Holiday Living Room

Well this is last of the Holiday posts I think. This is the last room to show you and by far the biggest and grandest. Here are views from either side of the room.

My mantel pays homage to my treasured nutcracker collection. Above the mantel hangs a portrait of Santa Claus. I have used mesh ribbon here in lime green and red. Attached balls in various sizes and shades of green and red. I added glitter berry picks through out. It's my favorite display.

This is the entertainment unit filled with all my treasured collectibles.

My beloved Thomas Kincade snowman collection. I still can not believe he is gone.

The sofa table with some more Holiday favorites.

The buffet as you enter the Dining Room.

2 more cherished friends nestled in their little corner.

Well my dear friends that wraps it up for Christmas 2012! I am so glad to we shared it together. I wish you all a Blessed Holiday with your loved ones near. May the New Year be happy, healthy and prosperous for us all. Let us not forget those no longer with us and forever hold them in out hearts. Merry Christmas!!

Love, Patty

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Staircase Garland

This is the staircase as you walk in to our raised ranch style home. It's a small section so I can only do the top railing. These have been my colors for the past 4 years. I love these colors together.

I keep this little table here year long. We throw keys on it, shoes down at the bottom shelf which keeps things a little neater. I love decorating it for the seasons and holidays. I placed a light up snowman made of grapevines and 2 battery operated candles on candle stands adorned with berries.

Short post today. I'm sick with a cold and sore throat and just started Christmas shopping today if you can beleive it. I will be back with my living room reveal later this week. Thanks so much for stopping in today. Love Patty

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Holiday Chandelier

You know the old saying; "One mans junk is another mans treasure". Well that's what this post is all about. I mentioned to you in a previous post that my husband is a Home Improvement Contractor. Well he was renovating a dining room recently and among the changes the homeowner made was to buy a new chandelier. My husband replaced her old one with the new one she had purchased and she gave him the old one to take for scrap metal. I spotted it in the scrap pile, snatched it right up and it became my latest project. Here is what it looked like when I first got it.

What drew me immediately to it was the large size and the simple flat lines of it. It was also black metal which is great. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I removed all the wiring and the bulb attachments till all that was left was the brass plates which I salvaged.

I hot glued glass wax shields called "Bobeches" that are usually placed on candle sticks to catch the wax dripping from taper candles. It's a weird name I know. They come in sets of two, I got mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Because my intention was to arrange a decorated wreath around this beauty and suspend it from the ceiling, I needed to think safety, so real candles were out of the question. I purchased 12 battery operated ones. I found sets in sizes 2x2 2x3 and 2x4 they are the perfect fit. They even have faux melted edges on them. I just love how this turned out. We hung it in the living room right in the center. We have vaulted a ceiling in there and it looks gorgeous. It's so festive! After Christmas I will remove the decorated wreath and leave it plain. I love it so much I have decided to keep up year long.

I have been itching to do a project like this for so long. I just never found the right old chandy to pull it off until now. I can't wait to show my husbands customer what I did with her old piece. Gee I hope she doesn't change her mind and say she wants it back! Sorry Robin, no can do.

Thanks so much for stopping in today. I love Christmas and decorating. Being able to create something from nothing is always so rewarding. I had such a fun time with this project and even my hubby was impressed on how good it turned out. Come by again and visit soon, the living room is up next!

Love, Patty

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Family Room Tree

My family room located on the lower level, is decorated with somewhat of a north woods theme. It is so warm and inviting and nothing says "Welcome" to me better than all the lodge decor and natural elements that I placed in there. With that being said, the Christmas tree that I put up in this room each year has to match that theme and so I do it up with north woods decor. It's filled with grape vine twigs strewn throughout, owls, birds, pine cones, burlap ribbon and pussy willows. Even a bird house tree topper! Here are some photos of the tree and also some other decor items that I have collected over the years.

This tree is so simple yet it really expresses a wonderfully natural and warm inviting feeling for me. Here is a close up of the tree topper. Its a birdhouse made with sticks and twigs and adorned with berries and greenery and of course a cherished Cardinal. This was a decoration I have had on hand for years. This year I transformed it into a topper.

I also placed throughout different areas some more pieces that reflect the lodge/north woods look.

In addition to my elf collection, which you have seen a few already, I also collect Santas. Here are 2 more. You already met Baking Santa keeping a watchful eye over our kitchen. Stay tuned for future posts, there are still more floating around this house.

We place our Christmas village in different places each year. This year it seemed to work best in the family room on our book shelf unit. This is my husbands "thing" each year. He really arranges the houses and people and scenes better than I do. So I let him take over. But that's it, everything else I have to control! Hahahahha He did a great job as usual.

Most of these have been around for many years. We both came into the marriage with a huge collection. We combined our favorites to create this display. There are still so many more pieces that never make it out of their boxes each year. There are just too many. What was that? I need a bigger house so I can decorate more for Christmas? I agree!!!!!


Well that's it for the family room. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope to be posting soon on that recycled old chandelier that I told you all about in a previous post. I'm almost done with it. I am so excited to show you. Stop back in cause you won't want to miss it. Only 20 more days till Christmas!!!!

Love, Patty

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