Deck the Living Room

We made a few holiday switcheroos in the living room this year. Nothing too crazy, but just enough to give the room a little extra flair. Confession – I’m really not all that into Christmas decorations. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about the celebrating the holidays, but I’m just not into most of the decorations. Maybe it’s all the glitter, I don’t know. That stuff sticks around for weeks. Ugh.

However, I do love myself a good Christmas tree, and I’m all about “winter” decorations. You know, the ones that can blend in well beyond the holidays. One problem – They’re not that easy to come by, so our collection is starting out small and will hopefully grow over time. Kind of like the approach we take with the rest of our home.

First up, adding a few strands of white lights to frame the wood pallet wall. We weren’t sure if we’d actually be able to fit a Christmas tree in the living room, so we settled on the idea of at least having some festive lights on the wall. Turns out, with a little furniture maneuvering we were able to do both! The lights are so fun! I’m tempted to keep them up year round (crazy lady alert). Well, at least through New Years.

Zoey had a blast helping Rick hang them. The kid pretty much enjoys anything that involves helping either of us. Permission to use the hammer earned double fun points.

Next up, the two large art prints on either side of the television. We knew we wanted something modern, maybe even a quote. But when I stumbled on this art project, I knew it would look great in those giant frames. The process was surprisingly simple and totally kid-friendly.

I traced out my tree shape on paper and cut it out beforehand to use as a guideline. I chose to use scrapbook paper (a holiday pack from Target) to make the strips, but you could really get creative here. Ribbon, fabric, washi tape, a combination of several, etc.

One glue-stick party later and I was left with this.

Since I glued the paper strips onto a separate tree shape, it made framing super easy. I just flipped over the existing art prints to the blank side and attached the tree shape to it using some painter’s tape.So when we’re ready to change everything back all we have to do is flip the print over to the original art.

I made a stocking version for the opposite side!

The media console, below the art prints, also got a mini-makeover.

I added a mason jar filled with mini ornaments (dollar section at Target) and another jar (from Ikea) filled with vintage white light bulbs. I’m obsessed with these bulbs. We scored a few collections of them on Etsy and I’ve scattered them all throughout the house. They’re actually the same style bulbs (C-7′s & C-9′s) that we used to light the outside of the house with. And although they’re technically “Christmas” lights, you could definitely leave these out all season long, especially the white ones.

I also DIY’ed a few holiday drink coasters a while back that I tossed up there. Even though we’re not really coaster people we have about a dozen of them, basically because they’re just too darn cute not to have in every room. For anyone else looking to make coasters of your own, there are plenty of tutorials floating around on Pinterest, but we used 4″x4″ white tiles from Home Depot (about 10 cents a piece), scrapbook paper cut slightly smaller, mod podge to glue and protect the top of the paper, and felt pads glued to the bottom! And if you’re going to use the coasters for hot beverages, try using a clear automotive spray sealant designed for hot temps

We topped the white jewelry box with a glass bowl, filled with the same small ornaments and a small candle in the center. The bowl and votive were some crazy cheap price from Ikea. Shocker.

 And finally on the right, a perfect winter decoration – an adorable white ceramic penguin.

You should know, I’m a freak about penguins. I have issues. When Rick and I were first dating he helped me grow an embarrassing collection of these creatures. So yes, somewhere in storage I have 2-3 boxes of stuffed penguins. Putting it all out there. Needless to stay, when I stumbled upon this guy on sale at Homegoods he went straight into the cart. No decision-making necessary. Which is a big deal for me. I’m that girl in the store, staring blankly at an item for 10 minutes, before I finally walk away.. and then turn the corner and come back. And away again. And then I buy it online.

Your turn! Anyone else out there feeling the same way about traditional Christmas decor? Have any good “winter” decoration ideas? Any procrastinators out there still trying to get their tree up?