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SheIn -Your Online Fashion Vintage Dress




Our Christmas House


Today I'm sharing our house this Christmas.  As I mentioned in another post this is truly the first Christmas I'm decorating in our new home.  Last year I was still unpacking boxes at this point and just not in the mood to Christmas decorate.  In addition, many of my decorations from our previous house just didn't work here.  I really wanted to almost start fresh (although not completely) with our decorations in our new home.  

I wanted a sort of theme for our house.  After looking on Pinterest, home magazines, I decided I really loved the winter forest/woodland look.  Think berries, pine cones, snow :).  A lot of things I repurposed or added some detail to our already Christmas decor.  Our Christmas house is lived in friends, it's not a museum.  I love perusing Instagram and seeing all the amazing holiday decor.  But I have 2 nine year olds and I don't want to have to keep saying to them - stop, don't touch that!  I LOVE decorating for Christmas, but I want to be able to live in my home too.  Fun tip: I also try to keep some of my decorating simply "winter" and not necessarily Christmas.  This way I can leave it up until March!  Keep reading to see where I bought some of my decorations and/or how I made them! 

double wood front doors with christmas wreaths and urns

Since our front door was installed last year I've got nothing but compliments from the neighbors.  It really transforms the look of the house.  It was so fun to decorate it this year with these wreaths from Trader Joe's (yes you read that right).  The evergreens in the urns are from our local farmers market (Soergel's if you live in the Pittsburgh area).  In total, I spent a little over $60 on all my evergreens.  This doormat is from Target and you can purchase it here.  I love how large this mat is and it's a great price!

staircase with christmas garland pine cones and lights

This garland is my favorite.  It's actually more than 20 years old!  It has long pine needles along with the short pine needles.  I find the garland out now you definitely need to layer it with several different kinds of garland.  I layered in some crystal garland I bought several years ago at Crate & Barrel.  This cute little flocked tree I bought at Ace Hardware!  Can you believe it?  I looked online but did not find this particular tree.  However you might be able to find it at your local Ace.

christmas garland with pine cones and burlap ribbon

I changed up this garland by adding these pine cone bunches.  The larger pine cones were actually collected at my in-laws and I purchased the white and small pine cones at Joann's.  I layered the larger pine cones first, then the white pine cones, with the smallest at the top.  To put it all together I used floral wire.  Keeping with the rustic, farmhouse, woodland look I wanted to make some burlap bows.  I ordered this ribbon here.  The shop owner is amazing and I received them super fast!

blue barn door

This barn door almost go the best of me!  I had decided a while back to put a barn door in place of the regular door here to our basement.  On the opposite side of the hallway (not seen) is a door to our downstairs bath.  The 2 doors would often clank into each other and it drove me crazy.  In addition, since getting our little Cleo the basement door had to be open all the time since her kitty litter is in our utility room in the basement.  Well, seeing into the basement stairs is not really appealing especially when we have guests.  The barn door can be kept mostly closed, but open just enough for our little furry friend to go through and do her business.

I purchased the door from Vintage in Bloom in Washington, PA.  It was an emerald green and very rustic when I bought it - eek.  Paint was chipping off etc. and I didn't want that to be on my floors  with the kiddos and kitty running around.  The green was kinda cool, but did NOT go with the color scheme in my house.  Many things in my house are very neutral and light.  Light gray, white and some blues in my rugs.  I decided I wanted the hallway to have a pop of color and to pick up on the blues in the rugs I have by the front door and in the kitchen.  When you scroll down you will see the china cabinet in my dining room is also painted the same color.  So as you walk into our home this blue is on the right (dining room) and left (the barn door).  It makes the space very cohesive. 

The paint is Annie Sloan chalk paint and the color is Aubusson blue with a black wax glaze.  I finished it with General Finishes "satin".  The barn door hardware was purchased on Amazon.  You can find it here

I bought the twig snowflake at Joann's on a shopping trip with me and the Ella B.  The ribbon was added separately.

cozy sitting area with bay window

This is by far my favorite place in our home.  I love sitting here with the morning light enjoying my coffee from our coffee bar (see picture below).  Last year I went crazy buying fresh greens.  This year I wanted to tone it down and not spend as much money.  We inherited this pot from Los' grandmother and I love how it takes center stage in our big bay window.  With the trees in the background I just feel like I'm in a tree house.  Because the window is so large I felt like this year I wanted to hang some garland as well.  This garland is 3 in one.  2 pieces are regular "pine" and the third is a long pine needle garland with pine cones and berries.  All three are from Joann's.  The Merry Christmas sign I made from pallet wood, cut into squares.  I used Annie Sloan dark wax and stencils to create the letters.  The bows were made with the same burlap ribbon from the staircase garland and the curly cues are rope twine!

The mug is from Anthropologie, pillows are last year from Lowe's of all places.  Their Allen & Roth collections are super cute and these snowflake pillows fit in so well with my colors and space.  Plus as I mentioned earlier I love having these pillows up all season long.

coffee bar decorated for Christmas

Our coffee bar :).  The tiered tray is layered with greenery, candy canes and a little Santa.  Many of these items I've had in my Christmas decor arsenal for many years.  The table you can find here (it's over 50% off!).

wooden tiered tray decorated for christmas

vintage window with magnolia wreath and deer head

I've been wanting to rework this wall in our eat-in-kitchen area.  I started with this vintage barn window (minus glass) from our local salvage shop (Salvage Pittsburgh).  The window was so large I needed to add something and this wreath was perfect.  I picked it up at Kirkland's and added the red berries for some hints of color.  I will probably tweak this wreath and take out the pine cones and walnuts after the winter season, add some faux flowers for spring.  It's about repurposing what you have!  The Hummel nativity scene were treasured gifts from my parent's growing up and my husband made the stable. 


This is our dining room, just to the right when you walk in our front door.  You can see the same color on the china cabinet as the barn door.  Things are pretty simple here with some garland, pine cones in the wood bowl.  The pretty JOY sign is from Minted.


Cleo has decided this blanket is hers.  She absolutely loves it and is currently asleep on it again.  I wanted our family room to have a fun Christmas look that's where the buffalo checks and plaid come in.  These pillows (similar here & here) are one of my favorite purchases from this Etsy shop. this season and they will be on my sofa until March.  The snowflake pillows were a purchase last year from Homegoods.



Many decorations in our home are purchases from years of having a house.  I like to display old and homemade Christmas decorations along with some new pieces.  They may not necessarily be "on trend" but they hold a special meaning for me and our family.  These stockings for Jack and Ella were a gift and hand knitted by my mother.  She is not an avid knitter and it took her a full year to knit all the stockings for her grandchildren but aren't they so cute?  Even Santa's beard is fluffy!  They will be cherished for a long time.  

If you follow me on Instagram & watch my Instastories you know how much I love having a real fireplace.  Sure it's more work, but there is nothing like the smell and crackle of the wood burning.  The kids love the fireplace and we often have our nightly reading and prayers in front of it.

What are your favorite Christmas decorations?  My only wish is that there was a Santa for adults that would come after New Years and take it all down! :)

Merry Christmas friends - it's just 25 days away!
xo Lulu
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Lulu Soler
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  1. Beautiful, cozy and very Christmassy! :)

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