Beginnings of Christmas

Sharing our slow, simple start to decorating for the holidays.

Through all our years of renovating, we’ve learned that making a home takes time. Honestly, it can take years to pull together a space that feels thoughtful, collected, and like a true reflection of us. It’s a journey my friends, not just a destination, and one that continues to evolve forever more I think.

Decorating for the holidays is no different really. Over the years we’ve created a great base of essential decor – think basic, versatile decor pieces like a tree, wreaths & garlands, stockings, and our very classic mercury glass ornaments – you can find my list of holiday decor essentials here if you’d like some inspiration to create your own Christmas decor capsule. No matter what I have planned in terms of decor each year, I always start with this versatile base of holiday decor and then, just mix in a few different elements to create whatever look & feel I’m most drawn to that year. It’s pretty neat to look back at how different the same pieces can look with a simple change of ribbon colour, some new garland around the tree or a bit (or a lot) of tinsel. Just take a peek back at our past Christmas trees – for the most part I’ve used the same collection of ornaments for years now, but with a few simple changes, it’s wild how different our tree can look from year to year.

I think the trick (for me anyway) to transforming our old tried & true decor pieces into something that looks & feels so different every year is taking things slowly and letting them evolve through a bit of trial and error over time. Much like the decorating and renovating we do throughout the rest of the year when you think about it.

And so, today, I thought I’d share more about how we slowly start to set out our Christmas decor, the beginnings of that base of holiday decor pieces we use year after year. While we haven’t dug it all out yet, we’ve been ever so slowly making our way through the bins of decor stashed down in the storage room and even with just some greenery and twinkle lights, already our home is feeling so warm and festive! Let me show you this year’s slow start to Christmas around the house.

So far, all I’ve set out in our entryway is a bit of greenery really. I tucked a few stems into this black terracotta vase I had sitting on our entry table through the fall (similar here) and added a simple brass bell and one of my favourite Christmas candles beside it. Over in the other corner, I hung a simple cedar wreath on the wall. I do plan to drape some garlands down the stair railing eventually and probably add a bit of ribbon and maybe some hanging bells to the newel post too. But even without all that garland, our entryway is already feeling so festive and cozy.

Our living room has had a Christmas glow up too, with a some inexpensive cedar stems (similar here), another cozy holiday candle (find this year’s version here – it’s even prettier!), some stockings hanging from the mantel (similar here) and, of course, a glowing Christmas tree tucked into the corner (find all of our favourite pre-lit trees here). Even without any ornaments on the tree or garlands over the mantel yet, this space feels so magical as we curl up in front of the fire at night.

I always keep things pretty simple in our kitchen in terms of decor, mostly because I don’t like having a ton of clutter to work around. Some simple counter top trees (we’ve had these ones for years now and they’re definitely a favourite), a wreath over the range hood and another hanging on our pantry door and it’s already feeling so warm + cozy in here. I do love the opportunity to add some extra decor to these shelves in our kitchen as well, it’s the perfect spot to bring in some glowing Christmas lights and holiday greenery. This lovely set of houses is probably one of my favourite holiday collections, and with the addition of some inexpensive (and rechargeable) electric tea light candles inside, I just love the way it glows at night.

So far the Study has mostly just collected all of the decor pieces that I wasn’t as sure about a better home just yet. Some of these pieces may be moved around the house a bit, but for now, it’s feeling so cozy in here, even under renovation (you can read more about that here). While we’re still waiting on a couple of furniture pieces for this space, you can spot our beautiful new sofa in front of the windows. I’m SO in love with that gorgeous boucle texture and I think that cool toned grey colour (a colour I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards) is a lovely contrast to the more warm oranges in the oak everywhere. It’s going to look so amazing with our new carpet!

And, aside from Carson’s room which has been decked out with all of his favourites since the day after Halloween, that’s really it for us in terms of holiday decor so far this year. I do of course plan to add more throughout the weeks to come, but I will definitely be taking things slowly so I can be really intentional about things. I’ve got some fun new ideas up my sleeve to change things up a bit more this year, I’ can’t wait to share’ve got a whole holiday mood board coming your way tomorrow, so stay tuned my friends!

Just in case you saw something that caught your eye, you can find all of our simple holiday decor linked up below:

And, if you’re on the hunt for some new decor pieces, you may wan to check out my holiday shop where I’ve linked up all of our favourite finds this year!

Wishing you SUCH a lovely day my friends! 

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