Hello hello friends! So happy you are here! If you are stopping by from Sarah’s beautiful home at Thrifty Decor Chick welcome! I’m joining sweet Chris from Just a Girl for her Christmas one room tour. What a brilliant idea. One room! I can so get behind that. :)
Of course I’m sharing a very special room with you all today. Why is it special? Because it’s actually decorated! One year ago this room was completely empty and my goal was to get it furnished by the end of the year. Ta-da! It is! Mostly. Well.. almost. Enough to be special at least. :)
Before we dive into the Christmas decor I have to show you my favorite part of the room! Remember my planked wall that I designed for a gallery wall when we built the house but is still sitting empty because I’m too afraid to hammer nails into it?
Turns out it’s the perfect place to display Christmas cards! I had this lightbulb idea last year when I was taping cards all over my pantry door running out of room. I put up last year’s cards just to see if it would work and how it would look. I had about 15 cards left over so next year if I do this again I might attempt to add one more row. Unless of course an amazing gallery wall is there instead.
But I’m not holding my breath.
You all know my DIY skills are about as good as my cooking skills so I was pretty excited about pulling off my little Christmas card display. (I may or may not have skipped around the room a bit and made my family all come and ohhh and ahhh.)
I just used command hooks, twine and some fun little red clips from the craft store.
So simple! Now I’m not as afraid to tackle that gallery wall. Kidding. Still totally afraid. But at least I’m now savvy in command hook know how so that’s a start!
The gallery wall is going to have to wait though because I’m leaving this baby up for a while. Cards are arriving every day so I’m constantly replacing old cards with new cards. Getting Christmas cards from family and friends is one of my favorite parts of December. Happy mail! It’s the only time I visit the mailbox instead of waiting for my husband to do it. In December.. the mail is mine. :)
Come in and see the rest of the room!
I kept the mantel really simple. I’ve had the striped socks for years but because the socks in our family room have such special meaning for us I’ve never used these. Fun to finally have another mantel to hang them from! The candle sticks and candles are from Pottery Barn and the flowers I found in Tai Pan when I was in Utah over Thanksgiving (similar flowers here). A clear vase and some garland and done!
This is the first time I’ve styled these book shelves and they are far from how I want them to look, but it was fun playing with them with things I already had around the house. The love Santa pillows are a new addition this year and are my favorite!
This sweet gold glitter wood nativity set from Krumpets is also new this year. I’ve been hunting for a nativity set for years and love this because of its simplicity and the fact that I can’t break it!
More fun Christmas pillows from Pottery Barn! A pillow that says home instantly makes any room feel cozy.
The cute little glitter pine tree on my silver table is from Nordstroms Home department. They are on sale right now so I’m tempted to pick him up a friend. :)
You might remember these large candy and red sparkly ornaments from our Christmas tree this year. I had a few left over and some gold ornaments I never used on the tree so I tossed them in my dough bowl. (Ornaments are from Krumpets and you can find a similar dough bowl here.)
So festive that I had to set it up on the table instead of its regular spot on the fireplace floor so I could see it better.
Time for a quick progress shot. One year ago today!
And now. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.. :)
There is still a lot I want to add in this room and eventually I’d love another Christmas tree for this space (I already have it decorated in my head!) but for now I’m just happy to see that our old hula hoop, gymnastics, ice skate in your socks room…
is all grown up. :)
Thanks for visiting my living room Christmas tour! Excited to share my kitchen tomorrow. :) Next stop on the tour is sweet Melissa at 320 Sycamore! If you are new you can also stick around for a bit and see how I decorated our porch and family room for Christmas, check out my favorite things for 2015 (fun gift ideas!) or see our house with a lot less red a bit more coral in my every day Home Tour.
Wishing you all the sunniest of holidays.
:)
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The room looks gorgeous! Your Christmas posts inspired me to put up some decorations, even though my husband and I just got married this year and don’t have a lot in our Christmas collection yet :-)
We have had a lot of luck using the Command velcro strips (they are SUPER strong! We have them holding up a somewhat heavy chalkboard in the kitchen) and you can’t see them behind the frame. Maybe they would be a good solution for your gallery wall so you don’t have to hammer nails into it?
Thank you Michelle! That’s kind of what I’m thinking! They were so easy to use. I’ll have to try the velcro strips – thanks for the tip! I totally remember our first Christmases with hardly any decor or money for gifts. Those are special years when you are starting your life together. Congrats! :) And you’ll be amazed at how quickly your decor collection grows. ;) xo
I used the Command hanging strips for a gallery wall, too. Three years later, not one has fallen! I’d post a pic but I don’t think the comments allow that :). Anyway, my only advice (and I’m sure you know this) is to follow the directions to the letter. Your room looks great!
Thank you Wilma! So happy to hear your gallery wall is still going strong! Happy holidays! xo :)
Absolutely beautiful! I adore all the fun touches you’ve added to this room. That gallery wall with the cards is so cleverly done! Command hooks for the win! I use ’em too on my mantle. Whoever invented those is pure genius! :) Those Santa pillows are neat and I so wish I could have one of those amazing dough bowls filled with all kinds of pretties! Your room certainly has grown up this year, but I’ll bet those memories of the fun antics that went on in there before it did will be some of the most precious ones you have of this space. :) Have a happy day!
Thanks Jeanne! I know right!? Whoever came up with command hooks is a genius! Now let’s hope I can figure out how to take them off right after the holidays. :) xo
Absolutely stunning! Love how you did the Christmas cards. And that nativity is beautiful!!
Thank you sweet Bethany! Happy Holidays! :)
LOVE!! Love everything you do! :) I know you said you’ve had the striped stockings for awhile, but where did you get them?
Oh you just made my day Christen. Thank you!! I bought those years ago at Gardner’s Village in SLC when I was visiting my sister. Kind of a random purchase and I was so happy to finally put them to use! Sorry that’s not much help to you. If I ever see some similar I’ll share it on my blog. Happy Holidays! xo
Lovely touches. Beautiful pictures!!!
Thank you Megan! So fun to hear from you cutie! :) xo
Hi. I love your christmas card display. I actually did almost the exact thing last year (although not on a beautiful background like yours), but after hanging several cards, the weight was too much for the twine and the command hooks kept falling. Did you use one in the center, by chance? If not, perhaps I just used too small of a command hook size. Thanks.
Hi Heather! I didn’t use one in the middle but I did buy command hooks that could hold at least 5 lbs. I knew the clips on the cards would weigh them down so I went a size up from what I thought I’d need. I bet if you tried it again with bigger command hooks it would work! Thanks cutie! Happy Holidays. :) xo
The room looks lovely! So calm and serene with great pops of red and green!
I agree with another comment about using Command velcro strips on your gallery wall. I’ve used them in various spots in my house, including my own gallery wall! They make it so easy to move frames around without having to patch holes every time. Love them!
Thank you Christine! I’m excited to try the velcro strips! My confidence is up a bit after getting the small hooks to work.. ha! ;) xo
Hi Erin,
Beautiful as always :-) and your post always either put a smile or make me laugh :-)
Thanks and Merry Christmas to you and your family:-)!
Thank you so much Kai! You are too kind. Merry Christmas to you too sweet friend! xo
I think I love your home even more at Christmas than I do the rest of the year! So sweet and homey! :)
Yea! Thank you so much! Christmas decor is the best, isn’t it!? :) xo
Oh Erin! I found myself gasping at every picture! And that gallery of Christmas cards?! Genius. Guess what I’m gonna copy. :) The room is ridiculously beautiful. Thank you so much for joining! Thank you, my sweet new friend!
Oh you are so sweet to stop by Chris! Thank you!! Means so much coming from you! I can’t even tell you how excited I was to be a part of your tour. Too much fun and I so appreciate you including me! I can’t wait to sit down this weekend to read everyone’s posts.. after I recover from the fun (and crazy amount of work) that these home tours take! LOVED your one room concept. It needs to be the new thing. :) Thanks again and please know you are in my prayers. I’ve been thinking about you all week sweet friend. Love to you and your family! xo
Oh, Erin, your formal living room is just beautiful! It may be “formal,” but it’s still so warm and inviting. I adore the way you are displaying the Christmas cards. Command hooks are life-changing! The velcro ones for pictures, work so well. I know you will be doing that gallery wall right after Christmas, right? LOL!
Warm hugs,
Carol
Always the best to hear from you cutie. :) Yeah.. let’s don’t count on that gallery wall happening too soon. I’m so proud of my card wall I may just leave it up for a year. Ha! ;) xo
Love it! I’m really crushing on that rug by the way; I like the subtle texture it appears to have. Do you have a source for it?
Thank you so much Rebecca! That rug is the “Dianante” from Restoration Hardware. I love it too!
Thanks Erin for replying.
You bet. :)
Love the Christmas card garland!!
I am sure it is somewhere, but for the life of me I can’t find it! Can you tell me the brand and color you used on your walls in this room? Is it the same color that is in the hallway with the Christmas cards? Love it!
Hi Melissa! Yes! It’s the main color in our home and it’s “Seattle” by Frazee. :)
LOVE this room and that nativity! Where did you get that cute little reindeer print on your shelves?! Love it!
Thank you so much Meagan! That was one of Emily’s prints! Her blog is Jones Design Company and she makes/sells lots of fun prints. You’ll love her blog too! :) xo
You have an adorable family, beautiful house, and I love the decor! I was wondering what color/stain your octagon mirror from restoration hardware is, and what color/stain your coffee table & console table in the family room is. It can be so hard to tell what the wood stain will really look like from the restoration hardware website. :) Love your blog! Trying to patiently wait to see the bedrooms. lol. Any sneak peeks?? lol.
Hi Theresa! Thank you so much! Our console table and coffee table are Restoration’s “Reclaimed natural Elm and Rust Metal” but the wood on ours is much darker than the picture on-line. I think each one is unique! I don’t remember the stain on the mirror. We are re-painting my master bedroom Monday! And then I promise pics will be coming. :) None of the rooms are finished but I’ll share where I’m at most likely in March! Thanks again for your sweet words! So thoughtful of you. xo