Sunday, December 11, 2011

decking the living room


I've actually been working on Christmas decorating for over a week,
but kept playing with and rearranging stuff.
We don't put up a tree anymore.
We stopped doing that after Phil (our firstborn son) passed away
a couple of years ago.
We would put up a tree if Tim (secondborn son) still wanted us to, but he doesn't.
Perhaps "someday" we'll feel like putting up a tree again.
Maybe when (hopefully!) we have a grandkid or two someday.

I still like to decorate in the living room and kitchen though,
since I do like the holiday decor and these two rooms are our
main living areas.

At first, I had these vintage Christmas cards hanging above the fireplace...


but, changed my mind and now have "current" Christmas cards hanging 
above the fireplace instead.


I found this cute, little wooden sled decoration at Goodwill.
It seems very well made (Germany?) though there's no label
of origin on the bottom.


I always have a hard time with vignettes on the console table
no matter what the season. I think it's because of the
vast amount of white space between the table and the picture
that hangs on the wall. I think it helped to use this 
cake stand for elevation to fill in that white space.


I've had this ceramic reindeer and sleigh forever.
My aunt made it for me when I was first married.
It always has a place of honor in my Christmas decor.


I found these two holiday pillows at Target last week.
I like how the red bird adds a pop of color to the beige sofa.
It's hard to tell in this picture, but the tree on the beige pillow has 
some sparkly sequins.



Hardrock, Coco, and Joe sure liked the pillow! ;-)


Another wishlist project...have a big "window" cut out in this
main living room wall. It's the main supporting wall of the house,
so we can't knock down the entire wall, unfortunately. 
The kitchen is on the other side. It would be so cool to have
one, big open space.


I don't think I ever showed you our new front door.
It's hard to get a good picture of it because of the light, 
but it looks so much better than the old, ugly white door 
that was there before.



My favorite part of the door is the leaded glass windows.
They let in some light, but it's diffused nicely in the summer,
so that the room doesn't get too hot.


I hope to show you my kitchen holiday decor later in the week!


9 comments:

  1. Everything looks very lovely. Your new door looks great..just intime for Christmas.

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  2. Oh I cannot imagine how hard it would be to go on after losing your son. I am glad you are able to get some joy out of the season though. Your vignettes are lovely. Love all the candles but I really love all the matching kitties next to your new pillows.

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  3. Everything looks so pretty, Melanie! I like your vignettes although I admit to the same problem with the white walls behind them. I really like the glass window on your wall...I don't think I have ever seen your whole living room, it looks fabulous and comfy! Can't wait to see the kitchen!

    XO,
    Jane

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  4. Hi Melanie, your home is beautiful. Your style really shows in all your sweet accessories. It looks like Christmas even without a tree.

    We also have a glass window in our front door. How did you have the wreath on yours? It looks very pretty.

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  5. Hi Melanie, it us unbelievable how many blogger friends have lost a child. I would never have imagined that so many have been through such heartache. Your home is lovely. I especially love the framed pieces below the windowsill. I don't have much white space in my house -- walls and corners are filled to the brim with stuff. I haven't decorated this year and the quicker the days go by, the more I feel like it's not even worth it anymore. Never know though, I might just do it all last minute. Wishing you a great week ahead. Tammy

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  6. Love those pretty kitties! The great thing is you don't have to have a tree to decorate for the holidays. You can choose to do whatever you want!
    Brenda

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  7. Yes, I love the new front door and your holiday decor, especially the couch pillows. Do you know we aren't putting up any decorations this year? The kids can't make it down, so we are skipping the decorations. I haven't missed it a bit! Amazing.

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  8. I love that picture of your kitties curled up on the couch together! So sweet! I think your little sledding elves may be Swedish. They look a lot like the tomtes I have seen at Hemslojd.
    http://www.hemslojd.com/tomtes.html

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  9. Beautiful Christmas decoration. Loving those pillows. You have a lovely home. Hugs!
    my Tis The Season giveaway ends tomorrow night, did you get your entry in?

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