2015 Holiday Homes Blog Hop – Festive Family Room

Happy Holidays! It’s just a week before Christmas and I’m happy to be joining Tiffany from The House Down the Lane and Megan from C’mon Get Crafty on the 2015 Holiday Homes Blog Hop. 

When Megan and Tiffany asked if I would participate in a mini holiday home tour blog hop,  I was really excited and nervous to be joining the hop. I have never done a home tour, so please excuse my less than stellar photos. I can’t believe how hard it is to take beautiful in-home photos and I have a whole new respect for home decor bloggers! Anyway, I hope my decorations are worthy to be among these fabulous ladies and hope you enjoy today’s mini tour.

Today, I’ll be sharing our entryway and festive family room done in traditional Christmas colors of red, gold, and white.

The staircase is the first thing you see when you step into our home. To decorate the railings, I used large red glitter snowflakes from last year’s tree and large gold poinsettias that I’ve had for over 10 years. In previous years, the large poinsettia trimmed our Christmas tree, but it’s nice to use old items in new ways to freshen things up.

Glittered red berries and gold glittered branches were added to my everyday black twigs to add some holiday cheer. These branches were also used in previous Christmas trees. 

New additions to this year’s holiday decorations are an I Spy Snowman and Wooden Countdown Christmas Tree that I created from items sent to me for the Thrift Store Swap – Holiday Edition blog challenge. I also created some fun Gingerbread and Chalkboard Cookie Box Houses that sit on the staircase ledge. The gingerbread wrapped houses will be headed to school as teacher gifts and contain boxed cookies. The chalkboard houses are made from recycled cookie boxes and can be illuminated by tea lights at night.

Here is the view as you walk into the family room. Usually, the tree is in the front room, but this year the kids insisted it be moved into the family room.

It was a tight fit, but with a little furniture rearranging, we were able to tuck the tree into a corner next to the mantel. Again, I kept the colors pretty traditional since my kids prefer these colors over the new colors I tried to introduce last year. Honestly, I don’ blame them because a red and gold combo screams Christmas.

The tree is ALWAYS the first holiday decoration that goes up right before Thanksgiving. My husband makes fun of me for taking the tree out so early, but there’s something about a decorated tree that sets the holiday mood, don’t you think? 

I don’t have a preference of ornament style and our tree is a mix of fun ornaments, many that are one-of-a-kind. There are only three ornament requirements – I like it, it fits our color theme, and it has meaning for our family. The top two ornaments are new and were created for me by my 2015 Ornament Exchange partners. I swear, I had the best ornament partners! The white tree was handmade by my mother, who has since passed and has sentimental value. She had an ornament business and would create new ornaments each year. The angel shell ornament is another ornament that holds sentimental value. It was sent to me by my grandmother, who purchased it at a craft fair in Hawaii. Christmas shopping at craft fairs was a tradition I did with grandma and the ornament reminds me of all the fun times I had shopping with her.

Next to the tree is our festive family room mantel that I kept simple and thrifty. Two gold spray painted glass water bottles were used as vases and add height to the sides of the mantel. Plaid ribbon was added to the top of the mantel and poinsettia flowers were added to finish the mantel look. 

The large mantel wreath is another holiday decoration that I’ve had for years. This year, the wreath was updated with a Christmas Glitter Word Art, which was another item from the Thrift Store Swap. 

To the right of the mantel is our television niche. To add some holiday cheer, plaid ribbon was placed under the television with a large bow in front. Then, I created a quick new wall art that is a tribute to my sister-in-law, who lost her battle with cancer this year. An old frame was painted gold and the insert wrapped with brown paper. I then used black chalk paint to create an erasable chalkboard to handwrite a chalk phrase. To finish the decorations, I added lights, clear ornament balls with scrap plaid ribbon inserted into them, and ornaments with my sister-in-law’s picture in them.

To update the trays on the coffee table, red glitter wrapping paper was cut to size and placed on the trays. Next, two glass bottles with mini Christmas scenes complete the table decorations. In the background, you can see a faux white pillow and a red polka dot pillow that add a little Christmas color to the sofas. 

Finally, it’s the small details that help make our family room festive. A band of red glitter wrapping paper decorates table lamps and small holiday items finish the table decorations. 

Before I finish up the mini 2015 Holiday Homes – Festive Family Room tour, here is a recap of some of the thrifty techniques I used to decorate the room.  

#1 – Wrapping paper isn’t just for gifts. Use wrapping paper to update a room on a budget. Red glitter wrapping paper is used around a lamp shade to add sparkle and a wine bottle scarf adds whimsy. To update a picture, foam core board is covered with wrapping paper and taped to the glass.

#2 – Glass water bottles are spray painted gold for a vase. Shop the dollar store or after holiday sales for the best deals on holiday flowers and foliage.

3 – Old frames can create inexpensive frames for new art.

#4 – No need to pay $7 a bag for fake snow, use Epson salt instead.

Thank you for joining me on my mini 2015 Holiday Homes Blog Hop – Festive Family Room tour. I appreciate you letting me share our holiday decorations with you and I hope you enjoyed the mini tour. If you would like to see 20 more holiday room tours, be sure to visit the other ladies who are posting today too! 

1. Casa Watkins ~ Winter Home Tour, Part 3

2. Kolb Corner ~ Christmas Dining Room Tour and Holiday Homes Blog Hop

3. Green with Decor ~ 5 Must Haves for Christmas Decorating: The Family Room Christmas Tour

4. Karen’s Up On the Hill ~ Holiday Hallway and Holiday Homes Blog Hop

5. Twelve on Main ~ Farmhouse Christmas Dining Room Tour

6. The House Down the Lane ~ Holiday Homes Blog Hop: Red and White Christmas Dining Room

7. Creatively Homespun ~ A Vintage Christmas Dining Room

8. 2 Bees in a Pod ~ Guest Room Christmas Home Tour

9. Sew a Fine Seam ~ Dining Room Decked Out For Christmas

10. Knock It Off Crafts ~ Holiday Homes Blog Hop: Festive Master

11. Vintage Paint and More ~ Christmas Home Tour 2015, Part 1

12. Inside the Fox Den ~ 2015 Holiday Homes

13. Penny Love Projects ~ Holiday Home Tour

14. Made In a Day ~ Mini Holiday Decor Tour

15. Refashionably Late ~ Holiday Home Hop

16. Pretty Practical Home ~ Simple (and Cheap) Holiday Porch Decor – Holiday Homes Blog Hop

17. Intelligent Domestications ~ Christmas Traditions Home Tour 2015

18. Our Crafty Mom ~ Outdoor Holiday Decor: Front Entry

19. Lehman Lane ~ Green and Gold Christmas Dining Room

20. C’mon, Get Crafty ~ 2015 Holiday Homes Blog Hop

21. My Pinterventures ~ 2015 Holiday Homes Blog Hop – Festive Family Room

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