Christmas Home Tour: Red and Black holiday decor.

OK, so I am a little bit bugged. For the first time in forever, my Christmas decor does not look the way I saw it in my head. Don’t get me wrong, I am still very happy with it, but it just isn’t exactly how I wanted it. Last January I received a swag bag from the Plaid Crafts company. It was filled with plenty of goodies, but the thing I loved the most was the bag itself. I had just cleaned up Christmas 2014, but the minute I saw this adorable bag, I knew I wanted to do red, black and plaid for Christmas… in just 11 short months.

This cute bag!

I took two large empty jars, filled them with pebbles (to weight the bag) and water and then added fresh greenery. Some of my fresh greens come from my yard, but the rest comes from my local tree lot. They are always happy to have some crazy lady take loads of their “trash” off their hands… and I am happy to take it. I use it to fluff my fake garlands and wreaths to make them look real. I always end up getting more than I need, but I love how it looks sitting around, just tucked into buckets, vases and even boots.

I don’t even think it necessarily needs anything added to it. To create the little vignette with the boots, I did the same thing with the glass jars and water. Southern California temperatures tend to dry the greenery out if it is not in water.

The tree is never “done” as I continue to fluff and tweak it all season long. But for the most part, I’m happy with how it turned out.
I couldn’t find the red and black plaid ribbon I saw in my head, so I ended up going with this black and white buffalo check and red Deco Mesh , then plenty of red and black ornaments and sprays of red berries.

I kept our mantel pretty simple this year.

I attached this red berry wreath to the shutters with more of the buffalo check ribbon and HH used a little fishing line to secure the antlers in the center for me. The 25 is made from vintage gasoline pricing numbers. I picked them up at a wonderful antique store with my friend Bev from Flamingo Toes this past summer. It’s simple and bright.

In addition to the “main tree” we have the “kids’ tree” but this year, Grant renamed it. As he was looking through the handmade ornaments he said, “I know this is the kids’ tree, but I think what it really is is the Memory tree….” And so it is.

This tree has the kids’ handmade ornaments and I display our previous years’ Christmas cards. I love to look at them each year. Can you believe how much Grant (on the left) looks like Conner?

It’s nice to enjoy these memories while sipping hot cocoa. I set up an easy “help yourself” station right next to the Memory Tree.

The dining room is kept pretty simple.

I love to decorate with holiday photos from Christmases gone by. A little greenery, my sweet photos and some fresh green wreaths work for me.

And keepin’ in real here… I work at our dining room table. I usually just angle my photos so you don’t see the mess behind the camera, but I thought it would be kind of funny to see the real deal.

Instead of constantly trying to put away the wrapping mess, I actually made a centerpiece out of it. A plate stand with ribbon, gift tags and a few other wrapping supplies allows for easy access but still being kind of festive.

On the way out the door, my beachy bookcase gets a Christmas treatment. My favorite Fitz and Floyd Santa and some displays of red candy bring it together.

By the way, no one in our house is really a fan of candy canes and peppermints, so this is actually candy from 2011. I store it in ziploc bags with my decor and pack it with silica gel. It keeps just fine. (I do this with black licorice and orange gum drops for Halloween too.)

Our exterior is pretty simple too. We are going for “merry and bright” around here. Simple white lights and lots of greenery.

We have a funky little ledge right outside our front door. That has a simple garland and just like these DIY plaid wine glasses, I used the same treatment to add a little red plaid to these potted trees.