I’m really trying to plug through this Christmas tour! I have so many things to share with you this month and not enough days left to do it. :-) Today we will visit the kitchen, which connects to the dining room and mud room.
Kitchen Classic Christmas Decor
Like most of you, the kitchen is the heart of our home. We spend more time in here than in any other room of the house so I love to make it merry and festive with greenery, ribbons, a coffee and cocoa bar, and our Christmas china.
I am so, so in love with the renovation we did last summer to level out the island and peninsula and brighten up the cabinets and backsplash. Just look at this view from the sofa in the den! The line of sight between these two rooms makes me SO happy when we are all gathered together doing life here.
A festive bowl of fruit, candle and flowers look pretty from all sides here on the peninsula, and are short enough to keep things wide open between the two rooms.
Like in the rest of our living spaces, I love to frame pictures of our family from Christmases past, keep little bowls of candy and treats around, and replace my everyday decor with holiday items. I store all of our holiday decor in large plastic tubs in the basement and attic. When I take the Christmas things out, I fill them back up with everyday things that I won’t be using. It would be WAY to much stuff to have it all out.
At the sink, I have a few holiday dishtowels for this time of year and my favorite hand and dish soap from Williams Sonoma. It smells divine!
This little corner gets a Happy Everything frame, cloche made from a girls crafternoon, decorative plates and some festive candy.
Our coffee station is more merrier than ever this time of the year with a variety of seasonal coffees, hot chocolate pods and candy canes for stirring. The Happy Everything bowl holds a ton of extra coffee pods.
A few more decorative towels hang from the oven. My boys, of course, do not understand the use for a “decorative” towel so these are often wadded up, used as pot holders, or found cleaning up some mess. They wash and iron well. :-)
I use the island space more than any other in the kitchen, so the little tree is perfect to still have room for dinner prep and all the other activities that happen here. I have replaced all of our everyday china with our Christmas china. The pattern is the classic Spode Christmas Tree. Most of our collection was given to us when we were getting married, but Mother and Daddy-O usually add a serving piece for us each year.
I use the opposite little counter for cookbooks during most of the year, and decorative items over the holidays. The mailbox is Magnolia Home (mine is 3 years old, but they have in a different color each year), the Happy Tappers are a favorite item since my boys were babies, and we update the count down every day! (You can see how long it took me to get to these photos!)
Over in the dining area, the mirror and chandelier are both from Ballard Designs. I’ve had the chandelier for 10 years but it is still current. The oyster plates are Alison Evans. The plaid pillows were from Homegoods a few years ago, and the little one in the middle was Pottery Barn a couple of years ago. The vintage piece that is folded over the back of the settee is actually my Grandma-O’s Christmas table cloth. Mother cleaned it up and gave it to me a couple of years ago. It doesn’t fit my table and I almost hate to use it like that anyway. I sold the plaid monogram plates in my shop for a few years running, but didn’t get to them in 2020. Maybe 2021?!
Dining Room Classic Christmas Decor
I change my dining room table every Christmas, but mostly use items I already have. Last year after Christmas I purchased the candy cane cards on clearance from Hester & Cook. They were the inspiration for Christmas table 2020!
I collected the plaid runner and napkins from Homegoods over the course of a few years. I used the soup tureen from my china for the centerpiece, and just added flowers and Christmas greenery. I’ve had the silver reindeer for eons and used 1″ Red Velvet Ribbon to tie bows on them this year. The peppermint stripe candles were from World Market (current) and the candy cane glasses are a few years old (Pottery Barn clearance). If I do purchase anything new for Christmas, it is at the end of the season on clearance.
I don’t keep the table set like that in perpetuity, but I know readers like to see table settings for ideas. So do I!! After we’ve used the table for Sunday Supper or what not, I leave the runners, centerpiece and reindeer. It is just as festive! When the flowers die, I usually replace them with a rosemary tree that I can plant outside later or a poinsettia in the tureen. This year it will get a poinsettia as John’s basketball sold them for a fundraiser! We pick them up and deliver them today, in fact.
My favorite in this room is the nativity. It’s one of the very first Christmas decorations I ever purchased, over 20 years ago. It is so beautifully detailed and the manger has a small light that I love turning on in the evenings.
Mud Room Classic Christmas Decor
I added the Elf door hanger to the garage door again this year and it is pretty merry to come home to since this is our most used entryway. The JOY boxwood garland was from Target after Christmas two years ago. I used to sell pet bowls in my shop and these are Elsa’s from her first Christmas. We even found Elsa Christmas dog bones for her canister.
I’ve got a few more rooms to share. Stay tuned!
Dixie Delights Classic Christmas Home Tour 2020
video tour | exterior + entry | living room + office
den + powder room | kitchen, dining + mudroom
master + kids bedrooms | porch + pool
Christmas Decor Shopping List
Remote Tree Switch | Monogram Guest Towels | Magic Light Wand
Balsam & Cedar Candle | North Pole Pillow
1″ Red Velvet Ribbon | 3″ Double Face Satin Red Ribbon
Record Player | Elf soundtrack vinyl
affiliates
Holiday DIY Video Series
How to Make Christmas Bows | How to Spruce Up a Basic Wreath
How to Make a Greenery Bouquet | Easy Flower Arranging Tips + Tricks
2 Ways to Tie the Perfect Bow
Other Holiday DIY
2 Easy Ways to Hang Christmas Wreaths | Paper Bow DIY
Painted Lamp Shades | Reindeer Kid Art
All Holiday & Seasonal Decor | All things Christmas
Thanks for sharing your festive home! It’s lovely
Where did you get the framed maps?
Etsy!
Okay, this is none of my business, but WTH.
I finally got the go-ahead to move into my newly remodeled kitchen yesterday afternoon and I was moving stuff from place to place, I realized I have maybe 1/15th of the random cute party stuff that you do (seasonal paper napkins, decor, straws, etc) but a decent amount and am not sure where to store it where it won’t be in my way but still accessible enough that it’s not a hassle to get it out.
You seem to always utilize yours and from the looks of it, our kitchens are nearly identical in size and storage.
Where is it all? Dining room? Secret butlers pantry? Do you go up and down to the basement many times a day?
Your ability to seem to have that stuff at the ready is one of life’s great mysteries to me.
I’m not sure whether to be offended or flattered… I store all party things (napkins, straws, plates, cups, etc.) it in my office closet, as well as party type things I use often for various occasions (confetti, balloons). I put in an Elfa system a number of years ago and I can pack more into this one closet than two or three others combined. I store all of my Halloween and Christmas items together in tubs in the attic and storage room in the basement. Our attic is a walk-in, so it’s convenient. Speaking of the attic and basement, I don’t hold on to anything. Once we are done with it or have outgrown it, it is donated. Almost everything in our attic and basement storage is seasonal stuff we use. During October and December I keep the “party” tub close by in a corner of the living room or in the garage. My kitchen cabinets are very, very spacious compared to my last house in that they are both deep and they go all the way to the ceiling. However, the only seasonal item I keep in the kitchen is china. All of the Christmas china fits over the oven for most of the year. When I pull it out, I swap it for the everyday china. I reuse most of the things over and over again. Hope that helps!
Party Tub. Yes!
Not intended as offense at all! I just have so much stuff that I feel doesn’t get used to its full potential and I feel like yours does. Maybe this will improve with my new kitchen, but I find myself finding random Halloween straws and stuff I have been looking for around 4th of July when I’m looking for the 4th of July stuff I can’t find. I’m generally pretty organized but I always forget about these little things especially since I’ll buy stuff on clearance and hoard it until the next year.
A walk-in attic sounds awesome but not something I have so upon your advice, I ended up purchasing a red (so as not to blend in) set of plastic drawers and made my husband accommodate it in the basement. That can be my party tub. At the very least, I’ll be able to identify it quickly.
This has to be the year I get this stuff better organized. The kid is growing up fast. Thanks for all the party tips!
That sounds like a great idea!! I also have a notebook that I keep all sorts of lists and thoughts in. I will start a page for, say, July 4th and then jot down ideas or things I had bought and stashed away so I don’t forget about them.
I plan to do some organizing in January too. Happy New Year!
Amanda, do you remember the designer/manufacturer of your Nativity set? I am searching for a new one and love the size and details of yours. I have a very large ceramic Nativity that my grandmother made for herself and I have now had it for 30+ years. My guess is that it is 50+ years old. Sadly, many pieces have been broken and chipped over the years, and as much as I love it, it is fast approaching too dinged up to display.
Sadly no. It was from a pop up shop in the mall.
Amanda, your home and holiday decor is lovely. We just moved full time to our lake house in Georgia—Lake Oconee (from Tx). I love your Georgia hand towel. Did you get it locally?
Thank you so much and congrats!! It was a gift. I don’t know where it was from. <3