Merry and Bright Holiday Home Tour

I've always been a big believer in the idea that decorating a home was a process, and one that I wasn't willing to spend a ton of money on. I like to say that it's a lot like planning a wedding, except for there's no deadline: you can take as long as you'd like and dream about things for as long as you want. I've found this to be a pretty fun outlook on the process, and it also rings true when it comes to decorating for Christmas. Piece by piece, I dream and plan and pin, patiently hitting up the clearance racks and adding just a few simple pieces each year. Our house isn't flashy or straight out of a magazine, but it's cozy, merry, and homey, and that's what I love most.

So without further ado, I bring you the Currently, Kelsie 2015 Holiday Home Tour. I've had so much fun getting in the Christmas spirit, and I even enlisted the help of Aaron's grandma this year as I decorated. Shout out to you, Grandma Alice- you rock! Welcome to our home, I hope you find it to be just as festive and cozy as we do.

Just a little fun for me to look at while washing dishes.

When it comes to Christmas decor, I've found that I'm a really big fan of the traditional red and green. I love bringing in soft pops of red in pillows, fake berries, and holly. I also love finding ways to bring white and green into a room to brighten in a bit. In the past, I've gone a little overboard with all kinds of Christmas cheer that didn't really match, so this year I toned things down a bit and went for a more fluid approach, using things I mainly already had. I spent less than $20 total on all decor this year.

I fell in love with this rug from Kohl's last year at Christmas, and I knew I had to have it for its $5 clearance price. I'm a huge Christmas music lover, so it was just perfect and I love that it's the first thing that greets our guests as they enter our home and puts them into the spirit with well wishes as they leave.

The Basement

Lots of people head right into our house and down the stairs into our basement. We spend the vast majority of our time down here because the TV and sectional couch are both down here. I love our fireplace mantle and flannel stockings, and we even have a little mini-tree that some friends gave us when they moved. Our Willow Tree nativity set was the most perfect June wedding gift that I would never have thought to give. When candles are lit and Christmas music is playing, there's nowhere more comfy and merry than this basement.

Joy Pillow: Joann's Clearance.

Hobby Lobby Garland. $6 on Clearance. Love love love.

Joy Sign: Hobby Lobby Clearance.

The Front Room

The front room already has a nice mix of black, white, and red going, so I played on that and just added little touches of green garland and pine cones around to capture the Christmas feel. We moved around our bookshelf to make room for the tree, so it's normally on the other side of the room, but I like how it turned out.

An important reminder this time of the year.

I'm not real artsy, but this is the one thing I've ever painted. I switch it out with other decor this time of the year.

I love this little Hobby Lobby clearance find from last year. He's the perfect colors and really brings some fun youthfulness to the room, which is perfect since it's also the room with the tree!

I'm a Hallmark kid, and every year my mom got me an ornament that was mine to put on the tree. Once I moved out and got married, Mom gave me all those ornaments, and boy am I thankful! All my ornaments were from the puppy collection, so now my tree is full of cute puppies and festive glittery balls from Hobby Lobby Clearance. We went with red lights on the tree this year because our multi-colored strand bit the dust. It's different from the traditional white, but it looks good with the rest of the room and I like it for this year!

I love how our star peeks up and can be seen from multiple levels.

The faint red glow of the tree in the evening just seems so right.

The Dining Room

This is one room that I simplified a bit this year when it came to decorations, because I felt like I had too many things hanging in too many different places. For the centerpiece, I went back and forth, but ended up with this for now. I love the traditional red and white, plus a different shade of green that looks great in this room. I forgot I had the holly candle holder, but it went perfectly with what I was looking for. The globe light is a Kohl's clearance that was out on our front porch. Throw a few holly stands from Hobby Lobby into a jar to finish.

I made this little ornament garland strand a few years ago out of some Target dollar store ornaments my mother in law gave me. I found a piece of green twine, looped the ends so they could be hung, and then spaced all the ornaments out. It's one of my favorite things in the whole room. Just fancy enough to look classy but still Christmasy without being over the top. And it literally cost me like $2.

The Kitchen

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen washing dishes, setting up buffet lines for our get-togethers, and baking Christmas goodies. So why wouldn't I want a little Christmas cheer in there too? My mom always had a Santa plate for us to put Santa's cookies on for Christmas Eve. When I saw this plate, I fell in love, and the $4 purchase last year was a no-brainer. So fun to think about our future kiddos using it some day.

Santa Plate: Hallmark. Santa Salt and Pepper Shakers: Target.

I love Christmas countdowns and free printables.

I add red sparkly ribbon, and then hang all the Christmas cards we get off of it!

That's it, friends. Thanks for staying with me for the entire home tour. I hope you enjoyed getting a little peek into our home. I know I always love getting a little glimpse into the homes of others. Here's wishing you a wonderful Christmas. May all your days be merry and bright.

Currently,
Kelsie

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I take no shame in the fact that I'll spend the day listening to Christmas music while wearing a holiday sweater and...
Posted by Currently, Kelsie on Friday, December 11, 2015 

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