Our 2014 Christmas Great Room ...

Greetings, friends!

Come on into our great room, where the colors of the season have taken over everything!

Let's start over here where inexpensive wreaths from Michael's dress the windows and festive "Vinter 2014" red/white pillow covers from IKEA add a splash of holiday to our sofa.

Leftover scraps of ribbon were "saved" and tucked into the garland around a simple hurricane ... 

*Speaking* of our mantel ... there it is ... still not thrilled with it, BUT, I'll do better next time (hopefully)!  You can see more of our mantel, along with 10 other mantels that are beyond inspiring by clicking HERE.

A red, cable throw from IKEA is an easy way to add color to our white slipcovered chairs.

While we used to have a 9 ft. tree in our great room in our old home (thanks to vaulted ceilings), it was a tad bit too tall for this room, sooooo, we bought a new "faux" tree from Lowe's ... a nice, fat tree ... and we love it!

When I spotted these cute "chalkboard" ornaments from Target, I knew that they'd tie in nicely with our "chalkboard" sign above the mantel ... so, in my cart they went!  

Glittery white reindeer and large snowflakes that I've collected over the past few years are great fillers!

Admittedly, I love the room "all aglow" at night!

Does Christmas "have" to come so soon ?!

I hope you'll join me again soon in our Christmas kitchen ...

Thanks for stopping by,

Our 2014 Christmas Mantel and Blog Hop ...

Greetings, friends!  

Today, I'm happy to be joining 10 incredibly talented bloggers as they share their beyond beautiful Christmas mantels!  

And, while our mantel is far from a show-stopper, I'm humbled to join these fabulous ladies to spread a bit of Chistmas mantel cheer!  

So, here it is:

I have to admit, I was in a bit of a holiday mantel "slump" this year ... maybe it was the new house ... maybe it was missing our old fireplace ... I just couldn't get with it!  And, then, as I was wandering through the aisles of HomeGoods, with my typical "deer caught in the headlights" look, I spotted it!  There it was ... at long last ... my mantel inspiration!  (My sincere apologies to the sweet  group of ladies whom I almost knocked over getting to it!)

Once I put 50 holes in the wall trying to center it and hang it at the proper height above the mirror, it was time to start working my way down, with red, black and white being the main colors.

This cute reindeer from Hobby Lobby was then cast as the centerpiece on the mantel!  While he was so handsome and whimsical on his own, I wanted to add a bit of "oomph" behind him to help show him off a bit, so, I hung a simple wreath behind him and then let green and silver join the fun, too:

And, okay, "bow maker" will never make its way onto my resume, but, I was on a mission to add a few to our flocked garland, to tie in the black and white colors in our cute chalkboard sign.  So, thank you, Youtube, for the tutorial!  

I then added leftover ribbon to a pillow (from IKEA) to carry the black and white theme around the room, which I'll share later ...

As I was "shopping" our Christmas bins, I had forgotten I had these cute red trees (from Wal-Mart a few years ago) ... don't you love free decorating?!

Originally,  I didn't plan on using our nutcrackers this year, but, as I closed the lid on the bin where we keep them, I'm pretty sure I heard a muffled cry ... so, out came a couple of them!

We can't have a sad Nutcracker, now can we?  I'm happy I added this fella and his twin because, no matter how hard I might try to stay simplistic, I always *need* a little bit of bling!

Our colorful view as we relax on the couch ...

You can never go wrong with a faux poinsettia from Michael's, can you? 

Of course, I had to carry the black, white, red, green and silver theme over to our tree, too!

I hope you'll come back soon to see that and the rest of our room.

You won't want to miss the other mantels on the tour ... they'll undoubtedly inspire you like they did me!

Atta Girls Says

Chateau Chic

Far Above Rubies

French Country Cottage

From My Front Porch to Yours

Housepitality Designs

Savvy Southern Style

Shabby FuFu

Stone Gable Cottage

White Lace Cottage

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Our Christmas Foyer ...

Happy Holidays, friends!  

Can you believe we're already into December?  Not me!  But, that hasn't stopped us from decking the halls and "fa la la la la-ing" around our new home.

When it comes to holiday decorating, I'm a fan of "themes," whether it's colors or a "story."  Like here in our foyer, where I've gone with a simple, traditional theme with hints of a vintage Christmas.

When you first walk in, you're greeted by our accent chest and the first (of 12, yikes) trees ... this one dressed in reds, golds and greens.

Our Victorian carolers are ready to serenade you ...

singing "Silent Night," as large snow flakes fall.

Over on our tree, of course, I had to start with a crazy topper ...

and then filled it with glittery ribbons, poinsettia leaves and the "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments (another song for our carolers to sing).

I also added our oversized musical instruments to serve as background music as the carolers sing to our special friends, whose Christmas cards from years' past are lovingly tucked in the branches.

And, at the back of our foyer, I added a bit of Christmas, too, with pretty plates and holiday pillows.

I love BHG's line of Christmas plates (Wal-Mart), even wishing I could step into the scene:

They even added a few new plates this year, like this sweet one:

A simple wreath hung on our secretary reminds us of the "JOY" of the season!

I love it all "aglow."

I hope you'll join me as I share more of our holiday home in the days to come, including our mantel, where I'm excited to be a part of this upcoming blog hop!

Thanks for stopping by,