Christmas Home Tour

Let's get right to it, shall we?  Christmas at my house starts with wintry black, white and silver in my kitchen...

The front hallway almost always has red, which for me, at heart, is really the color of Christmas.

The hallway also frames the living room...

My living room opens up to the dining room, which is a feature I love about a house.  I love that people can linger at the table while others relax within conversation distance. 

My dining room side piece is so hard to photograph against the window!

I hope you all are enjoying this Christmas season.  My warmest wishes for heartfelt celebrations,

My Christmas Dining Room and House Tour

Who's up for a Christmas tour?  The house is finally done, and while I'm on to menu planning and finishing shopping,  come on in and see what I've been up to, getting ready for entertaining and just relaxing (well, not really on that one ;-)

The view of the living room, above, is what you see when you come down the stairs.  We hang our stockings along the stairs because we used to use the fireplace a lot, and this was the only other place that worked.
 

If you've read this post, you've seen some of the living room, but let's check it out anyway...

On the right of the green chair above is my secretary.  The reflection in the window is pretty cool, I think!

Just below these doors, my daughter's painting sits on the desk...

My other daughter's painting of a cardinal is on the end table next to the sofa.  I think art used on furniture is a great alternative to hanging it on the wall.

 Check out the photo-bomber...

So now to the dining room.

The sideboard is pretty simple.  This first image is a bit overexposed, but I kind of like it that way ;-)

Below is the true duck egg color of the drapes...

The chandelier looks a lot like it did last year, but I put my white dove back in, and added a flocked nest...

The inspiration for the dining room this year came from this sleigh I bought on clearance (for a whopping $8), when I went to the store for something else entirely.  The whole room just came together around it, all with things I already owned.  Meant to be.

Can you imagine I had these gifts still wrapped from my Christmas 2011 table? (I heard you say "hoarder.")  And the pine cones are the bleached ones I shared on instagram (@6Wilson).   Here's some more...

Okay, okay, I'm obsessed with the sleigh...

I know I've used this angle with the tree for my other Christmas tablescapes here and here, but it works.  Can't help it.

Here's looking into the living room.  See the chair to the left of the tree?  Getting a major makeover right after Christmas.  Dying to do it.  I can't wait to show you what I'm up to with that!

To the left of the clock is the doorway to the kitchen.  These guys are hanging on my little black chandelier in there.  This is my one and only nod to cute.

  And then of course, there's Santa in the family room.  That room's not on the tour, it needs too much work.  Maybe next year ;-)

Well, phew!  That's it for 2013.  Thanks for joining me, and I hope you are enjoying your own Christmas magic in your own home, no matter how grand or humble.  Decorating is wonderful, but nothing is more beautiful than the reason for it all.

I'll be back in a day or so with a quick and delicious appetizer for you holiday entertaining!

I'm linking up over at Between Naps on the Porch, and French Country Cottage so come over and see lots of gorgeous Christmas inspiration!

Thanks for reading,

A Nordic Inspired Red and White Tablescape

It's a challenge to come up with new ways to use the dishes and tableware you have, don't you think?  If I allowed myself , I would own a million different patterns of dishes, serving pieces and such.  Seriously.  But since that would lead to a bit of stress in the 6 Wilson household, I just try to figure out ways to reinvent what I have.  And, when the spirit moves, I add new linens.

This table runner has gotten a lot of interest in the shop, so I thought I would show you how I staged it for a tablescape, using a couple of different dishes I have in my personal stash.

Here I've got my every day Casafina stoneware under a Johnson Brothers Friendly Village lunch plate.  In my mind, this runner calls for some greenery and pine cones, and I'm loving the rustic log container these greens are in.  Feels casual and authentic.

Above I changed out the plates to my 20 year old Macy's Christmas china, and added a stemless wine glass with cranberries and a few pine sprigs from the yard.  I love using fresh greens and such from the great outdoors.  It looks casual, elegant, and effortless, all at once.  I think this table runner needs a no-fuss attitude around the table, don't you?
 

See my water pitcher in the back?  Spode 1950's (forgot the pattern name) -- found it at an antique shop and bought it that instant.  It was true love.  I say pull out whatever you've got, because "off-matches" in shades of green like this can be gorgeous, and again, it feels unfussy.

If you haven't guessed already, I love doing tables, and when I am not staging products and I'm doing my table in real life, things get much more involved.  When I do my actual dining table for Christmas, I will be sure to share it.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend, everybody!  Talk to you soon.

If you want more information on the table runner, click here for details.

Blue and White Christmas Decorating

  I have always loved blue and white, but I've never really used it until recently.  When I saw that The Pink Pagoda was having a blue and white bash today, I thought it would be a great time to make the Christmas arrangement I was planning on, in a Homegoods pot I had picked up a while back.

Of course once I did the arrangement, I needed a place to put it, so I gathered the blue and white china from 6 Wilson (available here), along with a new blue and white table runner (available here) and I put together a tablescape (one of my all time favorite things to do.)

 I will be using my arrangement for the entire season, and since it looks wintery, probably into January. 

 So that's it, short and simple today.  I'm off to go through all the links at Pink Pagoda and no doubt drool over all the gorgeousness.  Join me there!!

Happy cyber Monday!