HOME TOUR

If there was ever a home tour I love most, it’s the Christmas ones. They’re magical, exquisite, light-filled and fun as I join with friends to share our home! As the darkness grows outside, light is filling our homes. As the world around us is losing its green, our homes come alive with it. Who hasn’t met a garland on a stairway they didn’t love? Decorating for the season brings me joy as I know these are the years my littles will remember. It also lets me flex every creative muscle I have as I rethink areas of my home–from the shelves in the family room to console tables to furniture placement. The greenery, the twinkle lights, the ornaments–it brings joy but it’s also a sign pointing my little family heavenward, to a greater Light celebrated this advent season with gratitude without measure. Today let’s take a peek at the family room and entry with this earthy browns and copper Christmas home tour with pictures by Ruth Eileen Photography.

THE ENTRY

It’s amazing how much it can change in a year! An antique tucked under the stairs created a new area to decorate but I think the faux stair garland still steals the show. I twisted together two kinds of faux garland (cedar and larch) from Terrain, and added (not seen in these pictures) this twig lighted branch which creates a lovely glow at night. During the day, this space is so light-filled and lovely the rich hues in the ribbon look beautiful in here.

NATURAL COLORS

Unlike years past, I never sat down and came up with a theme or a color or “a feel.” It just happened. Mainly out of a bit of laziness as I loved the copper and brown tones in our fall decor so much I wasn’t ready to put them away. These brown pillows from Serena and Lily and these rust ones were just too lovely to have such a short season. When all the ribbons I ordered–the velvet in two sizes from Terrain, the thin velvets and this lovely copper tone satin started to come in, together they created an “ah ha” moment. I ordered our wrapping paper from JSH Home Essentials and loved the way the earthy hues looked with the wrappings. Add the vintage stockings, brass bells, ribbon and beautiful Serena & Lily candlesticks throughout and it has created something lovely. My favorite ever. And the tree. Oh the tree.

THE MOST MAGNIFICENT TREE

Last year we started a Christmas tradition of driving up to the White Mountains, near Mount Washington, to cut down a lovely found, wild tree. You can see them in this post. The Park Service sells Christmas Tree Permits online and given the cost of trees at lots and hardware stores, not only is the tradition a joy for us, it’s also budget-friendly.

Red Dress

If I were to try and describe to you what my ideal Christmas tree would look like, I would have told you a bit whimsical, with widely spaced branches that remind me of the Silvertips that grow in the Sierra Nevadas of my childhood. Now I can just show you a picture of this tree because this is my ideal tree.

We hiked some beautiful trails, past a waterfall, through some meadows and found this lovely one. I knew instantly that it was “the one” but it required trimming some off the bottom. We had forgotten a tape measure and boy did we “guestimate” incorrectly. We swore it was a 9 ft tree only to get home and discover it was definitely a 12 ft tree. It needed some serious trimming to fit in our 9.5′ family room. This gave me lots of greens for arrangements, window swags and livening up the dinky Home Depot garland around our front and side door. We do the “fancy” tree in our family room and the “fun” trees in the kid’s bedrooms and playroom. A bit of something for everyone.

The only new ornaments I purchased were these stars and a verdant green set that isn’t available anymore. I also pick up a few more vintage mercury glass ornaments, as I do every year from sites like Etsy or Ebay or while antiquing. I ended up picking out the gold/champagne tone ornaments I had, the deep coppers and browns and some rope balls for texture. I’ve never tied ribbons on the branches before but I used the small velvet ribbon and tied tiny bows all over the tree. I love the whimsy it adds.

We did get some new tree toppers (both the large for the big tree and small for the kid’s trees) because I love these metal stars so much. Unlike previous toppers we’ve had, these ones wire on the front so you don’t have to worry about the top of your tree being perfectly straight. I also pulled out these mercury glass ornament garlands I’ve had for several years. They’re absolutely stunning and a highly recommended investment. I used four strands for our big tree but wished I had a few more so I didn’t need to be stingy with the drape.

We used a vintage galvanized bucket to put the tree in and I love the feel it brings to the space. You can find these at antique shows and they aren’t meant for Christmas trees usually. Make sure you get a big enough one that the tree stand fits in.

The taper candle wreaths in the windows are from Terrain. I got the medium size in the silver color.

THE MANTEL

This is the first year we’ve draped the garland (last year’s faux pine and berries garland from Terrain) all the way up instead of sitting on the mantel. And I don’t know why it took me so long to figure this out.

We now have so much space on the mantel for the stockings and sweet vintage bells, a pretty arrangement of earthy hues in a vintage jug and candlesticks. I love it. The beautiful Serena & Lily mirror adds such a pretty texture. It is substantial and well made while still feeling light with the open beadwork. It creates the perfect backdrop for a lovely mantel.

We started hanging it with command hooks, took three tries of the garland crashing down to finally say good riddance and nail in some nails. Which when you’re putting holes in your millwork you think twice about. If you look close, we mirror imaged this garland so that it comes to a spot in the middle that makes hanging the ribbon and bells easy because you’re not fighting greenery. Simple and lovely.

I love the slim line of these stocking holders. They’re not strong enough to hold a fully loaded stocking however so just know that and be careful because they are heavy enough to hurt a little one if they pull a stocking down. The kids know to not touch them but it is always in the back of my mind. The way our mantel comes together, nailing in nails at this spot causes the wood to split apart. So we’ve just been careful and I love the price and look of these.

THE STOCKINGS

I used a combination of three vintage ones (similar look here for a lower price point) with two neutral felt pom pom stockings I’ve had for years. The combo is lovely. I always add metal alphabet letters to my stockings so the kiddos know which is theirs and this year grouped them with some beautiful ribbon. It’s a lovely look set off to the side of our mantel.

THE SHELVES

I kept some of the shelves the same but added Christmas touches throughout–vintage ornaments to the wood bowl, the beechnut husk wreath I made a few weeks ago layered with art, fresh evergreen bundles and some sisal trees. Pretty Christmas things that add texture, sparkle and whimsy. I’m still loving the Serena & Lily baskets which just add such a lovely texture to the built-ins.

GALLERY WALL

I love our travel wall of photographs grounded by the pretty Serena & Lily Console table. The texture on the console is lovely with the woven material and white frame. It’s also thin enough that it doesn’t feel like it is intruding on the room. It looks beautiful with the vintage lamps and simple pinecone arrangement. And garland makes everything better. Draped over the top of the pictures with a simple ribbon, it elevates the wall and makes it feel quite festive.

SERENA & LILY PILLOWS AND THROW

I loved the brown Bowden pillows in our nook so much that I ordered them in green for the couch. You can’t beat the texture add of linen and the fringe adds and elegance. Add in the softness of the alpaca throw and green from the linen throw and the scene is set for a lovely holiday.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this earthy browns and copper Christmas home tour. A big thank you to Tana for inviting me to participate with these sweet friends below. Remember when you click a link and purchase a product I may make a small commission which ultimately helps me keep this blog ad free. I am very grateful for that. 

| 1. Faux Garland | 2. Vintage Brass Candlesticks | 3. Taper Candles | 4. Mirror | 5. Taper Candle Wreath | 6. Faux Tree | 7. Basket | 8. Vintage Stocking | 9. Vintage Stocking | 10. Letter Ornaments | 11. Ribbon | 12. Sisal Tree | 13. Vintage Bell | 14. Lamp | 15. Linen Pillow | 16. Embroidered Pillowcase | 17. Console Table | 18. Velvet Pillow |