10 days until Christmas

December 15, 2016December 15, 2016 | circadee

It is hard to believe that Christmas is just ten days away. Quite frankly, I can’t even believe we have approached the end of 2016. It has been a strange year for sure and I’m ready to move onto 2017. How about you?

Every year after Thanksgiving, I get excited to make the leap into the holiday season by putting up a live tree. This year I found myself not wanting as many traditional adornments but to create more of a seasonal feel with wool blankets and candlelight. I gravitated toward natural ornaments as well.

I know it is hard to believe that this is a restrained Christmas, but it is! Especially on the tree…

I felt like having the Christmas tree right in the center of the room. It is not totally practical but I love how it lights up the space and sits among the other plants. Do I dare say almost like a conservatory? I decorated the tree organically with plants too! Live air plants, succulent terrarium ornaments, cotton stems and vintage arrows are the stars. You can find the live ornaments for sale at the West End Garage. Obviously these “ornaments” don’t have to be packed up next month which is fantastic!

I did pull out a few favorite vintage glass balls to create this vignette. All month, there has been a cozy, warm glow from every corner which feels very seasonal.

Have you jumped on the ceramic tree trend of the 70s and 80s? These nostalgic trees have been very hot here. Mine was made by my great-grandmother originally for my grandmother. She made one for everyone in my family back then. The tree strikes a chord with me as it is reminiscent of my childhood Christmases. Anytime we went to a relative’s house during the holidays, they always displayed Nana’s tree…and usually still do. Who knew it would be so trendy 30 years later?

Wishing you and yours a merry and bright holiday season!

Christmas at home

December 10, 2015 | circadee

It has been quite some time since I’ve shared projects from my own home. And for good reason. We’ve been shuffling furniture around still trying to find the “perfect” layout and pieces. We’ve settled on this cozy arrangement in our family room for the holidays. It feels good to “nest” again, one of my favorite winter past times!

I finally got a bee in my bonnet about the sofa situation that I had been less than thrilled with. I had enough of trying to camouflage the overstuffed brown sectional. After a ton of research, I finally went ahead and ordered the creamy tufted Chesterfield of my dreams. It arrived last weekend, ten days early! Just in time for holiday decorating. Come get acquainted with this beauty.

Don’t be shy. Reach out and touch that velvety tufting.

The sofa coordinates nicely with the vintage club chair we already had which was reupholstered in hemp fabric a few years back. Suddenly this space feels bright, airy and inviting!

I plucked a fading bench out of the garden to try as a coffee table for the season. The measurements are just right. The newness of the sofa almost felt too regal for my rustic-loving self. The chipping, vintage bench seems to juxtapose the sofa just right.

I scored the old bench for 5 bucks at a yard sale about 5 years ago. Five dollars well spent I’d say.

I like how the chipping finish coordinates with the chipping window frame that we just moved into this space. We used the window as our seating chart at our wedding in 2013. We never removed the names of our guests and instead used this as a frame by outfitting each pane with a 5×7 photo from our special day. This is as far as we’ve gotten in making any sort of wedding album. That baluster lamp is one of Ryan’s creations. Pink is rapidly and unintentionally becoming accent color in here.

Before we move onto Christmas decor, let me point out one more change. We boosted this vintage card catalog up to proper end table height with the addition of tapered legs. I also painted the frame of the piece however did not want to mess with the drawers, specifically the old pulls. I am still deciding on whether to stain or paint the legs but for now we’re enjoying the table in its unfinished state.

The mantel always gets pride of season. This year I was compelled to follow a traditional red & green palette for the most part. I only slightly switched things up from the autumn mantel by adding the lemon cypress trees, red pomegranates, last year’s felt wreath plus a little bling of course. The botanical prints, another newer addition, have been up since late summer.

I also switched out the blanket on our battered, splattered ladder. Say that 3 times fast! We made the flannel bunting a couple of years ago.

The tree decor is pretty laid back this year. We always choose a fresh Fraser fir. Growing up, we had full Douglas fir trees but I’ve become accustomed to the irregular shape of a Fraser. The gaps are perfect for filling with twigs of cotton and the like.

Presents are starting to pile up under the tree. I’m ahead of the game this year with gifts already wrapped and tagged. Would you believe I found all of these pretty papers at the dollar store? I was impressed with their selection. For a touch of rustic, I corralled the small gifts in this vintage wire basket.

I like to put my favorite vintage Christmas balls on display in bowl. I am always worried they’ll break if I hang them on the tree plus this gives the ornaments the opportunity to really shine on their own. The un-silvered, glass balls date back to World War II. They’ve always been my absolute favorite. Of course, the vintage mercury glass ones are pretty too.

The natural centerpiece was a breeze to put together. It’s all about the layering. Starting with the wood charger and fresh greens from the woods. It’s best to do this just before company comes so it looks fresh. The paperwhites are growing rapidly right before our eyes! It’s the little things that make me happy this time of year…and the new sofa too.

**Many of the pieces used to decorate my home are for sale through Circa Dee at The West End Garage and Serendipity. Pictured are the wood charger, tree bark wreaths, lemon cypress tree, cotton, paperwhites, flannel bunting, grainsack stockings and we have similar vintage and baluster lamps too!**

Happy Holidays!

rockin around the christmas tree

December 7, 2015February 19, 2016 | circadee

With just about a week until Christmas, I found myself cycling through old photos of Christmases past. It is fun to see what decor has changed and what has always made the cut. Some ideas definitely stand out as more of a win than others. Want to take a look at some of our past Christmas trees?

I was big on burlap and primarily gold ornaments in 2011 and years prior for that matter. This tree seems light on ornaments. Less is more, I suppose. I am not sure that I still subscribe to that though. Those red drapes in our old house. They weren’t ever really my style but they did work really well for Christmas and framing the tree.

In 2012, we purchased a ball & burlap tree that would later be planted in our yard. It was a small, shrub so we kept the decor to mostly red ornaments & rocking horses. The red drapes were still up so I guess they were more of my style at the time than I thought. Have you ever had a ball & burlap Christmas tree?

2013 was the year we moved to Cape May and also the year of orange slice garland, dried hydrangeas, twigs & peacock feathers apparently. As crazy as they all sound together, this might be a favorite Christmas look of mine. Considering you already have a dead tree in your living, there is just something about layering on more organic, natural ornaments. I also like the toile panels that framed the tree that year. This photo is making a strong argument for putting the tree in that bay window again next year.

In 2014, we broke away from the themed ornaments and started incorporating more color and sentimental ornaments. I topped the tree with vintage arrows and draped chenille garland that made an appearance again on this year’s tree.

And then there’s 2015. This year the tree is less themed than it has been in the past. I kept with the light colors we’ve been incorporating in our space as we’ve been updating it. I used cotton stems as an ornament. I like the softness, yet fullness that it adds. This year, more is more for sure.

Trees aside, what’s Christmas without a pink flamingo holiday sweater, candlelight, a chubby beagle and an awkward photo? Yes, more is certainly more. More ornaments. More lights. More silly photos. And more time with family and friends.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

We hope you enjoy this magical season.