CHRISTMAS 2020 HOME TOUR

Welcome Friends,

I hope that things are well with all of you! These times are difficult to maneuver in many ways for all of us. I've been having some ups and downs myself, but I came to the conclusion that, "life is what we make of it." We make choices everyday, and I've chosen to enjoy my family this holiday season and be grateful for all that God has bestowed on us.

If you are like me at times we need distractions. In my world lately I've chosen to jump into "holiday spirit" head first. A new home, and lots of Christmas decor that came from our past homes, and corporate storage; this always feels like it's new again! It's a tedious job to recreate and reimagine where things will go, but in the end, AND THIS IS OUR END, it's quite rewarding! It's also interesting to see how my taste has changed through the years as far as placement and use of our furnishings.

 As I've shown you in past posts, our new living area is open concept. The kitchen, informal dining area and family room are in one large open space. It's been interesting to decorate both for every day living as well as Christmas time.

The area rug grounds the area that is our family room. Our sofa and chairs ground the perimeter of the living space and the entertainment system, buffet and end tables anchor family room perimeter. The decorative entertainment grounds the space and adds a warmth with the medium wood finish. 

FAMILY ROOM

 

We placed our "live" Christmas tree from North Carolina, between the sofa and chair, creating a warm little vignette. Since we don't have a fireplace in this home, hubby found a beautiful fireplace screen saver for me while I sit and write my blog this evening. It's almost like being in Bozeman, MT again, however, the temps outside this evening are 67 degrees versus 20 degrees!

           

This little alcove off the family room leads to the Master Bedroom and Master Bath.

Below is the view from the informal eating area into the family room. 

 

The kitchen is located to the right.

I was able to recycle the draperies I had made for our Texas home. They were hung on 2 story windows and were straight panels. Instead of including them in the sale of our home I decided I could possibly reuse them in the next home. As it turned out it was about 1/2 day project, of measuring, cutting and re-heming them for our new family room sliding doors. This was quite a cost effective thing I have done on numerous homes. By installing straight panels only the length needs to be changed. It's amazing how different they look in our new home. (I'll be writing a future blog on just how easy it was for me to tackle this project step by step.)

The wooden shades in the informal dining area are from Budget Blinds. I wanted a woven look window shade to try and bring a bit less formal look to the area. They were a bit expensive, but since I had saved money by hemming my own draperies my budget allowed me to do so.

My kitchen color choices are timeless; white cabinets bottom and top around the perimeter and black on the island. I chose a neutral gray veined quartz countertops. The island chairs are black and white from Serena and Lily. #serenaandlily I decorated the chairs with small wreaths for a festive touch and the counter perimeter with small Christmas touches also. The linen island lights (black and white) appear blue because of the LED light bulbs at night in photos. They actually look white in person.

Riviera Barstool

Below is the rotunda located in the center hallway of the house. It has double trayed ceilings with dimmable lighting in them along with the chandelier in the center.

I painted the nativity below while I was going to college. (and that was a LONG time ago!) It has been part of our family from the beginning. Our ritual is to have the children place the baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas day. Some years when the kids were young, they sang "Happy Birthday" to baby Jesus.

New to the scene this year, at least for me, were Gnomes! I find them so fascinating. Since we have a 2 1/2 year old granddaughter, I thought this would be something she could easily pick up and play with during the holidays. Although, she has been curious about them, she's really not as fascinated as I was. Oh the mind of a child!

The formal dining room is located just as you enter our front door on the left side. My husband's office is located on the right with window paned double doors for privacy.

I have a small vignette containing a comfortable chair and our small Christmas tree to greet holiday guests.

I wasn't keen on the open dining room design, however, by adding the trayed ceiling with increased height, it appears to have opened up the room somewhat. I have kept the furnishings, china cabinet and formal table and chairs, and bar chest with mirror because, they are a part of my husband and I and our journey. Sentimental pieces are so important to us because of the memories that come with them.

I was able to use some Christmas pieces of china to add a festive look in the china cabinet. And simple greens and candle sticks on the dining table.

Wishing you and yours a very MERRY CHRISTMAS 

and a 

HAPPY  HEALTHY NEW YEAR! 

See you in 2021! 

Stay safe my friends!

Kathleen