At long last, I am wrapping up my 2020 Classic Christmas Home Tour today out back! We have enjoyed the most glorious weather this season, which has been a blessing since we are at home so much more than ever. These two spaces are almost always in use.
Screened Porch Classic Christmas Decor
Since adding the pool (finished in mid-October), I really pared down my holiday decor on the porch for Halloween and Christmas. I kept more of my everyday items out and just added a few muted touches and a lot of white lights.
The tree out here is so simple. It is just inexpensive glass balls and oyster shells. Honey drilled holes in the shells years ago for this purpose. I top it with a lit star from WalMart, also quite a few years old.
We primarily gather around the fireplace on the porch this time of year. The only thing I added for Christmas was a lit garland. You can see how the porch looks onto the cabana now, rather than the side of my neighbor’s house.
I keep blankets out here in fall and winter for cozying up on our milder nights. I just make a habit of throwing them in with the laundry once a week or so.
I have a simple vignette on the buffet table and a beachy hanger on the door to the kitchen.
On the dining table, I added two brass reindeer passed down from Mother. We dine, work and attend school out here on nice days so I like to keep it easy and functional.
Here’s a full view!
Pool & Cabana Classic Christmas Decor
I am thrilled beyond belief to finally share some of this space with you. I will do a full reveal in the spring when everything is green and summery looking, and I’ll take you through the whole process and decisions we made since kicking off this endeavor at the beginning of 2020. For now, welcome to our new backyard!
Honey has wanted a pool since the day he first laid eyes on this house in January 2009. It has been in the long term plan, and we added the porch with this in sight way down the road. It turned out better than my wildest dreams!
You enter into the grassy (turf) area that we use mostly for ping pong, but also for projecting movies onto the back wall of the house and for a dining table every now and then. The garlands are from Costco and are the best. They are likely sold out for this year, but keep an eye on them starting next October.
You can see that the porch door and stairs were unchanged, and we continued the pool deck here to make a direct path in and out.
The cabana acts as the fence wall on that side, provides privacy from the street and neighbors, and makes for an amazing shaded lounge area.
Inside the cabana, I added a few Christmas touches in red and green!
The mistletoe and garlands are from Target, wreaths from Hobby Lobby, pillow covers from etsy (to fit existing, everyday throw pillows), and ribbon from amazon. (ribbon links in bottom of post)
I will share all of the furniture sources in the spring, but nearly all of it was bought on clearance or from outlets as things went on sale in late summer. If there’s anything specific you’re interested in now, just ask!
The boys did a polar bear plunge into the pool on our hurricane day, but aside from that it’s been way too cold to swim. We cannot wait for spring for many, many, many reasons. I dream of entertaining back here but, for now, it’s been our own little at home respite.
We interviewed a number of pool contractors from all over the Atlanta area and ended up going with John Adams 404-428-8591 [email protected]. We have dear friends that know him personally and also used him for their own pool. After speaking with so many, we ultimately chose John because he knew exactly how to bring our vision to life, but also temper it with his own years expertise. He didn’t stop at the pool, but he helped us design and construct the entire backyard space. Every other contractor we considered essentially built one type of pool that they had perfected and that’s what they wanted to put in our yard. We’ve dreamed of this for years and spent a lot of time on our own drawing out what we wanted. John took our plans and delivered a dream space in a functional, expert and completely worry-free, hassle-free way. I cannot recommend him enough!
Pool Sources
I will try to add as people email and ask for them but will do a full list in the spring or ASAP!
- Pool Contractor: John Adams 404-428-8591 [email protected]
- Lounge Chairs from Frontgate in Balencia Bronze (Current on their website but mine are all from the outlet over the course of 6 months. You can get on a wait list if you have one near you. Mine were all mint condition and at a fraction of retail price.)
- Garden stools between loungers
- Outdoor string lights on remote outlet
- “Cayman” Candle Sconces on cabana wall from Ballard Designs (current) with Flameless taper candles
- Lantern under cabana from Ballard Designs (Originally from John’s nursery! Has been in our attic.)
- Outdoor ping pong table (Honey finagled this for the time being)
- Dining table set under ping pong topper from Ashley Home Store (was floor model this fall and I don’t have the name of it)
- Outdoor sofas and swivel chairs under cabana from Home Depot; Style was Cambridge with Sunbrella cushions (also on clearance end of season)
- Coffee table under cabana from Serena & Lily (my splurge!)
- “Marina” Rug under cabana from Ballard Designs outlet (It is current on their website too. If you have an outlet they will put you on a waitlist.)
Merry Christmas, y’all!
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
