Hello and Happy Holidays!
We are full steam ahead through the most magical but also most hectic time of the year! I have been busy decking my halls, and I am excited to share some photos with you today. It was a slow process this year, and it happened in starts and stops. I tried to just enjoy the journey and not stress over it as I have done in previous years.
I have taken lots of photos of the main floor of our home and today I am going to take you on a photo tour of our kitchen and family room area.
Let's start the tour in the kitchen, shall we? I am so in love with our open shelving and they are so fun to style, especially for the holidays. I left a few key decor pieces on the shelves and then added in some festive touches.
The other area of the kitchen that got some love was the island. For the past couple of years, I have turned my tiered tray into a hot chocolate station so I did that again this year and it is the focal point for sure. If you are wondering "what is a hot chocolate station?" , it's a decorative way to provide all of the necessary items to create a cozy hot beverage. I have hot chocolate and tea packages on the top tier, our collection of Christmas mugs on display and then added some treats to take the hot chocolate to the next level.
Think candy canes, chocolate kisses and mini-marshmallows...it might be a little dangerous to have all of these sugary treats out for the taking but hey, it's the holidays!
This year I had fun playing with this house shaped cookie jar that I found at Indigo (Canadian Store). I set it on the wooden cake stand and tucked some bottle brush trees around it. The hot cocoa sign was a Walmart discovery, so cute right?
Our kitchen table got a little festive decor as well, but because we eat most of our meals here, and it's a small table, I kept it simple with a red poinsettia and some candle holders (which are actually here year round).
The eating area is right between the kitchen and family room, and you can see a glimpse of our Christmas decor in the background. Let's take a closer look at this space.
Our family room is where I display our sentimental items that we have had for years, like our Christmas stockings. When each of my kids were born, I bought them a stocking and picture ornament from Pottery Barn Kids. They are bright and colorful and probably my favourite thing to display year after year.
The tree in this space also holds all of the ornaments that we have had for years. Each year I buy an ornament frame with the date on it and hang it on the tree. I also gift one to each set of grandparents.
I have used the bookcases to display some other long-standing favourite like Christmas Thomas:
Snowy, our elf on the shelf who has gone into retirement but is still a beloved member of the family:
And also this plate and mug for Santa's cookies and milk, which we have had since Kallum was a toddler:
Speaking of Kallum, he is still away at school so wasn't home to decorate the family tree this year - that was a bit sad for me, I am not going to lie. He asked me to save a few ornaments for him to put on the tree when he comes home, so I set some aside as well as the tree topper which has been his job for awhile now.
All of these items hold such sentimental value for us and it just feels right to display them in the room that we hang out in the most. Because there is a lot of red incorporated here, I have embraced it and introduced coordinating textiles. Placing a patterned rug on the back of a sofa that is floating in a room is a great way to add some style and interest.
Textiles are such an important step to creating warmth and coziness in a room, and that is what winter is all about!
These cheerful pillows are fun and festive on the sofa:
Well that concludes the photo tour for today. I will be sharing the rest of the main floor photos this week, and you will notice a big difference in the way I have decorated the front part of our home. Spoiler alert, less color and more greenery...can't wait to show you!
Thanks for reading!
Kerri