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Holiday House: Part I

November 11, 2009 By Rhoda 57 Comments

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W

hat a fabulous event we had with the Holiday House, in spite of the weather.  Who would have imagined that the very day we had this planned, tropical storm Ida would come blowing through Birmingham?   We still had a great turnout though and it was a very fun day. IMG_7442

I wish you all could have been there in person. I’ll try to show how pretty it was, but it’s hard to capture everything in pics. This is the area that I did, so I’ll share that part today and then as I get pics loaded, we’ll move on to the other parts of this huge home. My area is a small den and kitchen area, known as the Bistro. It’s right off the HUGE main kitchen and tucked on the backside of the house. This is where the homeowners spend most of their time.  This is me and my friend from church, Janice, who helped me get everything in here on decorating day. Thank you to my blog readers who came out for this, it was great seeing you all!

This is the bar area of the kitchen where I placed the small lime green and red tree, along with a white tureen filled with red balls, lime green moss and some pretty beads.  I borrowed that Santa from someone, since it looked so great with my colors in here. We were swapping things back and forth and that was a lot of fun, but most everything in here, I brought from home.

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This is looking towards the den area from the kitchen.  You can see I placed my pretty paperwhites that I picked up recently on a cake stand and added some faux snow.  I love the simplicity of putting things out like this and adding that snow.  Instant Wintery feel!  We’ll go back into the den in a minute, but first I’ll show you around the Bistro kitchen.IMG_7299
From the den, looking back at the kitchen area.IMG_7475

On the other countertop, I added this tray that I painted a long time ago, since it has a lot of green in it and layered some glass candlesticks that I filled with fresh greens and cranberries, added water and lit a floating candle.  I just added the green teapot and Christmas plate for some fun.  Again, added the fake snow and some Christmas balls.IMG_7477

These floating candles got a lot of attention and comments from everyone coming through and are so easy to do. I’ll do a post later on how to set these up and use them for a party.  They are SO easy.
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There’s a glasstop Bistro table in here and I added some pretty plates and Christmas coffee cups, with my linen yardsale green and white napkins tucked inside. I knew they would come in handy for something.  Again, I used the other faux paperwhite on top of the Southern Living at Home pedestal with green moss, balls and pinecones tucked in, sitting on a plate with more Christmas balls and fake snow.   Simple, but pretty, I thought.

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Over the stove hood, I added a pretty Christmas sign I have at my house, along with some sparkly balls and ribbon, with a small wreath and another sparkly ball hanging from the front.

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Over on the left side of the stove, I placed my white cakeplate with big cloche on top. Some of you might remember I did something similar last year in my kitchen, adding some little ceramic people for a Winter scape under glass.  You will see this at my house again this year. 🙂

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This pretty wreath with the red and white checked ribbon was a loaner, since it went so well in my space.  The Joyful Tidings greeting in the window is mine, as well as the red bottlebrush trees.  I did add the lime green balls to the wreath to bring that color in too.IMG_7424

Another shot of the Bistro table.IMG_7423

To the right of the stove area, I added in my new whimsical cakeplate and platter that I found last year in the after Christmas 1/2 price sales.  I love these pieces and hope to put them to good use this year.  The faux amaryllis is the homeowners and I borrowed it to use in my big white urn, perfect on top of the cakeplate.IMG_7471

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Moving back into the den, I went more understated in this room, with bronze, silver, and gold and very neutral.  Look how well it all goes with the pretty painting over the mantel.IMG_7288

To the left of the mantel, is the big screen TV, so I added in Merry Christmas letters that I also found last year in the after Christmas sales.  I love the simpleness of this too, with some pretty votives, pinecones, and simple pieces.  The wreath underneath is mine too, found at Target a few years ago, and it totally looks real, but is not. IMG_7431

The mantel and coffee table.  I added a pretty gold and black runner to the coffee table and used my large lantern with 3 battery powered candles, which I really love. Those are great and they flicker just like the real thing.  I got mine last year at Michaels. IMG_7298

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I added some fresh greens and a few silvery sparkly balls and pinecones to finish it off and tied a fancy bronze bow around it.IMG_7486

Me and my friend, Cindi, who is a designer with her own business.  She did a fabulous area, which I’ll show you later on.  We go to church together too and have had so much fun getting to know each other during this project.

That’s all for my space.  Stay tuned for much, much more from this beautiful home.  It will take me days to take you through it all, but I’ll keep posting until I show all of it.  I won’t do it all in a row, but will sprinkle in the inspiration throughout the next few weeks, so we all don’t get burned out on Christmas too early! 🙂

After all, we still have Thanksgiving to celebrate first.  And I love that Holiday too.

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Filed Under: Christmas 57 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. mitzi says

    November 11, 2009 at 6:15 am

    I love it…everything looks so amazing & beautiful!!

    Reply
  2. Jennifer @ Fiddle Dee Dee says

    November 11, 2009 at 7:04 am

    Just perfect! You have done an amazing job with your areas. I love all of the little touches and the colors are great! The guest coming through must have been thrilled to enter. Looking forward to seeing how you made the floating candles. I hope all of your week has gone as well as your project!

    xo, Jennifer

    Reply
  3. K @ Prudent and Practical says

    November 11, 2009 at 7:14 am

    You did a wonderful job ~ everything is so festive and classy! I’m curious though, was any part of the house decorated for Thanksgiving?

    Reply
  4. Pat@Back Porch Musings says

    November 11, 2009 at 7:15 am

    It’s all beautiful Rhoda! I love the lime and red combination. Lots of inspiration!

    The year our home was on tour, we had a big snowstorm. We were cleaning sidewalks and driveways, the morning of the tour and a friend came over and bladed our street. We had lots of visitors. We’ve gone to them after snow and ice storms and in rain and sunny days. I love home tours, especially Christmas home tours!

    Reply
  5. Stephanie @ A Fine House says

    November 11, 2009 at 7:16 am

    What beautiful spaces you have created! Such inspiration for us all. I love the look of the red with the lime green. So fun! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the home.

    Reply
  6. living with lindsay says

    November 11, 2009 at 8:04 am

    I love the little winter scene under the cloche. I have a covered cheese plate that’s just waiting for inspiration, and I think I’ve found it. My son would absolutely love it.

    The green sparkily leaf-type things in the cranberries/candles (Love, btw) – where did you get those? I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere (Hobby Lobby? or Dollar Store maybe?) and wanted them and didn’t buy them for some reason. Now, I want them again!

    You did a beautiful job. I can’t wait to see the rest of the house!

    Reply
  7. living with lindsay says

    November 11, 2009 at 8:06 am

    Oh, and I’m doing my dining room in lime green, turquoise, and silver, so I saw a lot of things in the kitchen that I’m going to have to copy!

    Reply
  8. Diane@A Picture is Worth says

    November 11, 2009 at 8:48 am

    It all looks so pretty Rhoda! Love the pics!

    Reply
  9. Michelle Brown says

    November 11, 2009 at 8:58 am

    I am totally going to “steal” some of your ideas for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks beautiful!!

    Reply
  10. Lou Cinda says

    November 11, 2009 at 9:10 am

    Gosh Rhoda you did awesome!! I love it! I know the homeowners will want to keep everything you did!!

    Beautiful job! As always…..so talented my friend.

    Lou Cinda 🙂

    Reply
  11. Heather says

    November 11, 2009 at 9:10 am

    what a feast for the eyes!! Everything is just so, so gorgeous. I especially love the Christmas Spirit sign – so much that I’ve printed the picture and I am going to try and replicate it with the help of my cricut (gosh that thing was expensive and I need to make enough projects to make it worth it 🙂

    Reply
  12. Laryssa @ Heaven In The Home says

    November 11, 2009 at 9:40 am

    I really like the faux snow! I’ll have to try that this year. Thank you for taking the time to show us these great decor ideas.

    Reply
  13. Anita says

    November 11, 2009 at 9:43 am

    Awe, how I wish I was there to see all this in person.
    How beautiful. Please show us more! I will tune in tomorrow.

    Reply
  14. Kathy@Creative Home Expressions says

    November 11, 2009 at 9:49 am

    I do love that green, Rhoda! I have quite a bit of it to sprinkle in myself this year. I really like it with red and pink, which seems to be what I’m drawn to this year. You did a great job, especially bringing your own stuff in. Your house must look spectacular for Christmas! Love all your little things ~ and I think they are the best because you can always fit them in somewhere to add some holiday decoration!

    Reply
  15. Donna says

    November 11, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Yesterday was so much fun! I loved it all! Everything was beautiful. The entire house was amazing. I would get lost in that huge house!
    Your area was decorated to perfection as was the entire house. I could not believe the kitchen…how many island were there? Gorgeous!
    It was good seeing you yesterday.
    Blessings,
    Donna

    Reply
  16. ~Country Lady~ says

    November 11, 2009 at 9:57 am

    So very inspiring!! You did a fabulous job. I love it all and so wish that I could have seen it in person. I’m going to begin decorating this weekend because I’ll be out of town the entire week of Thanksgiving. I will be certain to use some of your ideas as inspiration. Thank you so much for your willingness to share so generously with all of us. You are a jewel. Blessings!

    Reply
  17. Lisa@Pickles and Cheese says

    November 11, 2009 at 10:18 am

    Oh I just love to tour decorated houses at the Holidays. So many great ideas! Your areas are just perfect. And I too really liked the little scene under the cloche. Really all of it looked wonderful and was fun to see. Thanks!

    Reply
  18. Linda@Coastal Charm says

    November 11, 2009 at 10:18 am

    Rhoda~thanks soooo much for the first tour…the home looks gorgeous!!! Love how you used the red and lime green combo…these colors work so well in my home. Hope you have a super FUN week!

    Blessings,
    Linda

    Reply
  19. Nerina says

    November 11, 2009 at 11:08 am

    Oh my gosh…you have so awakened my Christmas Spirit! Your decorations are lovely and I will be waiting for your tutorial on the charming cranberry candles. They are really pretty!! Love your color choices….so festive and inviting!!
    Great job!! xOxO Nerina 🙂

    Reply
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  1. Tweets that mention Christmas inspiration -- Topsy.com says:
    November 11, 2009 at 11:15 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rhoda and houseblogs, XCLUBCAFE. XCLUBCAFE said: Christmas inspiration: The mantel and coffee table. I added a pretty gold and black runner to the coffee table .. http://bit.ly/O7AQi […]

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Thanks for stopping by! I'm Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn't have to cost a fortune and I've spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yard sales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I'm here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won't you join me?

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