Hello friends and welcome to my first Christmas home tour this year! December is finally here! I’ll have more of our house to share next week, but this week we’ll get started with the front porch, living room, foyer and dining room. This year, for the first time I’m joining my friend, Jennifer Rizzo, for her Holiday Housewalk, where you can virtually walk through 13 homes all decked out for the holidays. If you want to start at the beginning, be sure and visit Jen’s blog for all the links.
If you’re new to my blog, welcome! I’m Rhoda and I’ve been blogging for 16 years now, so I’ve shared a lot of Christmas and holiday inspiration over the years as I decorate my own home for the holidays. It’s always fun to get out my tried and true ornaments and try to mix them up in new ways. I don’t change everything every year, but I do try to move some things around from year to year so it looks a little different. I’ve been collecting Christmas decor for many years and only add a few new little things from year to year. I’m so glad you’re here!
If you are dropping by from Julia at Cuckoo For Design, welcome to you. I know you loved seeing Julia’s lovely home all decked out!
We’ll start on the front porch, where I’ve got lots of traditional red and green. I’ve collected all of this for years and luckily it all goes together well, so it works for a classic Christmas. I’m a classic Christmas girl and don’t do a lot of trendy things for the holidays.
Garland around the door with lights add so much ambience at night and this year I added twinkle lights and they sparkle and twinkle which makes me so happy! I have plenty of ornaments to decorate with inside and out so these red and gold blingy ornaments are a great way to decorate my garland.
A simple bow on top of the 5′ tree in an urn adds so much to our smallish porch. There’s just enough room to tuck this prelit tree in the corner. Add a few ornaments, a bow on top and call it done!
This year’s wreath is a real one from Lynch Creek Farms, my favorite place for real Christmas wreaths. They gifted me this wreath, the Red Duluxe. It’s a beautiful traditional wreath with a gorgeous red and gold bow. I’m going to be doing a giveaway on Instagram for one of you to win a wreath from Lynch Creek too, so look for that today over there.
The front porch is a place to have fun and add some whimsey and my husband, Mark’s childhood sled is a wonderful addition to the nostalgic feel of the porch. I found those ice skates at a vintage store and added those for impact as well. Isn’t that fun?
The front porch says Merry and Bright and that’s just the way I like to celebrate Christmas!
Come on inside and we’ll check out the tree and some other fun spaces! The front porch sets the tone and inside I have a mix of traditional red colors, as well as blue and neutral areas. I believe in mixing it all up!
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I do the same thing on my staircase every year, by adding garland and these gorgeous glass balls I got a few years ago. They are still going strong and this is such a fun place to use them.
I add a neutral bow here along with white lights and these large bells. Similar set of bells (affiliate link).
The staircase festooned in garland really shines at night!
Now for the star of the show! We love color around here. Mark, my husband, and I have been collecting Shiny Brites and when we got married, we merged our childhood Shiny Brites together on this one big colorful Christmas tree. It’s so fun to get them out every year and add them on the tree. The more color the better! That pretty crystal looking tree topper was in Mark’s Christmas stash (he had a lot of things stashed that he forgot about) and he just shared it with me last year, so on the tree it went. It’s so sparkly and pretty up there!
Mark also had his childhood Lionel train set repaired last year and now it’s out this year and up and running. Such a fun way to add a nostalgic touch to Christmas. The grandkids are going to love it!
Just look at all those Shiny Brites! I’m so glad I got the ones from my childhood and I could hardly believe that Mark had his too when we got married 6 years ago. It’s been a fun merging of Christmas traditions. We also added some new Shiny Brites now made by Christopher Radko to the tree. Three different wired ribbons are added to the tree as well and I love the blue tones they add.
I even wrapped up some fake packages in blues to add to the tree. Such a fun way to celebrate!
This colorful tree is so much fun and I really love the nostalgic feel it has, taking me back to childhood Christmas growing up. It sure looks good in the navy living room too.
These new ornaments (the glass trees) are from Walmart a couple years ago and are unfortunately no longer available. I’ve sure enjoyed them, they mix in great with my Shiny Brites. I found that cute pink deer at Homegoods and it all adds to our nostalgic old fashioned Christmas!
Living room view to foyer.
In our foyer, I have a pretty foyer table that I love to change out for the seasons. It gets changed at least 4 times a year and Christmas is probably my favorite. I can add on the bling, the mercury glass and lots of faux candlelight for added ambience. When all these lights are on at night, wow it’s magical!
I’ve had this sign for years and years and bring it out for the holiday season. It definitely says it all for this time of year! I do love the bling and mercury glass and all of this has been collected for many years. Here’s a large faux candle similar to this large one I have with remote.
That new gold angel was a gift from my friend, Rhonda and I love it too! Mixes nicely with my mercury glass. Those Mercury glass candleholders set of 6 are from Pottery Barn and I love, love them! Perfect for the holidays!
Those candleholders are on sale for $29 now and you can’t beat that price. Mine is the silver set. Found these mercury glass trees at Homegoods a few years ago.
I found this pretty brass reindeer candleholder at an antique store last year and I love it! Those 2 single brass deer were found at a thriftstore and they all mix well together.
A snowy flocked tree holds a few mercury glass and silver/white ornaments.
Daisy says welcome to the dining room. She’s my little shadow these days! With my blue and white dining room, it’s fun to highlight my blue and white collection so I’ve added a few of those.
Traditional plaid placemats along with blue and white dishes give a Ralph Lauren vibe and I’m loving it.
I have 3 nutcrackers which I’ve added to my collection over the years and they are a fun addition to the table.
These blue and white English Royal Worster Group dishes were found at an antiques store. This set of gold flatware is still available and so fun to use on so many occasions.
Simple faux berries and pine sprays in a blue and white vase is oh so traditional and classic. Surrounding the base with vintage glass ornaments is a great mix of colors.
I’m loving the table this year!
On the sideboard, I added a faux pine garland with lights and more candles.
In the middle is a glass cloche with a winter scene underneath. I love creating these little vignettes with little people and faux snow. Those gold bamboo candles are unfortunately no longer available. I got them a couple seasons ago from QVC.
Fun snow scene under glass. I had a large Christmas village at one time, but pared down a few years ago and kept the trees and little people for this purpose.
On the wicker bar cart are a stack of decorating books and a brass bowl filled with extra gold ornaments and real cedar cut from outside.
Pretty glass icicle ornaments are on the dining room light fixture and they are always gorgeous!
That’s a peek at our home during the holidays, so thanks for stopping by and I hope you got some ideas to implement for yourselves. I’ll share the family room, mantel and kitchen next week, so stay tuned for more from our house to yours!
Next on the tour is my long time friend, Janet with Shabbyfufu. You will be so glad you stopped by her house, it’s always a beautiful French inspired holiday home, so don’t miss it.
Wow! Beautiful. The front porch is so inviting and looks so classy (and fun). All of your Christmas decor is pretty and timeless. I actually scrolled back through the photos several times just in case I missed something. Your Christmas tree is gorgeous — all those ornaments and ribbon …… I know it must be magical at night. Thank you for sharing.
Rhoda, this just couldn’t be prettier! Thank you for sharing your amazing holiday home with us. Merry Christmas!
So lovely…if possible, could you tell me the source for the beautiful gold lanterns on your sideboard, the ones with the blue ribbon next to your snow scene under glass? Thank you so much!
Hi, Alice, those are from QVC and by Patricia Altschul (she’s from Charleston), but they are no longer available. I’m so bummed they were discontinued because I love them!
Your Christmas tree is absolutely beautiful! I love all the colors on it. Thank you for sharing!
Oh my! That tree is incredible! Your home is so pretty, but at Christmas it shines. Thank you for the inspiration.
I always love your staircase and I have to get my hands on similar bells. Love the rest of your home too. Merry Christmas Rhoda
You’ve really outdone yourself with all of the vignettes and the gorgeous tree this year Rhoda! Puts my sparse decor this year to shame, lol!
Love your blue rooms and Christmas tree, Rhoda! Your home is always a treat to visit.
Such a beautiful home tour, I love all the touches of blue! Merry Christmas
Loving the red, blue and white theme for the dining room. As always the tree is a work of art, and I imagine it took hours to complete the look. Merry Christmas and Joy to the World to you and your family.
Daisy was the hit of the tour, but the shiny bright ornaments are amazing. Your collection is amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Just beautiful, Rhoda. You and Mark have the best Shiny Brite collection ever. They look stunning massed together on the tree. And Miss Daisy is precious, as always.
Your decor is absolutely lovely. But I have to ask, with a smile, how is Daisy handling the train set under the tree? I have three pups that were all puppies and their excitement and enthusiasm fot all things bright, shines and makes noise.
Thank you, Rhoda! Daisy was very interested in the train set as Mark set it up and turned it on. She doesn’t get too close when it’s making all that noise, but she was really getting into the little trees at first. She was sneakking in there and stealing those bottlebrush trees and bringing them in the family room to play with so we’ve had to work on that! But she seems to have lost interest now.
Your post truly captures the magic and warmth of the Christmas season! The way you’ve decorated your front porch and tree is not just beautiful, but also incredibly inspiring. It’s amazing how you’ve managed to create such a welcoming and festive atmosphere with your choice of colors, lights, and ornaments. Your attention to detail, from the garland around the door to the carefully placed decorations, really brings out the spirit of Christmas.
I also appreciate the personal touches you’ve added, like Mark’s childhood sled and the Shiny Brite ornaments. These elements add a lovely sense of nostalgia and family tradition to your decorations. Your post is a wonderful reminder of how home decorations can create a joyful and heartwarming environment for family and guests alike during the holidays.