Holiday Great Room

Welcome to our home for the holidays!  The great room is a central gathering spot so I made sure to add holiday décor where I could.    Starting in the kitchen! For the sink, a fresh linen, a pretty hand lotion and soap due is perfect.

For the marble island I found a couple holiday containers and filled them with white poinsettias.  Mercury glass is an inexpensive way to instantly add a little glam to your space.  I mix pink, gold, and silver votive holders. They look pretty tucked in a corner and filled with flowers, candy canes, or tea lights.

You’ll find pops of red, lots of green, and gold throughout the house.  Near my coffee station, red roses and French porcelain holds gold spoons adding a little luxury to our mornings.

Bottle brush trees and gold Spode villages fill the cabinets near the sink.  Bottle brushes come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.  The trees look darling just about anywhere!  Mercury glass is an inexpensive way to add glam to your home.  Group them on a tray or line them up on your table or mantle.  Candles are beautiful year round.  Fragrance free for the table and in the powder room and great room I like Diptique and Anthropologie.

This year I have chunky knit stockings and snowflake holders.  I’ve accumulated a few glitter houses and they fit perfectly on the mantle.

Cutting boards are stacked up in the great room.  These get used all the time and also make wonderful gifts.

For the past few years we’ve purchased our tree and had it flocked.  This tree stands about 11 feet and is decorated with pieces that we’ve collected over years .. so no it’s not a themed tree and as you see it now, it could use a little fixing here and there but I thought I’d show it as is – keeping it real.

I had a few questions regarding my fresh garland  so I’m sharing what I’ve learned over the years. Hope it helps!

• Purchase twice the length of your mantle plus extra to fall along the sides of your fireplace.
• Cut the garland in half and overlap so your ends fall towards the ground.
• I spray all my greens with Wilt Pruf to help keep them fresh.  Even with this product it’s likely I will need to replace some of the garland.  We always decorate early because December is a busy month for us.  It’s about doing what you can – when you can.
• Command hooks or knobs can be used as a temporary adhesive for hanging wreaths and garland.  Use  wire to tie the garland to the knob or hook for extra staying power.  If you want a swag, it will dry out faster if you use your fire place a lot.  I moved mine up as high as possible to keep the heat away.

On a final note, I do recommend you have help cutting, and placing the garland.  It’s messy, heavy, and awkward to work with.

xoleslie