As you all know, I flipping love Christmas and I’m also rather enthusiastic about home decor. Therefore the minute those advent calendar doors start opening, I begin decking the halls.
I’m not one of those people who takes down the tree straight after the big day. I leave everything up until twelfth night. I have amassed rather a large collection of decorations and I like to give them as good an outing as possible.
I shared by bathroom snowstorm with you last week and today I’m letting you take a gander at my living room and dining room.
The Tree
Yes it’s fake and it’s actually about twenty years old. My parents gave it to me when they had tired of it and it’s been popping up in our house over the last few years. After a rather unfortunate incident with a Douglas Fir several years ago – let’s just say we got a bit too close to nature when a colony of flies also decided to get into the festive spirit – I’ve chosen to embrace the artificial.
I’m not a fan of the metal stand this one came with and so I popped the whole thing into an antique apple crate.
Lights
For a wee tree, this bad boy has a lot of lights. Unbeknown to me, anyone in the fairy-light-know isn’t draping lights around the tree. Oh no, they are weaving them in between the branches. Check out Pinterest to view the technique.
Mine is still rather haphazard but I like the warm glow. One thing with this approach is you need a lot of flex. My 4 and a half foot tree is covered in a Next set designed for a seven foot tree!
Decorations
I go for the same grey and white scheme year-in-year-out with a few new additions and retiring weary decorations annually. This year’s newbies are the grey honeycomb balls and the Paper Mache 3D stars I intended to paint but never quite got round to.
It’s also become traditional to buy some form of chrimbo ornament when we’re off on our wedding anniversary trip. We kicked off the first year with a sequin encrusted crown from Windsor Castle. While in Southwold we picked up this metal reindeer to hang around the door to the lounge.
I’ve added a few fir boughs into my usual rose and foliage displays to add a festive touch to the mantle piece. I picked up a pack of three from Waitrose for a few quid.
Dining Room
In the Dining Room I’ve laced my stag antlers with micro lights from Wilko. They’re battery operated with a mouldable flex so perfect for lighting up a little vignette.
I’ve had the garland for several years now but I believe Ikea bring a similar one out each year. I wrap mine with fairy lights because, if I’m quite honest, I would drape anything that sits still with a line of lights if I could.
Is everyone else doing their tree lights like the tutorial I mentioned or has everyone been doing it for years and I’m the last to know? I’d love to hear about the Christmas decorations you’ve added to your collection this year and what’s your colour scheme?
I have succumbed to the Christmas décor early for me this year and I am firmly in the real tree camp. The smell is just wonderful. My seven footer is white, gold and silver and I’m giving red a rest this year so it does look a little sparse so am keeping my eye out for some smaller decs to add to the tree. So far washi-taping Christmas cards to the doors is working (though I did get told it would take the paint off until I smugly corrected that!) I have some Christmas bunting a friend made and a few lights to wrap round the olive trees either side of the door. I’ve brought out my star wicker wreath for the front door but it’s faux cranberries do keep falling off so would love a new one but the only ones I have seen I like are so expensive!
Haha Victoria, don’t you just love washi tape?!
I made a wreath yesterday and all in all it cost me a fiver. I must post on Instagram but it’s so flipping dark!
I love the antlers Lauren – were they a “find” or did you buy them?
Thanks Lynsey, they’re naturally shed from some very posh stags on a country estate near me!
love love these
where is your beautiful heart word frame from
thank you : )
Aww thanks Kimberley. Do you mean the one in the dining room? If so it’s really old – just a standard frame with a mount. I created a heart shaped wordle and printed it out. Was very easy x
I love looking at everyone else’s decorations, but I personally just do the tree and a very small one at that! It’s only a 2-ft artificial one, but I decorate it with lights and red and silver decorations (mainly baubles and bows). It usually goes up on the 23rd and down around New Years – I just get a bit bored of it and it’s only a matter of time before one of the cats knocks it over and destroys it completely!
If we’re not at ours for Christmas, it doesn’t go up at all! We’ll usually leave on Christmas Eve for my parents and won’t get back until the 30th so no point!
The lights thing – I’ve always draped haphazardly. And so have my parents and their tree always looks fab! I just think you would need a lot of lights to do that on every branch and how many sockets would that take up?!?!
I love mini trees Jo, they are super cute aren’t they? I have one in my kitchen.
Absolutely gorgeous Lauren! I wish I had a cottage, perfect for this time of year (and any time of the year, really). We put our tree up at the weekend and it’s made me so happy. I am part of ‘Team Real’ – I love the smell. The boy grew up with an artificial tree and a fairy on top whilst I grew up with a real one and a star on top. Luckily, I won on both accounts! Our decorations are tarnished silver metal, gold and white. We also decorate with liberal hangings of misletoe, far too many christmas scented candles, little robins, and small signs like ‘let it snow’ hanging from room doors. At home, we always had 2 trees inside and one outside, it was like a little christmas forest! As a result, my Dad is a christmas lights expert and taught me his technique – who knew my dad would be ahead of Pinterest?! X
My heart is part of ‘Team Real’ but my head has to go with ‘Team Fake’. The infestation was horrendous!
I’m so far behind on this lighting technique! x
Just gorgeous! Have nothing really else to say, it’s just so lovely!
I have a real tree but was recently gifted an Anthropologie Balsam and Cedar candle which is truly amazing: http://www.anthropologie.eu/anthro/product/home-roomdecor-candles/7552600475860.jsp?color=032&cm_mmc=SearchPPCUK-_-PLA-_-RoomDecor-CandlesHolders-_-7552600475860&gclid=COerzuisucICFUjlwgodQ3YAXw#/
I bet that smells divine Ashley. I do miss the scent of christmas trees.
HA… Yes to the light weaving.
My Mum does it like that and that’s how I’ve always done it – not as uniform as the demo on Pinterest, as we also keep them away from the branch ends so the wires are more hidden. I usually use two pretty huge sets.
I also obsessively ‘double loop’ and take a lot of stick from my friends for it. Nobody ever helps me do my tree because I end up taking them off and re-doing them.
Gorgeous house Lauren as always xx
What is double looping? How do I do this?!
I think it might just be me. I double loop the hangy string on every decoration because it’s easier make it sit EXACTLY where you want it on the branch. It’s really unnecessary control freak behaviour but I do it every time x
Ah yes I see! I may be guilty of doing that too…. x
Gorgeous decor as always, Lauren! I’m also completely new to this light technique but my tree is already up this year (although lights are yet to be lit because I’m in a new flat and don’t have the right extension chord – gah!). This year for the first time I’ve dispensed of all colour and gone metallic – golds, bronze, some almost pearly ones and a smattering of silver. Quite pleased with it I am too 🙂
And so you should Kimberly, your scheme is a beaut x
Firmly a real tree girl. I grew up with real trees, we had one every year right from when I was little. It’s one of the reasons I would never buy a fake one. There is something magical about going out and picking the perfect tree, then lugging it home and putting it up. For me getting it out of the loft just wouldn’t be the same (Hubby would disagree with me here, he would love a fake one).
My tree is a mix of Red, White and wooden ornaments. I guess Scandi is the closest thing to what I have. I always have loads of candles burning at this time of year. My favourite is from Oliver Bonas, it has a Fig scent and is truly wonderful!
The rest of my Christmas decor is a mix of real fir branches, holly and finally mistletoe in the hall. I’ve also bought some Hyacinths this year, so hopefully the whole house will smell amazing. 🙂
A friend of mine was telling me how he took his two little boys to a christmas tree farm at the weekend. I nearly went misty eyed! I really miss the experience of picking a tree but having a whole living room swarming with insects has really put me off.
Your decor sounds truly lovely Alex x
Thank you. Yours looks beautiful too. I can’t imagine how horrifying that must have been. I’ve had 30 real trees now though and never experienced anything like that, think you’ve just been incredibly unlucky. Maybe next year you could buy one and give it a good blast with a can of Raid before you bring it in. 🙂
Haha! Maybe 😉 I am very tempted to go real again x
Lauren your home looks equally as stunning at Christmas as it does through the whole year! You make it look so effortless. I found a great “cheat” this year to help ease the pain of truely wanting a real tree but having learnt from past experience that underfloor heating and real trees don’t mix! They are called Scentsicles, fir scented decorations in White Winter. Available from John Lewis for £6. There are 6 in the jar, can be discreetly hung in with your decorations or poked into wreaths and smell devine. The lady recommended using 2-4 at a time but I whacked all 6 on our tree as it is the season of excess and am so impressed with how realistic the tree smells.
Aww thanks Rach, and thanks for the top tip too. I shall be hot footing my way down to JL to get my mitts on some of these scenticles! x
I am a total Pinterest whore and have done said tutorial with my trees this year and it’s worked out a treat ! Loving your cottage decor ! Can’t beat a few fairy lights , currently most of my static possessions are draped in battery sets plug in sets , flashing , snowflakes bauble lights etc etc etc !my decoration started on the 1st and will come down before I return to work on the 5th jan ! Maybe overkill but I love it !! Xx
Yey to keeping them up for the whole duration Angela! x
Absolutely lovely Lauren!
LOVE the ‘We’ll always have Paris’ print – can I ask where that is from?
Thanks Lauren. It was a gift from the RMW team when I helped out on the Coco shoot last year x
Oooh lovely! Perfect on all counts! I have caved this year with putting up the tree early – we’ve bought a real one as Al has never had one before and was desperate to try it. We bought it on Sunday as wouldn’t have had any other free time to get one although normally I wouldn’t have wanted to put it up until this weekend – really hope we’ve not got it in too soon and it’s doesn’t look all sad and droppy by Xmas! We also have an artificial one from when we lived in a flat that we’re going to put in the dining room, so will end up with 2!
Thanks Kitty.
Give it a good drink and it should last you all the way to the new year! x
LOVE your tree and the lights – what a clever (and so simple!) idea!
We too have a fake tree, we first purchased a small fake one when we got a new puppy and in our cottage didn’t have room for anything bigger, so ours is on our coffee table, shoved in a corner. Still, it looks pretty, I think!
We also have an fairy light heart from ikea, that I have in our cottage lounge window. Given that our cottage is right on the road, it has maximum effect and I’ve lost count of the amount of times people have complimented us on it. Best bit is hubby hated the heart in the window until the compliments started flooding in haha.
I love giving and receiving Christmas cards, but currently don’t have a nice way to display them. We don’t have a mantle piece or shelves in our lounge.
Any of you lovely lot have any clever (& not so expensive) ideas?
Fairy lights in the window are so beautiful Becks. I love walking past houses at this time of year and having a look at their lights.
You should check out my post from last week for a few ideas on displaying cards – http://rockmystyle.co.uk/stylish-ways-to-show-off-your-christmas-cards/ x
ooh, thanks. how on earth did I miss that post?
I just LOVE your home and your style Lauren!!!!
Merry Christmas
x
Thanks so much Nicola! Merry Christmas to you too x