Our Holiday Home, Part 1 | Playing with Pillows & Linens, Pears & Pomegranates

Christmas, classic christmas decorations, Holiday, holidays, home tour, Tour

I would not say I'm officially decorating for the Holidays, yet. I'm more testing things out. We are not hosting Thanksgiving, but we are hosting our entire family the day after Thanksgiving for a post-ice skating and Christmas shopping dinner. You know how Santa brings up the end of the Thanksgiving Day Parade? I sort of feel like that is what will be happening at our house on Friday. We'll have had the feast, and then completely throw ourselves into Christmas the day after. I want our house to really feel decked out and full of holiday cheer when everyone arrives... although we won't get our Tree until the following Sunday.

So, I spent yesterday playing with pillows, linens and greens and did some holiday cozying. I fluffed and played, debating prints vs. velvet and rich reds vs. neutrals and greens.

Our house is so neutral (intentionally so) so I'm really able to change the entire feel of the house each season. The addition of these rich colors completely transforms our home for the Holidays. In January, I'll sink back into the comfort of soothing, soft neutrals.

Red Hydrangea Block Print Pillows, $28-38
Red Velvet Pillows
Army Green Velvet Pillows
Plaid Blanket Wrap, $26
Red Berry Block Print Pillows, $28-38

My paper whites are just starting to shoot up. Time for the vodka! Tessa recently shared her tip for non-drooping paperwhites. A bit of vodka in the water when they start to grow.

Speaking of Tessa, she recently helped me pick out this new lamp for our hearth room. I sent her some ideas of what I was thinking via text and about 3 seconds later she sent me a photo of this lamp. It was 100% exactly what I wanted. She's so good. Thank you, Tessa!!

I'm sorry these pots have sold out - I'm sort of obsessed with mine.

I love this combination of the Rich Red Velvet with the Red Hydrangea Block Print Cushions. The Army Green accent pillow grounds the bright reds and makes them feel warm.

Red Hydrangea Block Print Pillows, $28-38
Red Velvet Pillows
Army Green Velvet Pillows

Darn - I love this star garland, too, but it is also sold out. Ugh : (

Cozy, rich, but clean at the same time.

My Plaid Blanket Wrap has found its home on the sofa. It is the perfect inexpensive accent to warm the room up.

Plaid Blanket Wrap, $26

Or, should it go here, by the fire with the pillows?

I also tried some looks without velvet, just mixing and matching the prints. They both have the same red color which makes them really coordinate nicely together without feeling to matchy-matchy.

Red Hydrangea Block Print Pillows, $28-38

Red Berry Block Print Pillows, $28-38

For this look, I moved the red velvet pillows over to the dining room (photos below) only rely on the red in the Block Prints. This feels a little more transitional and might be the look I need until the Tree goes up.

But then again, this does feel so warm and festive. I can almost hear Bing Crosby singing...

I rolled out our cozy season runner in the kitchen. Amazing how switching out our sisal runner for this antique completely warms everything up.

Here is our kitchen last year (or maybe the year before?). I haven't hung greens or garlands yet this year, but it is always my favorite part.

Oh, this sort of makes me want our tree up now! See the rest of the tour from years past, here >

Moving over to the dining area in our house - all part of our big great room.

Red Berry Table Linens, $36-48

Red Hydrangea Table Linens, $36-48

I made these arrangements on Instagram a couple of days ago. They are a really nice transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas with its orange and rust spray roses and magnolia leaves.

I used the Red Berry Runner with Red Berry Napkins mixed with Red Hydrangea Napkins. Mixing the two coordinating napkin patterns helps me set the table for 8 without having two by 8 matching napkins.

Red Berry Block Print Napkins, 4 for $32

Red Hydrangea Block Print Napkins, 4 for $32

I used my Tree Tags ($4 for 10) as a place card tied on each setting.

I also tied some Brown Velvet ribbon too add another level.

I think this would be a beautiful Christmas Brunch table. It is bright and festive, but still cozy.

As I mentioned, I brought the Red Velvet Pillows to the table to add yet another level of comfort.

I just swapped out the accent rectangle pillow in the center of our living room sofa to help transition this room. I love the mix of prints in this room, with just touches of the rich velvet. It feels a little more elegant and sweet.