Christmas Tour: the Holiday Decorated Living Room

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend and happy Thanksgiving! Now that we’re officially into December, I’m excited to continue along with my Christmas home tour. Over the weekend, I snapped some photos of our living room styled for the holidays. Click through for my annual tour, sources, and for a peek at how things shaped up this year. This season, I went into decorating without a plan- which isn’t my norm. Things were so busy and I was feeling under the weather, so I decided to wing it. Despite my lack of vision this year, I’m surprisingly happy with how things came together. Scroll on to have a look!

Last year, I was thrilled with our holiday decorated formal living room… so much so, I left it up until mid January. My vision was clear and excited me- an equestrian inspired Christmas living room. A couple weeks ago, I pulled our totes of decorations into the space, pondering how things might unfold without a clear idea. One thing led to another and I found myself in the kitchen dehydrating orange slices, most likely as a form of procrastination. In a round about way- this inspired me to give the citrus theme a go this year. While unconventional, I’m actually pretty pleased with how it turned out… albeit, more colorful than usual!

The Fireplace

Let’s start at the fireplace… I knew I wanted to bring back my coveted pine needle garland this year. The last couple years, I had really missed that beautiful wispy texture, with those earthy pinecones perfectly mixed in. By the way, it’s on super sale in my shop right now, if you need to grab some!

I then added some picks and sprays to enhance the texture. Next, I began weaving a variety of ribbon through the garland for a playful pop of citrus color. Last, I added my oranges and dehydrated orange slices to complete the textural mantel garland. After that, I styled in some classic silver candleholders and hung my easy slipcover Christmas stockings. I figured I might as well add a bow to one of those. By the way, I’m totally here for the bow overload aesthetic this holiday season! Have you been noticing it, too?

The last piece of my holiday mantel styling was to swap my sconce shades. It’s one of my favorite tricks for updating a vignette seasonally. Check out this post on how to choose a clip on sconce or chandelier shade!

The Christmas Tree

My budget friendly Amazon Christmas tree continues to impress me. This is my fourth year styling it, and I’ve yet to have a bulb burn out. While I stuck to the equestrian inspired Christmas tree last year, this year- I went a bit more electric, colorful, and whimsical. I used citrus hues, orange slice garland (which Cash is continually trying to eat), blue & white ornaments, plenty of ribbon, and colors that complement the palette of the room.

If you’re curious about my giant tree basket, you definitely have to watch this video to see how it unfolds and assembles each year! I still can’t believe I was able to snag it from an estate sale. Check out this post for my estate sale shopping guide, strategy, and etiquette.

The Demilune Corner

I love styling this cozy corner in our living room. I’m always switching the lamp, artwork, and table decor seasonally. Mark my words- there is no table easier to style than a demilune! Be sure to give this post a scroll… 15 black demilune tables for any budget (by price). They’re perfect for any corner, entry, hall, or seasonal vignette.

We always keep chocolates and candies in bowls (well out of the reach of our dogs) available during the holiday season. It’s a fun and festive touch that doubles as decor.

On the demilune, I used a single piece of pine needle garland, with a few orange slices pinned in, a vintage french horn wrapped around the base of my modern lamp, and a cute little candy bowl. I switched the art for something visually lighter (a chocolate pear study) and adorned it with a simple wreath.

The Built-Ins

The built-ins receive the same styling treatment each holiday… I flip the books inward to create a neutral and textural backdrop for the entire room- despite it angering many people. Ha! I’ve yet to understand why this evokes such a strong reaction, but alas… people have opinions about book flipping. In fact, I even wrote a blog post to get to the bottom of this subject. Read it here- design discussion: shelf styling with books.

I added my small wreaths to our picture lights and tied them with ribbon and an orange slice. Aren’t they charming? My last task was to swap textiles for the season. I brought some velvet bolster pillows upstairs from the prop closet, along with wool throw blankets that felt cohesive with my color palette.

FAQ

Related

If you’re curious about the projects we’ve tackled in the living room, are looking for sources, or similar holiday posts- I’ll link some related ones for you below!

• Formal Living Room
• Amazon Christmas Tree Review (Styled 3 Ways)
• Equestrian Inspired Christmas Tour: Living Room
• A Look Back at My Holiday Mantel Styling
• The Best Natural Fiber Area Rugs
• 20 Ways to Decorate with Ribbon This Holiday Season
• Holiday Living Room Tour
• 10 Tips for Shelf Styling with Lots of Books
• How to Install Herringbone Hardwood Flooring
• Equestrian Inspired Christmas Tour : The Tree
• The Best Faux Fur Throw Blankets for Styling This Winter
• Mantel Styling Tips

I hope you enjoyed the tour! I’ve got plenty more… I want to show you the kitchen, my home office, the entryway, and our exterior- all styled for the holiday season. My father-in-law is here visiting for another week, so we’ve been taking full advantage of family time and having an extra set of hands to help with pesky projects. Though, we’ve promised to take him to a hockey game tonight. I hope your December is also off to a wonderful and festive start! Let me know if you have questions or need any links. I’m always happy to share!