I’ll be honest, there seems to be so much pressure these days with making our Christmas decor “over the top”. I cut back this year. As a blogger, I definitely feel the pressure to have every inch of my home covered and staged perfectly with all that sparkles…but reality is that to have my house look like it was professionally decorated would take me a lot of time, time that seems so precious to me right me now.
So I made a conscious decision to decorate less and focus more on what was important this year. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE to have my house decorated for Christmas and I most certainly didn’t pair down to nothing. I just didn’t let myself go overboard this year.
As we “walk” through I will share some of my secrets for faking a fully decorated house:
1. A simple garland hung around a door frame becomes an instant card holder and adds texture and color to a large area.
Clothes pins are great to have on hand this time of year.
2. The easiest way to add splashes of color and festive decor is with presents. This last little bit of advice is actually genius, if I do say so myself!;)
Get your shopping done EARLY so you can decorate with it. Spend a little extra time wrapping and adding special touches to the presents. As you hand them out, you are cleaning up and you have a few less things to put away after Christmas. (Here is a link to my simple wooden tag tutorial.)
3. Greenery can add instant warmth to space. A few years ago I got a bunch of artificial evergreen sprigs on sale after the holidays. These are the perfect accent to place around a room. Put them behind pictures or on top of books with a few ornaments to make the entire space feel pulled together.
(That piece of greenery is fake, but looks SO real!)
4. Simple ornaments clumped together are a great way to add little touches throughout your house. You can hang them from chandeliers or put them on book shelves. Groups of odd numbers are more interesting.
As you can see my table is totally un-decorated. Sorry there’s no pretty picture to share with you, but I decided to leave it bare so we can use it as a family without moving stuff on and off. It will eventually get decorated for our Christmas meal but until then it will stay like this.
{To check out the rest of my house, click HERE!}
I don’t know about you but I want to be able to enjoy Christmas and let go of the unwanted and unneeded stress that I all too often create for myself. As I said early this season, I don’t want my expectations to get in the way. I want to appreciate the little things and focus on others this holiday.
*****For last year’s tour, click HERE and more tips about simplifying your decor HERE.****
Be sure to check out some of my friends BEAUTIFUL homes!!
Angela,
It is all just so beautiful!!! Thanks for inviting us into your home! Merry Christmas ~Christy
Your home is beautiful as always Angela! I love all of your sweet little touches of holiday decor. The little car is my favorite! Merry Christmas to you my dear!
Just lovely Angela, I truly don’t see your decor at all as faking it! It’s beautiful and just right, for you and your family! Wonderful!
The older I get the less I decorate.Not because I don’t like it,but I just like a simpler look in my home.You did a beautiful job! I love all of your simple and very beautiful holiday touches!
Where are your adorable curtains from behind the christmas tree? I love them!
Thanks! I got them at Target, but it’s been a while.
I love your idea of using garland around a door for a card display. Your ideas to make Christmas easier are good ones. Shopping early is definitely one that I need to work on!
It looks beautiful! I love your home at the holidays. I just wish we could be there to see it in person. Seeing all of your photos makes me miss you guys!
I know the feeling!! I might have to follow suit next year! 😉 I think your home is lovely!
Nancy
So pretty, I love the colors!
There really is a lot of pressure to make everything over the top. Even though you say you scaled down this year, everything still looks so festive. I love the garland strung around those beautiful French doors with the cards pinned throughout, great idea! Your home is lovely! XO
I hate the stress that comes from having to fully decorate the house. I found myself rushing around and throwing stuff out to get it done for this tour and realized I lost days of actual enjoyment of the Christmas holiday. You have the right idea to not let the necessity to have a house fully loaded with Christmas decorations take away your joy this season! Your house looks beautiful and filled with everything that is important!
Angela, your home is gorgeous! And you definitely fooled me if you didn’t put much work into it! It looks amazing. I love using ornaments and greenery for decor too. Thanks for sharing your home and joining the tour. Merry Christmas!! ~ Angie
This is one of the reason’s your blog is one of my regular reads in this fast paced life. Simple beautiful and fresh. I liked seeing all the tours but reality is I kept thinking–yikes, how long did that take AND who is going to put ALL that ‘stuff’ away! Thank you for all you do and Happy Holidays!
THANK YOU! 🙂 I hope you have a Merry Christmas!
Angela I love your mantel, your greenery, your ornaments, your chandelier, those French doors, and everything else! 🙂 What a beautiful, welcoming home you have. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Jen, I hope you have a Merry Christmas too!!
Where on earth did you find that cute little red VW bug? Thanks!
Carol, I got it last year at the Christmas Tree Shop. 🙂