add to the bottom of the gallery – next to the “this is not a pen” drawing that I got 13 years ago (artist unknown).

Sweater Knit Square Throw Pillow with Pom Poms | Sweater Fleck Jacquard Knit Lumbar Throw Pillow | Bench

The pillows are Target and the bench is the original Katy Skelton bench that launched the whole movement of leather straps on benches (it’s 8 years old, I believe, and still so good).

My Office Sunroom

Red Beaded Garland | Candlestick Holder Set | Taper Candles | Artificial Tree | Tree Collar | Wood Tree Ornaments (set of 4)

In the sunroom/office is where I got to do a more curated tree and I loved how it turned out. I bought a box of vintage silk-wrapped balls and the wood snowflakes from the antique mall, mixed it with some wood tree ornaments from Target, and ripped fabric. So happy. I also love this faux tree so much and wish I had bought the bigger version of the tree for our living room (and might next year if it comes back in stock). It looks super natural and organic (you’ll see our other one is too triangular and dense for me – but not tree-shaming myself!).

Pendant | Dining Table | Dining Chairs (vintage)

I work here most days so I didn’t do a tablescape beyond throwing down some pine branches from outside and these candlesticks from Target. Ignore the chain link fence out the window, we are two weeks away from the final inspection and can finally pull down the “root protection” chain link throughout our property which is just going to make the biggest difference.

Birdie’s Dress | Charlie’s Shirt | My Dress | My Slippers

My kids are officially 7 and 9 and it’s just NUTS (and incredible – these ages are just so fun). Charlie turned 9 this week and it feels different than any before – so close to 10, starting to turn away and lean on friends.

Green Striped Ribbon

More campaign shots of me using wrapping cloths:) If you missed that post about how I’m really excited about this ancient Japanese Tradition (fabric over paper) read this post.

In The Kitchen

Wreaths | Red Ribbon | Striped Ribbon (similar)

I had SERIOUS wreath confusion/doubt and after trying out a few different ribbon ideas and landed on this one – red wired burlap and a neutral ticking stripe (similar). It looks so cute, but I think next year I have an idea that is more “me”. The wreaths are great (from Target) and I bought the darker red burlap online. The ticking striped “ribbon” is just yardage that I had that I cut to add another layer. But there is something about these that feel more “traditional” than I am (or than I want to perceive myself to be). At the same time, they are so pretty in the kitchen. At one point I had four options hanging up there – thick bright red satin mixed with red/white ticking stripe, thick bright red satin with white satin, and large white with red/white ticking stripe – all on different windows. I do like how the burlap is more casual than the satin and ultimately it looked the best of all the options so we left it…but I’m not convinced it’s “my wreath”.

I also added twinkle lights on these so that at night they add some glow.

Nutcracker with Top Hat | Nutcracker with Crown | Dish Towel | Red Paper Accordion Trees (similar)

I snagged those large nutcrackers from Michaels (on sale for $15 each) and Birdie quickly asked me what color we were going to paint them (this is a recurring conversation – I buy natural wood Scandinavian stuff, and she pulls out her paint brushes).

Nutcracker | Wood Trees | Cable Knit Tree | Red and White Striped Placemat🙂

The little wood trees and nutcracker are from World Market, the cable knit tree and tea towel are from Target (I think it’s a placemat), and the cedar branches from our backyard – which I probably should have added more…

The Fireplace Mantel

Santa Mailbox (in red)

I did a fun reel with Target in late November so this was pretty much all done then (and all Target). The wreath is real (look at me!) and I kinda wanted to replace the garland with a real one, but not enough to actually do it. We’ve had the green Santa box for years (here’s the same one in red) and the kids drop letters in it frequently (I think it’s probably the last year and we totally forgot to do Elf on the Shelf which they are asking for so I need to run out and find that dude). And yes, we need a fireplace screen. I found a vintage one at the thrift store that we use until I find the one that I want, but it’s super ugly so removed it for the photos.

Alpine Balsam Mini Artificial Christmas Tree | Stockings | Wood Garland (similar) | Candlestick Holder Set | Taper Candles | Reindeer | White Houses | Lanterns | Ribbed Green Candle | Pine & Snowberry Seasonal Faux Sprig Bundle | Faux Garland

Picture Light (similar) | Chandelier | Wicker Ottoman (similar) | Sheepskin Rug

We left this as a wood-burning fireplace, with a gas starter thing, which is awesome. We only really light it when we are in the room at night, but it’s been really lovely and Brian and Charlie really enjoy building the fire.

Our Nostalgia Tree – Full Of Our Favorite Ornaments

Quite possibly my favorite day of the year is when we open our ornaments and the kids react to each one with a million “I remember this’!”. It’s just dripping with memories and the whole family wanted it in the living room to actually enjoy it. Historically, we have a curated tree in the living room and this tree in the family room but we don’t have space in our family room and just wanted this vibe in here. I’m not over the curated tree necessarily but it has a time and place (like the sunroom) and I wasn’t about to debate my kids about it.

But if I’m being honest I don’t love the tree that I bought – it’s too dense and triangular. The light color is good but next year I’m going to donate this (likely to the ReBuilding Center since they have high ceilings) and instead buy a 9′ version of the one that we used in the sunroom. I know this is a hot topic which we really don’t need to rehash. I also think we want to join in on the very Oregon tradition of cutting down our own trees – so we might do that for a kid’s tree upstairs (Birdie decorated her ENTIRE room with all the leftover decor that I had and she really really wants a tree).

We made popcorn garland with the kids (which admittedly took hours) while watching Christmas movies, but I LOVE the look and vibe it gives (and it’s another great tradition). Also, we only made enough for this angle of the tree (and you can see it ending at the bottom haha). The only non-family ornaments that I bought were the white and red stripe fabric balls which you can get here.

The tree is totally full of memories of things that happened that year. We are looking for a “mud” ornament to represent this year and then are going to get some 1st and 3rd-grade ornaments for the kids and likely get some Pokemon ornaments because it’s all they talk about.

Holiday Glasses (similar) | Brian’s Shirt

We took a bunch of family photos for us inside (it was pretty yucky outside) and my attempt to not show too much of their faces was to put these ridiculous glasses on them. Ha.

There you go, y’all. Christmas 2022 around our house. Next year we should have our furniture and dining nook done in the living room (and family room) so I might add more as it’s my favorite thing to do. But I actually love a more pared-back version (and you might see a front door decked out next week).

Oh, and for links to the kitchen go here, here, and here, the sunroom here, and the living room head here!

*Photos by Kaitlin Green