CHRISTMAS IN JULY: Inspiration for Holiday Decor!

Welcome to our “Christmas in July” blog hop!

Do you think it’s fun to see a little Cristmas in July?

If so, and you started this blog hop with Kristy, I’m sure you enjoyed seeing her beautiful home and all her inspo. If you missed it, check it out here. I, for one, thoroughly enjoy seeing Christmas in July for new holiday inspiration. It’s always fun to get a glimpse of the cozy, magical charm of Christmas early just to get your vision rolling and the brain clicking with a new seasonal ideas. I think it’s especially fun – when it’s 104 degrees and we’re melting – to dream about winter. Lol.

What is it about Christmas decor that’s so magical?

I don’t think a person alive can deny it’s charm. Do you? The colors, the greenery, the lights….all contribute to it’s magic. That’s not to mention, of course, the reason for the season…...the birth of Jesus Christ! All reasons to be joyful and in a celebratory mood.

I, like so many women, love to decorate for Christmas. And, I’m literally never ready to take it down! Ever! I’m sure that’s because I don’t start at the beginning of November like so many people do nowadays. I will do the upstairs the week before Thanksgiving to get a headstart, but since we host Thanksgiving here every year I don’t do the downstairs until the weekend after. So it’s just a short month to enjoy all the magic.

And, when I finally get to it….no room is off limits. I literally decorate every room and every bathroom in the house.

Including the screened in porch.

Last year was especially fun in my kitchen nook with all the fun, bright red and white peppermint plates. That was my springboard and I just worked off that keeping everything a fun, cheerful red and white to compliment the plates. The plates are from Hobby Lobby and with Christmas getting set up now you’ll probably be able to find them if you are interested. The Christmas stems in the flower box and the greenery on top are from Hobby Lobby as well.

I’ve had so much fun in my guestroom – I call my “French Farmhouse Guestroom” – since I painted the walls white and switched the color scheme in here. I played up the traditional Christmas colors and went with some fun red and white in here as well. My oldest son and daughter-in-law stay in here every year Christmas night so it’s fun making Chrismas cozy, warm and welcoming for them. All the greenery, ribbons, ornaments and the tree came from good old Hobby Lobby. What would we do without them???? This mirror with the open shutters above the faux fireplace by the way…….I got it for $3.00 at a garage sale! Can you say score??

This area is my screened in porch. You may have seen my hanging centerpiece I made awhile back. I’ve really enjoyed having this piece for seasonal decorating. This particular year is a Christmas tree theme – hence the centerpiece full of Christmas trees and the sign above it that says “Fresh Cut Christmas Trees”. I used my Buffalo check tablecloth that I purchased at Target and I hung these Buffalo check ornaments that I purchased from the Dollar Tree. On the hanging centerpiece I strung my older garland and topped it with some Christmas decor such as the red sleigh, Christmas boxes and some large scale ornaments.

This is the guestroom I call “Grandmunchkin Junction”. I created this primarily for my grandkids although it can technically be used by anyone. I purchased a full/queen Christmas comforter from At Home and cut it in half, then sewed up the seams so I could create two pieces to use on both beds and save a little money. All I needed was the spash of Christmas color, because they don’t use these blankets at all. Of course I have to have a Christmas tree in their room so I added this fun pencil tree. As you can see I just repeated the red and black Buffalo check throughout the space for cohesiveness to create a fun, cheerful Christmas space for the kiddos.

I tend to keep our den fairly simple, but I do like to add some Christmas touches. After I re-did my mantle in my main family room our stocking hangers would no longer work so I moved them in here. And, now I love them even more in here. It looks as if they were made for this space. I added a small tree from Home Depot in the corner and some garland and picks to the mantle to match. Every year I place this same little Christmas Teddy bear in the rocking chair. He’s been making an appearance for almost 20 years.

My favorite bedroom to decorate for Christmas is my master bedroom just because I can’t get enough of the cozy Christmas charm in here. And since my colors in here are green and cream it’s easy to pull it all together. I stick to neutral colors like creams and tans for accents and ornaments and it creates a very natural, subdued sort of elegant Christmas vibe that I love!

Bring me all the Christmas magic!!

Here’s another view of my bedroom.

And, here’s a better view of my bed.

And, finally here’s a view of my desk area and fireplace.

See what I mean about keeping the color scheme simple in here?

I love the natural tones and earty vibe.

Last, but not least, is my front porch. I’ve always like to “do it up” so that it feels almost like an enchanting winter wonderland when people walk up to the front door. To the right of this I have Christmas tree and rocking chairs with Christmas pillows. These bells by the way were made out of buckets from the Dollar Tree that I did a faux finish on. Cost me practically nothing but time to make and I am so happy with the way they turned out. Check back later for my tutorial on how to make these.

Since we painted our house white with black trim and doors last spring Christmas this year will look totally different out here. It’ll be fun coming up with a new look. It’ll definitely be a simpler, “cleaner” look.

I hope you’ve enjoyed and maybe gotten inspired by my little Christmas in July walk around some of the spaces in my home.

I know you’ll enjoy the rest of my friends on the Christmas hop as well. Next on the hop is my friend Wendy with WM Designs. Be sure to check her out and follow the rest of the hop from there.

Below are some teaser pics and links.

Happy Life By Design

and

Happy Christmas in July!