Holiday Housewalk 2013

Good morning!  Today I'm joining other bloggers over at Jennifer Rizzo's Making Your Home Your Own for a Holiday Housewalk.  All last week Jennifer featured beautifully decorated holiday homes. And let me tell you...these women are talented! It was inspiring to get a peek inside their homes all decorated for the Christmas season. You can view the homes here.

Thanks for coming to visit Summerland Homes & Gardens, and welcome to my home! 

Our house is small, so I try to keep our holiday decorations simple and contained...I've found that too many decorations quickly make a small home look cluttered!

In the living room, a slim tree fits in the corner.  It's decorated in blue, green, white and silver to match our seaside colors.

This year I didn't put all of our ornaments up on the tree, and I'm liking it not as jammed packed. I used mercury glass ornaments, vintage balls, glitter ornaments (mostly found at Target & Walmart), white hydrangeas and snowflakes.

I own Little Bird Piano Studio, and each year one of my students gives me a handmade little bird ornament for the tree.

The coastal palette of greens and blues continues  in our dining room.  I kept the mantle very simple, just some fresh greens and pinecones.  My painting from Linda Donohue arrived last week, so I wanted it to take center stage. Our dining room (& kitchen) is usually such a sunny spot, but it has been cloudy and gloomy here all week! Not the best for taking pictures :-(

Our hutch gets a few holiday touches...vintage ornaments, Thymes candle votives (the Frasier Fir smells so good but not too strong), and a woodland scene with Santa.

You can read about my hutch transformation here.

We use our dining room all the time...meals, homework, projects, games.  To keep the table clear but looking pretty, I made a quick snowflake tree out of spray painted branches.

For Christmas dinner I do a plaid tablescape using my holiday dishes, so come back later in the month to get a peek...

You can see more photos of my dining room and living room here.

The rest of my Christmas decorating is red & white...I love using gingham and plaids.  In the kitchen, our antique hutch got wrapped in tartan plaid. 

On the kitchen island, a metal tray gets filled with greens and pinecones.

These little guys keep me company while I wash the dishes...

Off of the kitchen we have a side porch...

We don't use this entrance too much in the winter, but I decorate the potting table since I can see it from the kitchen window.

Our 7 year old loves decorating the little tree that we put in his bedroom...

And the two Nutcrackers keep watch...

Our upstairs bathroom gets a little touch of Christmas too...

I have a little more decorating to finish up and some Christmas projects, so please visit Summerland Homes & Gardens throughout the month of December for more holiday ideas.

Thanks for visiting and best wishes for a blessed Holiday Season!

As always, feel free to leave a comment or ask questions in the comments section below.

Need help creating a home you love? Contact me about our design services.

I'm Dreaming... of a Plaid Christmas.

When it comes to decorating, for most of the year I'm a coastal classic gal...our home is awash in shades of blue and green, weathered wood and sisal rugs.  You'll find starfish or coral in most of our rooms, and glass jars filled with seashells that bring back memories of our favorite days at the beach.  But when the temperature drops, the days get shorter and the holiday season starts, I once again fall in love with plaid.  Tartans to be exact.  Time to pull out the plaid blankets...

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The reds and greens found in so many plaids make them perfect for holiday decorating. 

 Look at these lovely tables...

Williams Sonoma

Make your holiday party extra special with these monogramed napkins and cupcake papers...

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Plaid ribbons are perfect for Christmas wreaths or floral arrangements...

Plaid throw pillows added to your couch or favorite chair will bring a touch of holiday cheer...

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Of course, no one does plaid bedding better than Ralph Lauren.  I've been a fan since my college days.

Here are a few more ways you can incorporate plaids into your decorating...

It's a great time of year to add plaid to your wardrobe as well!

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Mix your plaid with a little leopard...

or another plaid.

And don't forget your furry friend...

This Christmas season, I added a tartan plaid paper to the back of my kitchen hutch.

And I found these placemats and napkins at Home Goods for our holiday table.

Do you decorate with plaid?  

As always, feel free to leave a comment or ask questions in the comments section below.

Photos are from my Pinterest boards unless noted.

Need help creating a home you love? Contact me about our design services.

A Client's Room...Making Progress

Hello friends!  Hope everyone made it through Black Friday and Cyber Monday in one piece!  I refused to join the maddening crowds on Friday...instead I spent the day pulling out my Christmas decorations and putting up the tree.  My plan was to get everything in place on Friday and Saturday, and then cut all my fresh greens on Sunday.  However, Sunday was rainy and cold (as was Monday), so I'm still waiting for some sunshine...or at least a dry day...for a hike in the woods to collect my greens. As soon as that is done, I'll post some Christmas/holiday decorating ideas.

In the meantime, I'll give you a peek at a project I've been working on.  Here are the before photos of my client's t.v. room.  

This busy family of five needed a space where they could all be together to watch t.v., play games, or just hang out.  In discussing her room, my client (and friend) Terry expressed her frustration with the lack of seating, worn out sofa, jumbled mess of t.v./cable wires and dvd's, empty space under the gallery wall, huge square heating vent cover on the wall (total eye sore!) and wall color.  She likes her hardwood bamboo flooring, but wanted a soft, comfy area rug for when her young boys are sitting on the floor.

Terry wanted a palette of soft grays and blues to create a calm and relaxing space.  Here are some inspiration photos...

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And this is what we've accomplished so far...

We painted the walls a light gray and picked out a large sectional that easily seats five...it's super comfy!  The silvery blue is so soothing and looks great with the gray walls.  Terry wanted to stick with a simple palette, but while we were at the furniture store I showed her how she could easily incorporate other colors into the room (red or greens or black & white) in the future, simply by switching out the throw pillows.  The sofa came with your choice of five throw pillows...we'll add some others too.

I liked this rustic/industrial table for three reasons:  its shape provides a contrast to all the straight lines (& doesn't take up as much space as a rectangular one), the dark wood adds warmth, and the shelf underneath provides display space. The cream rug is so plush, making for a comfy spot on the floor.  You can get a peek at the built in corner that now houses the t.v.

What a difference this built in makes!  Terry found the cabinets on Craig's List and her husband installed them, added the shelves and trimmed it out for a finished look.  It was all painted the same color as the walls. Two lidded baskets hide the dvd's and Terry is going to start a collection of ironstone to fill the middle shelf (I had brought over a few accessories for taking pics, just so the shelves and table wouldn't look so bare). The heating vent cover got replaced with an circular one, and once painted blends in with the wall.  We're on the hunt for a small chair (wicker perhaps?) to put below the mirror for additional seating.  For now, its the perfect spot for their Christmas tree.

The black sofa table that once held the t.v. is now against the gallery wall.  The photos need to be reframed and rehung, but two of these fun camel lamps now sit on the table. The shades have a shimmery sparkle to them.

So that's what we have so far...the curtains and lighting are on their way, and we still need to do a little shopping for accessories.  She has a wicker basket under the black table to corral extra pillows, but I'd love to see two square ottomans tucked in there to provide extra seating.  Terry loves how it looks so far.  Even though the sectional is large, having the one piece makes the room seem bigger and the built in definately got rid of the clutter and provides a streamlined look.  

As always, feel free to leave a comment or ask questions in the comments section below.

Need help creating a home you love? Contact me about our design services.