Christmas decorating

I loved the tea towel with the crocheted candy canes and had to buy it 2 years ago, but just couldn't figure what to do with it. I think it works to "top" the chair and reminds me of my great-grandparents' house with the doilies on the chair backs and arms. I don't remember where I picked up the poinsettia needlepoint pillow, but I know it would have been on sale after Christmas one year.

The new entertainment wall unit has made for some great decorating options. I'm not so happy about the singing Elvis Hound Dog, but making the hubby happy. (Also, see leg lamp in coming pictures...)

I made the paper poinsettia wreath from Paper Source after painting the mdf form green since it would be reflected in the mirror. The vinyl applique says "may peace be your gift at Christmas". The tree is refected in the mirror. It's in the breakfast nook because there's no room in the den. It works though.

Here's the new dining room decked out for Christmas. I didn't have the ability to put up all of my crystal and porcelain ornaments because one of my topiary trees has no lights and without the mirror and garland to hang some off, well, no space. I did find the ornament stand at Ikea for $1.95, the votive holders were $1 each at Target, and I had the candle rings. You can see the leg lamp on the bookcase in the background and the sliver of the office on the left shows the white tree that holds all of the USC Gamecock ornaments. Looks great with the blue walls!

This is my favorite grouping. I added the silver and gold "fluff" in the ironstone pitcher and the footed votive holder was half-off at Michael's this year. Really, really like all the ivory, silver and gold in the dining room. It looks so lovely.

A roundup: Silver, gold, and ivory in the dining room. Garnet, red, black and silver in the adjoining office. Red, green, and white in the kitchen/den/breakfast room.

Decorations I've made this year: I added bright green to the painting I did over the mantel, the poinsettia wreath, another wreath with red, green, and white ornaments..it hangs on the curtain rod in the breakfast room. I added 12 poinsettia stems to the pickling crock that hangs by the fireplace, and bought 3 pillows on sale at Target.

So far, that's it.

Thought I should post before Christmas. Now off to do more baking, shopping, cleaning, and wrapping!

Ack! I missed November.

Really, where did it go? One day it was Halloween, the next it's already December. In my defense, I was really busy. Lots going on at church, girl scouts met here 2x, a fun hike on Veteran's Day, finishing up a quilt for my new nephew, prepping for Thanksgiving, and getting the Christmas wrapping started. A few pictures from the month:



The view from Crowder's Mountain looking west toward the Smokies.

The family after our hike to King's Pinnacle. Megan whined and complained the.whole.way. Not that she shows it here.
The new lamps on the dining room buffet. They are a bit shorter than I'd like, but they are beautiful and just the right shades.
I'll share the quilt soon, and Christmas decor.

Switcheroo

Ta da.... The new office(which was the dining room). The color I ended up going with is Clothesline Fresh from Lowe's. While I was painting, my hubby said it looked like toothpaste. Not true. Next to the olive green dining room, it's certainly blue. I lucked out with tonal silk curtains from PB outlet. I think the red chair looks great in the blue room. It just needs a blue pillow.

My desk area. Haven't replaced it yet, but will when I find the right one...cheap. I love using the new office. So nice to be out of the breakfast/kitchen/den room.

The view into the 'new' dining room. For now, I'm leaving the walls painted the Olive color they are. I will paint the space between the crown and picture moulding white and repaint it all to be a more solid moulding like the office is now and the foyer is.

The view from the dining room into the office. The furniture all stayed in those 2 rooms, just switched rooms, and my desk moved in.

The view from the dining room into the foyer. So far no one has noticed there's no light above the table. Once I get a couple of buffet lamps on the credenza to the left, I'm not sure we'll even need one. To get one, electrician, drywall person, painters are all going to be required. There are 6 windows in that room, so daytime lighting is not required.

The large blank space above the sofa has been filled with the large mirror from the old dining room. I think it works great in the den. Now to replace the sofas....It will look sooooooo much better with white slipcovered ones. Not to mention being much more comfortable.

So that's the big switcheroo completed. Of course, I still have artwork and photos to put up in the office, and a desk to find and replace mine with, which is why I haven't moved my calendar and bulletin board in yet. The room is, however, functional. We all love it and truly can't believe how much larger our home feels now.

For only around $300 for new light fixture, paint, curtains and new rod we have a house that feels larger and works so much better for us. I'm sure I could have shopped around longer to find things on sale/clearance a bit cheaper, but the savings would not have made up for the weeks/months of hearing my husband ask how much longer until it was done. I did actually find cheaper curtains, but they were cheaper curtains. Not as nice, ie, not lined, did not have drapery hooks included/sewn in. And they weren't this color.

I've learned that sometimes it's just not worth it to buy something because it's cheap if I don't LOVE it. Because I will replace it sooner and end up spending more money. BIG plus of these is that they will work well in the den, and the ones in the den I think will work well in the office if we find the white slipcovered sofas with the french ivory curtains don't jell too well.

That's the tour for now.