Timberland Christmas – 2014 Decor Around the House

December 19, 2014December 20, 2014 / Alycia Nichols / 54 Comments

WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE SEND ME A NEW BACK FOR CHRISTMAS??!??!?!
I have been battling this continuing degenerative disc problem and am now back on a walker with nerve damage. I’ve had an MRI and am scheduled for both an EMG and a myelogram on Monday, then scheduled to follow up with the neurosurgeon on Tuesday. I hope to have surgery either before Christmas or right after so that I can (I hope!) finally get some relief and throw this walker out a window. Ramon has been an absolute angel through these recent days of debilitating pain, and he not only helped with the decorating process (all done before Thanksgiving Day!!!), but the photography. We waited around for a sunny day to make an appearance, but it never did so some of the photos are “iffy.” Three weeks without any real sunshine!!! 😦 Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!
(Click on any photo, then click again to enhance/enlarge it.)

Welcome to the Nichols’ household! The bright KC Chiefs – cum – Christmas red door and simple oversized grapevine wreath with a burlap bow, greenery and jingle bells set the tone for a rustic woodland look (mixed with a little glam!) throughout.

First stop…the library with lots of twinkling white lights. The 4-ft. tree is filled with baby owls, frosted pine cones, jute ribbon, clusters of red berries, and miniature logs from Michael’s that remind us what the season is about. It’s all topped off with a homemade burlap bow and burlap ribbon that meanders throughout the tree. (More on that new & improved photo gallery wall coming up in January!)

The top of the secretary has a frosted pine cone-smattered wreath and a generous garland of red berries. Notice the owl inside the wreath. The owls are one of the ongoing themes throughout the house this year.

On the other side of the room, urns on both sides of the vitrine are dressed up with lighted wreaths and a grapevine sphere. The vitrine bar is dressed in lighted greenery with pine cones and red berry clusters. As we leave the library, there are clear glass cylinders filled with acorns and pine cones sharing space with cigars and brandy on the vintage side table.

What does the fox say? This time of year, a heartfelt “I love you!” This bench sits on the side of the front door closest to the library.

Look up the steps to find an easy arrangement of bark-wrapped cylinders filled with red ornaments and jingle bells.

On the other side of the front door is a vintage double-decker telephone stand with a large lantern topped with snow-flecked greenery, another homemade burlap bow and gold jingle bells tumbling down the side with jute. The lower tier holds a tiny duck on a slab of wood with a little icy greenery. Let’s move on into the dining room!

The 7-ft. skinny tree in the dining room window (purchased at a local grocery store in the floral department at after-Christmas clearance for under $25!!!) is filled with woodland creatures from Pier 1, gold ornaments, “Naughty” and “Nice” wood slabs from Home Goods, multi-colored berry clusters, mini grapevine wreaths, frosted pine cones, lots of burlap, and a diminutive pheasant feather topper. The tree is finished off with a tangle of natural grapevine to add to the whole 3-D look. With the exception of the bow on top, the garland is one continuous piece. By next year I hope to be in better health so I can create a video tutorial on just how to do that.

The centerpiece on the dining table is made with lots of greenery, and a metal French-styled champagne bucket from Home Goods filled with pine cones. It is flanked by 12-point resin bucks from Tuesday Morning.

Additional dining room decor includes a weathered sign with watchwords for the season from Michael’s, my personal valet Geoffrey begrudgingly decked out in a Charming Charlie woolen scarf and Dollar Tree reindeer ears, the bar cart with bark-wrapped cylinders topped with reindeer moss and oversized faux acorns cut from an old garland, and a lighted wreath I made a few years ago to put in our master bedroom. This year the wreath was treated to additional ornaments wired in (for life!) and another owl. In front is a wooden Hobby Lobby “Merry and Bright” sign that speaks to the season.

Let’s head back out into the hallway.

I’ve switched out the artwork on the wall for a gold mirror and put a ceramic reindeer head dressed in burlap and red organza ribbon with a gold ornament over it. On the other side of the hall is the foyer table adorned on top with a gilded vase filled with pheasant feathers, a small wreath to light the way, and old books from an estate sale tied up with a burlap bow, berries, greenery and pheasant feathers. Beneath the table is a basket filled with pine cones, twinkle lights and clusters of berries.

Let’s go on into the family room!

My husband spends a lot of time watching TV and working on charts in our cozy little family room, so I wanted this space to have a nice rustic feel for him. Of course, there’s a little glam thrown in for me! 🙂 In this room are lots of burlap-tied books and another wreath with an owl in the window. The fireplace is one of my favorites. I hung felt stockings with a moose-in-the-forest motif and then slung a chipwood initial over each one (all from Hobby Lobby). A wooden santa stands guard over the plain brown paper & jute-wrapped gifts. My very favorite part: a stump salvaged from a miraculously still-healthy limb of an 150-year-old tree we lost this summer to carpenter ants. (See collage above!) I surrounded the bottom with cotton snow and plopped a hungry squirrel hoarding acorns on top.

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Timberland Christmas – 2014 Christmas Décor: broken 18th century golfers

This is how they looked when I first brought them home.

This is another favorite part of the room because of the creative solutions applied. My Mom bought me a couple of resin 18th century golfers missing their clubs on the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby this past summer. (See thumbnail of the “Before” above.) Making lemonade out of lemons is a specialty of mine…I just gave them weathered wooden sleds instead! It looks as if they were made to haul their Christmas trees instead of taking a golf swing! To put them in more of the Christmas mood, I added a woolen scarf to one and hot-glued a little greenery, a tiny pine cone and some berries to the top hat of the other. Not bad for a $5 investment, huh?

The fireplace mantel is simply dressed in a little pine greenery with white lights in front of the mirror. I kept the whole initial thing going on our stockings with the big red “N” from Hobby Lobby that represents our last name. On the television armoire is more greenery garland with pine cones embellished with natural deer sheds.

Our Christmas tree in the family room is loaded with lots of woodland creatures (mostly from Pier 1) including squirrels, owls, gophers (“Caddyshack” anyone? 😉 ), porcupines, flocked deer, and sequined pheasants disguised as peacocks for the season. Other trimming includes snow-covered pine trees (Dollar Tree), frosted pine cones, antlers (Wal-Mart), jingle bells, hobbit Santas, lanterns (Wal-Mart), miniature grapevine wreaths, various sizes of gold ball ornaments, clusters of white berries, and burlap ribbon. The tree is topped with lots of pheasant feathers and a homemade bow with its tendrils intermittently tied in love knots for a different look. The luxurious fringed tree skirt is from TJ Maxx.

Moving on to the kitchen…

The pantry/desk area has a few little goodies to bring it up to par for the Christmas season. I didn’t change a lot here…just added the white Z Gallerie squirrel nut bowls filled with acorns, a few clusters of red berries, and a stack of Southern Living Cookbooks collected over the years.

Other kitchen decor includes the Hobby Lobby resin rooster with a fancy necktie of icy berries and lady apples. On the breakfast bar is a tall black lantern filled with berry garland and pine cones with a homemade burlap ribbon on the handle. Behind the kitchen sink is a wooden box (previously seen HERE as part of the centerpiece in an autumn tablescape) filled with 3 lighted miniature faux pine trees, Spanish moss and shiny red jingle bells. It looks great from the street and really lights up that corner of the room!

In the eat-in area, are a duo of lighted trees in black urns tied off with burlap and wool tartan ribbon and embellished with shiny red jingle bell napkin rings doubling as ornaments. In the window is another lighted wreath with an owl coyly peeking out from the center. I used a red velvet cord cover to disguise the unsightly cord in the center. The same tartan ribbon used on the urns is used at the top of the wreath.

Before heading downstairs for the last leg of the tour, I thought you might like to see the burlap wreath designed by Kelly Acock, owner of The Monarch Flower Company, finished off with red velvet ribbon and ornaments.

And FINALLY down to the basement level!!!

At the base of the steps is a vignette of 3 lighted trees festooned in a garland of red berries, another pair of ice skates (found at a thrift store!), and a vintage Royal Racer sled (circa 1952) I found at a flea market earlier this year. Regular readers may recognize the tartan ribbon & pine bough arrangement featured here from the post “Tartan on the Tee” earlier this season.

With a small family room like we have upstairs, it’s often necessary to shuffle furniture around during the Christmas season. This chair found its way to the lower level. I used a partridge-covered throw from TJ Maxx and a cute plush reindeer couple from Home Goods to dress it up a little. On top of the bookcase is a winter goose sitting amidst snow-kissed lighted faux pine branches and finished off with a tartan bow with spiraled tendrils. Sitting in the bookcase is a miniature sled with antler feet found at a thrift store.

Over on the other side of the room is the bar. I placed a red Waechtersbach bowl of candy on the bar accompanied by a trio of Ugly Christmas Sweater (Tuesday Morning) carolers. Notice the 2 on the sides have their “arms” crossed over the back of the center caroler. I used a pearl-head pin to set that up. Looks like they’re really in the loving spirit of the season!

And FINALLY…

Other vignettes around the room include a wine bottle in a Mrs. Santa suit (Tuesday Morning) standing over a bowl of corks and a gingerbread-scented candle, wine butlers holding more Ugly Christmas Sweater carolers, and a fun plush Santa door hanger picked up at an estate sale over the summer.

As I said, I am hoping to have back surgery before the end of the year, so I won’t be doing a New Year’s Eve post this year. I will try to slip in one last Christmas tablescape before it’s all said and done for this year. My time on the computer will become more and more limited, but I will be thinking of you and wishing you all the very best of the Christmas season and a very safe, happy and fun New Year! I have no Get Out of Jail Free cards left over to offer, so PLEASE be good! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Other Christmas Home Tour posts on this site from years past:
Waking Up to Christmas – Master Bedroom Decor
Christmas Decor 2013
Christmas 2012

Christmas tablescapes on this site:
Cardinal Christmas
Christmas in the Woods
Tartan on the Tee
Confectionery Christmas
Christmas Progressive Dinner
Black, White & Red All Over
Frosty the Snowman
Checkered Christmas
March of the Penguins
Woodland Men’s Tablescape
Contemporary Christmas – Fire & Ice
Pink & Purple Chocolate Christmas
Black Friday Luncheon Tablescape
Winter Dinner
Christmas Through the Red Door
Sugar High
Celebrating the Season
Roman Holiday
Winter Cardinal
Merry & Bright
Kaleidoscope Christmas
Cranberry Christmas
Cranberry Christmas – Squared
Get Me to The Church On Time
Noel Progressive Dinner
Christmas Fiesta
Warm Metal Christmas
Christmas Coffee
Winter Brunch
White Hot
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Progressive Dinner
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!
Tuscan Holiday

And if you’re looking for ideas for ringing in the New Year:
Life is a Cabaret
Platinum New Year’s Eve
Ringing In the New Year
Hooray For Vodka!
White Hot

Linking up this week with Between Naps on the Porch

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year, all!!!

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Progressive Dinner

December 24, 2013December 24, 2013 / Alycia Nichols / 32 Comments

It’s the night before Christmas, and I’m late getting photos of our 2013 Christmas decor and annual cul-de-sac Progressive Dinner posted! Very little chit-chat tonight. I hope all your stockings are hung and that you are ready to just coast from here on out!
(Click on any photo and then click again to enhance/enlarge it and see details up close.)

Every Christmas season several of the households on our cul-de-sac get together for a progressive dinner. It’s a chance to get together one last time before the bitter cold of January chases us all indoors, to share good food, and to check out everyone’s holiday decor. I wanted my neighbors to really enjoy the ambience during the entree portion of the dinner at our house, so I got busy!

I didn’t do a lot with the front entry door this year, nor did we put lights up outside. Next year when I’ve fully recovered, we’ll go all out again! Still, guests were greeted with a cheery wreath with our monogram.

Our library, to the immediate right as you enter our home, took on a very rustic look this year. I started the look when teaching my “Art of Tablescaping” class in that room, so after taking the table down I just embellished the existing decor with even more natural elements like huge moss balls on the urns flanking the vitrine, wood slices, whittled pencils, burlap and twine. To see that “Woodland Christmas” tablescape and read more about the design elements, click HERE.

On the chest at the top of the stairs is an arrangement I created in a mercury glass pilsner vase using faux greenery and orchids with an LED uplight to show it off. Really dramatic look when standing at the foot of the steps!

Back down the stairs and into the entryway is a decorated wreath over the mirror. Lots of LED candles grace the space beneath the wreath, proclaiming it all to be “Merry & Bright”. Notice the ivory “scrunchie” that covers the electric cord. Very clever way to hide it! (I invested in about a dozen of these in several colors at Hobby Lobby about 10 years ago.)

Every room has a very different theme, and this one is full of bright, cheerful color! I used many of these same elements to create 3 very different tablescapes for my “Art of Tablescaping” class. You can check them out HERE, HERE and HERE. After clearing the tablescapes and adding a few more fun pieces, this room is declared the Fun Zone! I won the wreath at the base of the mirror at a White Elephant party a couple of weeks ago, and it fit right in!

The brightly colored tree in the dining room has a Nativity scene beneath it. As we go back into the hallway, the table by the front door is decked out with a fun wreath and a huge LED candle. Let’s head to the living room…

We’ve moved furniture and made space in the living room for our Progressive Dinner tables. This year’s theme in this room is cardinals and reindeer. An additional theme of snowflakes was added for the dinner. The tables are covered with red full-length round tablecloths from LinenTablecloth.com. I recently purchased some ballroom chairs for events at home such as this, and they work out perfectly with cool white Spandex chair covers with contrasting red Spandex sashes, also from LinenTablecloth.com. (I LOVE these because they’re super affordable AND I don’t have to iron them!!!) This is a buffet dinner, so huge white acrylic snowflakes work as “chargers” at each place setting. LinenTablecloth.com red 20″ napkins are neatly folded into reindeer napkin rings purchased on clearance at Target last year. The centerpiece is a simple faux greenery wreath with meandering red ribbon, pine cones and red berries with a trio of LED candles (for safety!) in the center.

I created this arrangement in the window behind the kitchen sink on a moment’s notice. I wanted something really dramatic for the window that could be seen from outside. I simply entwined a curvy wrought iron candlestick with faux greenery, red berry vine and red lights. I made sure to drape the vine across the countertop for a more dramatic look.

Guests served themselves from a buffet in the kitchen. On the menu: a choice of Chicken Tortilla soup, Chicken & Wild Rice soup, or Chili along with nice, warm bread and iced tea. The fun red & white snowflake soup bowls and mugs are from Dollar Tree (yes…Dollar Tree!), and the snowy white ramekins – for those who preferred a “flight” of soups – are from Pier 1.

The fireplace mantel is heavily decorated with faux greenery, holly, red berries, pine cones, glass ornaments and cardinals. Reindeer stocking holders (Pier 1 clearance) on each end hold ornate red & gold silk stockings. Small trees in black urns flank the fireplace hearth.

These two lovey-dovey mice all dressed up in their Christmas finery are new. I saw them at T.J. Maxx and just fell in love with them. Their names? Ramon & Alycia, of course!!! 🙂

We have lots of black elements in the living room, so I played that up with black velvet pillows behind red silk ones with gossamer gold ribbon. The luxuriously soft throw is from T.J. Maxx. My bold gold reindeer make another appearance this year in different areas of the living room. (To see these reindeer used in other Christmas settings, click HERE and HERE.) On the table behind the sofa, a large red ornament rests above lots of lighted greenery and pine cones.

This year’s main tree is dressed in lots of red & gold ornaments including cardinals, musical notes, poinsettias and stockings. The tree is flanked by the two larger gold reindeer wearing sparkling wreaths around their necks. Gifts beneath the tree are all wrapped in colors that reflect the room’s color scheme.

The television armoire across the room always gets a little treat, too. This year the decor mirrors that of the mantel with a huge red ornament (just like the one on the sofa table) rising up like a phoenix from behind.

All very different looks throughout the house. My mind was just going in a million different directions, and I just let the decorative chips fall where they may! 🙂

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Woodland Men’s Christmas Tablescape

December 17, 2013December 20, 2013 / Alycia Nichols / 60 Comments

INSPIRATION: Fleece fabric found at Hobby Lobby

We’re getting so close to Christmas, and I just had to get this masculine tablescape in! This tablescape filled with organic elements is another of the tables created for my Winter 2013 “Art of Tablescaping” class taught through MCC-Longview in Lee’s Summit, MO.
(Click on any photo, then click again to enlarge/enhance it and see up close details.)

Our library is to the left just as you enter the house. It’s kind of dark and moody with lots of wood elements, just the perfect location for a guys’ informal dinner gathering.

This table for 5 starts with a 108″ round white tablecloth from LinenTablecloth.com and is topped with this great piece of fleece fabric found at Hobby Lobby last year. The motif suggests the wilderness and hunting and Christmas all at once. While I didn’t have it at the time I created this tablescape, a third fabric layer of a jute tablecloth between the white and fleece would have worked out really great!

Men kind of like it to the point, so I started with a wood slab charger and topped it with a plain white Corelle dinner plate. You can buy wooden chargers from the Internet or places like Z Gallerie, but this option is less expensive and just as workable: it’s a natural wood slice from the wood crafts department at Michael’s priced at just $10 which becomes just $6 when you arm yourself with a 40% off coupon! That’s quite a bargain compared to the $91.80 for a set of 4 at Z Gallerie!!! I love Z Gallerie, but c’mon!!! I’ve also seen these at places like Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann’s.

The flatware is Hampton Silvermith’s “Patriot” and the clear glass pilsner is from Tuesday Morning‘s clearance section this past Spring. Now let’s talk about this favor/Christmas gift at each place setting! Guys may or may not take to the notion of a little gift, but if it’s something that doesn’t challenge their manhood in any way, they’ll probably be OK with it. Here I have wrapped in plain brown paper a small Swiss Army pocket knife. That’s a pretty manly gift, right? The package is simply tied with twine with a crudely hewn tamarind tree pencil as a little somethin’-somethin’ extra. (They can throw it in their toolbox and use it for marking measurements!) I bought these pencils at TJ Maxx.

I wanted to bring lots of rustic elements into the centerpiece. I started with 3 bark-wrapped vases, one filled with snow-kissed pine, one with pine cones, and one with fresh green moss that gives off that terrific woodsy scent. I added a pair of antlers, a miniature replica of a crudely crafted sled, and a few burlap-wrapped votive candles.

I have always wanted to do a rustic-looking Christmas tree but never tried until now. I didn’t want my first turn at it to prove a disaster, so I kept it very sparse. (Look out next year, though! I’m goin’ for broke!!!) This 4-ft. tree is adorned only with white lights, burlap (Hobby Lobby), hardware store twine twisted into ribbons, and a few wide-eyed owls peeping out from the branches. The packages beneath the tree have the same wrapping paper as the favors on the table, are all tied up in twine, and dressed up a little with ornaments.

On the secretary next to the tree is an aluminum tub filled with pine cones being visited by a woodland friend who just flew in from Home Goods. 🙂

The top of the old secretary has a tiny forest of trees in vases made of birch bark. A lone burlap-swathed stag (Home Goods) stands among the trees.

A side table holds the pitcher of beer for the guys atop two wood slabs. A burlap wreath created by internationally acclaimed floral designer Kelly Acock of the Monarch Flower Company is the backdrop. I added just for fun this cool Swiss Army-style camping tool that belonged to my late father-in-law, an avid outdoorsman.

Last, a comfortable leather chair to kick back in after dinner.

This tablescape would work great for the “civilized” part of a modern day bachelor party where guys mostly just want to get together to eat, have a few drinks, and good-naturedly mourn the death of bachelorhood. 😉

To see another masculine tablescape on this site:
After the Hunt – Gentlemen’s Winter Retreat

To see other winter/Christmas-related tablescapes on this site:
Christmas Fiesta
Kaleidoscope Christmas – Multi-Color Kids’ Tablescape
Merry & Bright – Multi-Color Christmas
Christmas Through the Red Door
Pink & Purple Chocolate Christmas
Black Friday Luncheon Tablescape
Winter Dinner
Contemporary Christmas: Fire & Ice
Celebrating the Season
Sugar High Payback
Cranberry Christmas
Cranberry Christmas Squared
Checkered Christmas – A Snowman Theme
Get Me To the Church On Time
Christmas Progressive Dinner 2011
Black, White & Red All Over Christmas
Frosty the Snowman
Warm Metal Christmas
Winter Brunch
plus NINE additional posts on a single page under the “WINTER” tab!!!

I’ll be joining Cuisine Kathleen for her weekly blog party “Let’s Dish!” on Wednesday after 6:00 p.m. CST and Susan for “Tablescape Thursday” on Thursday anytime after 9:00 a.m. CST. Join me for lots of great ideas from tablescapers all around the world!