I wasn’t going to do a full on holiday house tour this year because I kinda already did one. But I’ve been having great success lately designing our puzzling family room, so I thought maybe all dressed up for the holidays would be a fun way to share the changes! Plus, this year I haven’t put one decoration away prematurely! Meaning: I’ve reached the elusive magical balance of festive but not cluttered with the Christmas decorations. Now that is something to celebrate! So welcome to a casual, unstyled Christmas home tour that is heavy on the family room. (For Christmas maniacs, you can check out every Christmas post I’ve ever published right here!)

First things first, the tree! Though I’m missing the smell of a live tree, we decided to stick with just our aluminum tree again this year to make life easier and less, a definite reoccurring December theme in our life. It is very colorful and loud, taking up the emotional space of two trees, so we are good! It is leaning ever so slightly and adorably after kid ornament placement heavily favored the front bottom haha! Speaking of ornaments, I get asked about these a lot. Probably half are vintage (estate sales) and half are newer (Michaels sometimes has good, saturated glass ornaments that I scoop up when I see them). This couch landed here after a swap with the den. I talked a bit about why the other one wasn’t working before, but it came down to color (too blue) and size (too small for this freakishly massive 60’s living room). This vintage couch solves both problems and generally feels better. I mean, it has a built-in table so… My only complaint is that it cuts off the fireplace a bit and a sectional without an arm/headrest along that side of the room would be better. But, honestly, I don’t see myself ever parting with this couch (it’s been with us since our first apartment). I’m always at a loss for where to hang our stockings. Floating on the rock fireplace is so visually busy. Taped on our Preway fireplace is adorable but not practical. And this TV corner alway looks bleak. This was a double solution that I am loving. When I shared a photo of this on IG, and got a lot of questions on the stocking hangers. They are these cheap weighted ones from Target. I don’t love the silver and thought about spray painting them black but mine are nearly 10 years old and are falling apart so why bother. When I went to look for a new set, these caught my eye but I couldn’t justify spending $40. Maybe I’ll catch some on sale? (Before you ask, the stockings are vintage found on eBay years ago. See my last post for some fun DIY stockings.) OK, now to share one of three areas of our house that I’m completely embarrassed by and rarely show. Conviniently, it is literally the first thing you see when you walk through the front door: this unfinished step down area. (Other two: refrigerator and master bath.) We have been planning on building a decorative wood screen in between the dining room instead of this mediocre railing. Five years in and we’re 0% done. The raised foundation framing used to be covered with carpet. We need to make decisions on what we’ll do there and if we’ll add an additional step. I thought for sure 2018 would be our year but no. In good news, I never have any idea what kind of furniture to tuck in this semi-corner but I’m liking this low-key combo. It would for sure look amazing with a crazy wood screen behind it! Here’s a few views so you can see how this nook sits awkwardly in the middle of everything. (And more on our advent calender here!) And here is the den! You’ll notice our mini vintage aluminum wall tree, our vintage rainbow ceramic tree, and the blue couch from the swap, looking pretty pretttty good with the pale blue walls. (And currently cradling clay magic: a black and white M Quan sculpture that I bought in Palm Springs a few weeks back. It moves me to tears I love it so much. More on it another time, after I find the perfect hardware and wall to hang it on…I want it in every room!)Entry…The exterior is very simple (well until sundown when my house turns into crazy town with our lights, which I’ll share soon). Two wreaths, one up front and one round back. That wonky yellow backyard gate is on deck for replacement over Christmas break…hanging on by emergency screws at this point!I’ve always loved homes with big picture windows that frame Christmas trees. We definitely don’t have one of those up front, but we have the next best thing…full tree views from the backyard whoop!We still have a full week of school so this week will be spent hustling (why???). Looking forward to Christmas vacation for a little gate repair and maybe but probably not (thinking HUGE) room divider build up! All I want for Christmas is a wood divider. Thanks for reading! xoxo Jenny