Hi guys! I know every one says this every year, but I can't believe that the holidays are officially upon us! We just got back from a week-long getaway to Phoenix with family and I wasn't used to Christmas decor in such a warm climate, so imagine my surprise when we arrived home to a snowless Calgary in mid-December! This Canadian girl is definitely not used to such mild temperatures at this time of year but if it means holding off on the parka for a few more weeks, I will HAPPILY take it!!
Someone asked me to describe my Christmas decor style the other day and I think for me, the answer is "minimalist traditional". If you're not quite sure what that means, it could be because I just made it up, haha. Allow me to explain...
Chad and I are small house people. Before moving into our 1050 sq. ft. #peterspartialfixerupper earlier this year, we lived in 625 sq. ft. 1-bedroom apartment! We love living "small" - it suits our urban lifestyle and encourages us to live a more minimally, i.e. with less stuff. Hence the "minimalist" and why when it comes to Christmas decor, I prefer to be intentional with a few decor items, rather than go totally over the top with decorations and ornaments. In terms of the "traditional" piece of the puzzle, I tend to focus on are more traditional Christmas items, such a lives greens: trees, wreaths and garlands, and I love a good, rich pop of red as well as other classic Christmas hues, such as white and gold.
For this post I had the pleasure of collaborating with two great friends of mine - Alexa of Whitespace Writers who let us use her lovely new home to decorate, and Jamie of Jamie Anholt Photography, who captured the space so beautifully! I made my own garland - which is composed of cedar and silver dollar eucalyptus boughs - however if the DIY is not your thing, you can also check out some great pre-made (and reusable!) options here. From there, we styled our garland 2 ways.. In the first look, we ran the garland along the top of the fireplace mantle and let it simply hang down on both sides. Since the garland isn't particularly full, we paired it with a unique, white feather wreath - I love how the gold leaves in the wreath picks up on the vintage gold candlesticks!
For the second look, we doubled-up the garland to give it more volume. To add interest below the mantle, we hung a sweet beaded garland - I love this one particularly because it's natural wood finish gives it a more contemporary look than the bright red ones I grew up with :) Other than the items I've listed, we played around with accessories we already had on-hand, like candles, pillows, a vintage mirror and firewood, proving that you don't necessarily have to refurnish your entire home with new stuff for the month of December! So which look is your favorite? Do you take a "Minimalist Traditional" approach to Christmas decor or do you go all out? Let me know in the comments below!
Merry Christmas, friends!!
xo
