2018 Christmas Home Tour

Good Afternoon sweet soul! We are just FIVE days short of Christmas. Even as I type that, it seems surreal. 2018 has flown by and my content will soon be moving toward self-improvement, self-love, goals, and contentment as we move into the new year. Since THIS post of my kitchen, I have had SO many Instagram requests for a home tour (you will also see that angles are deceiving). What better way to show my home décor style than through a 2018 Christmas Home tour. EVERYTHING I could possibly link is linked at the bottom of this post! First, special thanks to Tillman of TillmanSloanPhotography.com for our beautiful Christmas photos (coming Christmas Day), all of these (minus a couple iPhone shots I threw in, which are pretty obvious lol), and pretty much the majority of the photos on my blog ever! She is such an unknown superstar. Add her on Instagram HERE.

OUR COTTAGE

Honestly, my 1400 square foot house sometimes feels underwhelming. A good 1/4 of that is a lesser-used dining room that was an add-on by the previous owner. I own MANY pre-loved heirloom furniture and an out of place pillow can make the house feel crowded. Regardless, I do love our cozy home and nothing is more incredible than a house full of Christmas lights and details to give you the nostalgic fuzzies!

The “Nouveau riche is better than no riche at all” is one of my favorite lumbar pillows. I got the clever cross-stitched pillow on sale at Lulu & Georgia several years ago. [Pipdig_left]

Coffee Table Styling

I love playing around with our coffee table! We had Trader Joe’s hydrangeas in the pot above for the first few weeks of December (Brad thought they were fake they lasted so long). Once those died, I swapped the vase and gingerbread house. I kept the coffee table simple, since I have, like, a superfluous amount of decor.  A modern coffee table book, some coasters, & a wintery flower arrangement to replace the since-eaten gingerbread house! The coasters and tray are hand painted Florentine coasters we picked up in our recent trip to Florence, Italy.

Furniture

I’m not going to lie. I’m not the most creative as far as purchasing furniture at different stores.  We went on a Pottery Barn shopping spree in the spring, where we got our couch, coffee table, tripod lamp, throw pillows, and faux-fur blankets. The C-shaped end table by the recliner was also purchased in that spree. The steps pictured above lead directly to a large attic which we begin finish work on the week of Christmas! We are adding a large room, small storage closet, stair landing/sitting area/study, and a full bath. I linked similar moroccan poufs at the bottom of this post, but I was able to get these 2 leather poufs from THIS Etsy shop for $109 total. I then ordered foam off amazon to stuff them. It’s the most affordable way to purchase them and they are the same as any other pricier versions.

Bar Cart

I love our little bar cart! It was Brad’s grandmother Lilly Dill’s tea cart. Ironically, THIS marble cooking slab I got from our wedding registry fit into the top perfectly. I will always keep and cherish family pieces. The plant is a snake plant – one of the few I have difficulty killing. The copper pieces really light up that corner of the living room. Finally, we always keep our favorite wine closeby to sip on in the evenings with Netflix. You cannot go wrong with MEOMI and I have found it on sale everywhere lately.

Entry Way

Okay, I may be overkill with Pottery Barn, but can you blame me? The aqua milk jar and gold pinecone and Magnolia picks are from Pottery Barn. My diffuser is a few years old from Sage Wellness. The mirror is Restoration Hardware, a purchase I’ve been dreaming of for years. Most people would probably think it is far too big for such a small home, but it literally makes the living room appear twice the size. I got it for my 29th birthday. The white marble lamps are vintage with Target lampshades. My parents gifted them to me for my 28th birthday (I also got my first LV from Brad that year… not sure why that was such a huge birthday!?)

Furniture Steals

Our sideboard was our FIRST married purchase. I stalked Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, & antique shops for months. When I saw this one at The Restoration Station in Asheville, NC, we drove up. We took it home for $400. I plan to paint it glossy black one day, but for now I cannot give up this gorgeous wood finish. We also snagged the black end tables (peeking out below: bottom left) for $60 total from The Restoration Station. I painted over the orangey stain with Annie Sloan pink when I first got them…. then Annie Sloan Charcoal. We keep games and remotes inside. We moved the other to our attic while the tree is displayed. The candles are WindWix. Read more about these incredible candles HERE. Our wedding photo frame is TJ Maxx, but I linked a similar one below. Our recliner, double recliner couch, tea cart, dining room table, and china cabinet are all family pieces.

Willow Tree Nativity

Finally, this year Brad picked up this Willow Tree Nativity I have been eyeing for 3 years. I bought the “Wise Men” and “Nativity” sets at Tomlinson’s in Myrtle Beach. Total cost was $150 as Tomlinson’s carries these sets on super sale year-round. I’ve linked the exact set for under $120, below.

Our Christmas Tree

I LOVE our tree. It is a 7.5 foot tree from Home Depot. It has tons of twig points (660?) and three types of branches: twigs shaped plastic, the thin, paper-like plastic kind, and the wire, shapeable kind. If you were looking for it, you’d know what I am talking about. It is fake (I do NOT do bugs) and I love that we can spend more time enjoying the ornaments than fiddling with a tree (not to mention avoiding water stains on my floor, tilting, and… tiny bugs). I am also allergic to pine and a fake tree will not get sap on ribbon. I am #TEAMFAKETREE, but I do love the smell of the real ones- just not my thing!

Decorations

We used 60 feet  each of 3 types of ribbon for our 7.5 foot tree. My ribbon is from AT HOME and ShopHelloHolidays.com. I cut them in 2 and 3 foot sections and stick them in sporadically. My picks are from At Home (White puff balls & feathers), Hobby Lobby (Small gold sequin bundles), and ShopHelloHolidays.com (Giant sequin spirals). Finally, our star is from Target or At Home. It is 5 years old, so I’m not exactly sure. There are more details pictured below. Finally, Brad and I have a tradition of buying ornaments from the places we have visited like Paris, Versailles, Capri (our latest that we are holding below), and Belize.

The Kitchen

Welcome to our kitchen! We spend a ton of time here! For Christmas, I hang 6-8″ wreaths from the cabinetry. These small wreaths match the front door and are from Michaels. I got them all 60% off last year. They are hung by fishing line attached to the top & bottom that loops around the cabinet door. Crescent’s dog sweater is from Target but I could not find a link. Similar ones are linked below. The stools are At Home. Our island is Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue and the lighter color is Annie Sloan white. My aunt Tami handmade the gingerbread towel hanging on our stove!

STOCKINGS

CANOE STOCKING HERE.

MORE CUTE STOCKINGS HERE.

Fish Stocking – Sold Out.

Plaid Stocking + Christmas Tree Skirt – Hobby Lobby

CHRISTMAS SHOP

FURNITURE SHOP 

LAYERED & TABLETOP DECOR

KITCHEN

SHOP OUR OUTFITS

I hope you have enjoyed our 2018 Christmas Home Tour! Have a beautiful weekend and stay tuned for an outfit post tomorrow. Comment below, message me, or email me if you have any questions! Happy Thursday!

With Joy,

Audrey