23 | December | 2020 | Tablescapes at Table /Twenty-One

Well, it’s crunch time! So here are the last photos of our home for the Christmas 2020 season! Our bedroom suite and one of the bedrooms are good to go! And for a little something-something extra, there are pics at the end of the outside décor which netted us 2nd place in our neighborhood Christmas decorating contest!

Also, folks, I still have absolutely NO idea what I’m doing with this new version of WordPress, so please bear with me. I keep losing content, thinking I’ve posted one thing but it turns out to be something totally different. It’s so aggravating!!! I’ll try my best to get better for upcoming posts.

INSPIRATION:

My inspiration was a little different this year. With in-person shopping and other activities severely curtailed, I’ve found myself spending a lot more time upstairs in my bedroom and office over the last 9 months.

Top of the stairs with a peek into one of our guest bedrooms. I decided to keep the décor more traditional in the hallway and guest room as a smooth segue from the entry hall down below.

The vintage tray belonged to my Mom. She bought it from a swanky store called The House of Modern back in the late 50s/early 60s.

My final Pier 1 purchase before they closed the doors on the brick & mortar stores: battery operated candles with VERY realistic flames. The sign on top was a gift from my Mom.

This guest bedroom is my favorite in that I have had many treasured guests bunk in here. While there can be no guests in this year of COVID, I still wanted to treat the space to a few decorative goodies. I really like the double wreaths at the foot of the bed!

Our bedroom décor is fairly simple this year. I was starting to run out of steam! I love this little “Charlie Brown” Scandinavian-style tree. Something about it always makes me smile. The ornaments are always kept to a minimum on it. A decorated swag is perched atop the armoire and gracefully hangs down one side. I used 2 sizes of lights to give it depth. Layered shades of white all over the bed make it so inviting!

Finally, my dressing room/closet! I’ve wanted to decorate it in pink for a long time, and this year I just went for it! I already had the French poodle (longtime readers may remember her from my “French Poodle” tablescape back in 2013 and my 60th birthday celebration “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” in 2018), the pink feather boa I used as a tree skirt, the Paris sign I used as part of the topper, and the hat box. They were the inspiration for this space. I found the fun poodle and Eiffel Tower ornaments at Walmart this year, so that sealed the deal! A long strand of pink lights along the top shelving illuminates the room and makes me feel ultra-feminine!

And that concludes the inside Christmas décor for 2020!!! If you’d like to see bedroom décor from a previous holiday, check out “Waking Up To Christmas“. Keep scrolling down if you would like to see pics of the outside that garnered us 2nd place in the subdivision contest. The photos really don’t do it justice at all, but what the heck!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS!!!!!!!!!

Again…not a lot of words. (I am STILL trying to understand this newest version of WordPress, and I’m not doing very well! I keep losing content!😳)

INSPIRATION:

Newly installed hardwoods on the main floor of our home that REALLY open up the space! (And yes…those stairs are next!)

I love this year’s tree in the library! The traditional red and gold are so pretty, and the bold ornaments on the tree really stand out as something special! I used bright red drums and burnished gold stars on the tree and stairwell décor, and this year’s library tree is topped with a vintage topper that has a very nostalgic feel to it. Instead of ribbon, I went with generously sized metal “ribbon” banners all over the tree that say “Merry Christmas”.

So now THIS is the view from the entryway with a clean segue from the hall to each room. I’m in the market for a striking area rug for this space, but so far nothing has wooed me enough to take that plunge. The gallery wall in here has been replaced with a single oversized mirror, and the vitrine on the south wall – now relegated to the dining room – is gone. In its place, a behemoth 9’H x 8’W structure filled with my favorite blue and white dishes!!! I’m going to have a BLAST in the coming years redefining this piece over and over again. I have an uplight trained on it for the interim this holiday season but will be adding permanent lighting inside over the winter months. The lumbar pillow is from a terrific place in Kansas City’s West Bottoms called The Painted Sofa. If you want to do some serious shopping for home décor, THAT’S the place to go!!!

The secretary remains on the north wall, now semi-permanently decorated with more from my blue & white collection. The big foot tub is filled with Jeffrey pine cones with a trailing evergreen garland and a sprig of red berries. The tea/bar cart from the dining room has found new digs in the library to display a few more blue & white pieces that look so pretty with the greenery and red accents at Christmastime!

I haven’t been able to put this oversized photo of my Mom into storage just yet, so here it sits. I created a little tree with cardinals to commemorate my parents that includes a very thoughtful ornament my sister sent. Next year when I’m a little less raw I’ll create a fully decorated tree to honor both my parents and Ramon’s.

The foyer table leading into the family room is heavily decorated (again!) this year. Colossal red temple jars a from Nell Hills flank a traditionally-styled clock given to my Dad some years back. Lighted greenery garland, a small bowl filled with pine cones, and peppermint trees fill out the space. A jovial Merry Christmas banner found its way to the lower front side of the table.

I chose a voluptuous blue & white vase from my stash for the high boy in the foyer. A tall spray of red berries and an evergreen skirt make it extra special, and the convex mirror behind the arrangement doubles back the striking image.

A traditionally styled chair that once sat in my Mom’s senate office now graces the entryway of our home. It is festooned with evergreen garland and a fun Christmas sign, another easy and inexpensive way to add little touches around the house.

If you would like to see images of library and foyer décor from Christmas in the recent past, check out “Better Late Than Never, Part II“.

Thanks for stopping by!