It’s a casual and cozy Christmas at the yellow prairie house this year, and I am so excited to invite you in!
Hey friends! Welcome to part one of my casual and cozy Christmas tour. I am particularly excited to share this tour with you today, because it’s the first Christmas where we have a fully furnished downstairs! Yay! You might remember that last year our front room and dining room were virtually empty. Well no more! The downstairs is finally filled, and we have so enjoyed having a fully furnished home for the past few months.
Casual and Cozy Christmas Tour
Today, I am sharing our newly furnished front room and dining room. Red just happens to be my favorite color, so you will always see lots of pops of it in my home at Christmas time. As I take you through our downstairs, keep in mind that there is still work to be done.
We painted the kitchen and breakfast room downstairs after we moved in, but decided to leave most of the walls the color they were when we moved in for a bit longer, while we focused on other more pressing things. So that is the state of our walls in the front room and dining room. I look forward to the day we will lighten things up in here, and maybe add some more character. I just haven’t decided how quite yet.
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Our flocked tree is from Lowe’s a few years back, and we still just love it! This year, I found this cute ribbon at Michael’s that is made of sweater material and looks like a cozy winter scarf , and that was my starting off point for the tree. I used mostly the same ornaments, and I always find a few new ones to add to the mix each year, lots of red and white ornaments along with lots of sprigs of red berries, and a collection of Lennox ornaments I have collected for years.
This year I found these cute vintage inspired red stockings with creamy little pom poms at Michael’s, and I had to have them. I found the cute little white reindeers on clearance at Kirkland’s last year after Christmas.
I wanted to throw in a shot of the tree without the lights just so you could see that too. But we leave the lights on whenever we are home. We love the glow of the tree lights!
I bought the tree collar at Michael’s. I found several cute things while I was shopping there this year. And I specifically went there to get the creamy white tree collar with the snowflakes. The mirror you see propped up under the shelf is usually hanging on the wall, but I changed it out for the Christmas sign temporarily. I love the way it looks with the reflection of the tree glowing in it!
I always enjoy using my Hunter boots for seasonal decor, but I wear them from time to time too! I just cut up a bouquet of white berries and used eucalyptus and elephant ear to make some cute arrangements in each boot.
I gave this bookcase below a makeover several months ago, painted it and added beadboard wallpaper to the back. It’s a fun place to decorate, but I really want to put some type of a cabinet with a glass door in this spot as soon as I find the perfect piece! I sprinkled some Christmas cheer throughout the shelves, do you spot the little yarn trees I scored at the Target dollar spot? I think they are the cutest!
The vintage plaid suitcase was a Goodwill find, and I bring it out every year for the holiday season.
This little side table is another piece I painted not long ago. It now fits in much better in our home, and I have high hopes that I will get up the nerve to paint my grandfather clock sometime in 2021! We would like to find a cute cushiony round ottoman to go in the front room to replace the glass coffee table one day.
The set of Wingback chairs might be my favorite furniture purchase so far in this house! I love the shape, the color and texture of the fabric, and the distressed looking wood trim! They are usually on the wall where the tree is currently residing. So I just flipped them to the opposite side to make room for the tree.
Seeing this view, compared to the view of a mostly empty room, now when I come down the stairs, makes me so happy! This is a nice little conversation area, and a great place to read a book by the glow of the tree.
Guess what? We made over a Facebook Marketplace dining table and chairs! And they turned out even better than I had hoped they would. I picked up this table and four chairs for $200. We painted the base of the table and the chairs black, and then we stripped the table top and white waxed it. We also reupholstered the chairs.
The bench doesn’t really go with the table, but we had it, so I thought I would try it out here and I love it! Unfortunately, the color of the stain doesn’t go with the table, and this bench belongs elsewhere. So I think I am going to have someone make me a matching bench for the table.
One of the things I love most about our home is the way the whole downstairs is so open. It feels nice and airy with high ceilings, and there is space for everyone to chill and do what needs to be done. There is also tons of natural light that pours in through the windows. Hopefully by this time next Christmas, we will have been able to tackle painting the walls down here a lighter color, and maybe adding a shiplap accent wall somewhere.
I keep debating what I would like to do to add some character, and I haven’t decided for sure yet, but I can see some shiplap in our future, I think. And maybe a fireplace a little further down the line? I really miss having a fireplace, and would love to add one in this home. But we’ll see, the fireplace may have to wait until our next house. I have been keeping my eye open for a vintage mantel or something that I might be able to use to create a faux fireplace.
I searched high and low for a dining table set to make over. I thought about buying something new, but my heart kept telling me to find something old and give it a new life. My daughter helped tremendously with this makeover. She actually did most of the work. And seeing the finished product all decorated for Christmas makes me so happy. We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving meal here this year, and it was so nice! The table also has an extension, but we didn’t include it in our little makeover, so I need to do it to match as well.
Here is a before shot of the table, in case your curiosity is picked. And I owe ya’ll a blog post all about this makeover!
I kept the table decor very casual, with a red jar of greenery, some bottle brush trees and other flocked trees, and some thrifted brass candlesticks. I also scattered some ornaments around.
I absolutely love the natural look of the wooden table top! It was so worth the work that was put into it. Since we completed this table, my husband has began working from here every day, and he really enjoys it. It’s right next to a great window that let’s in a ton of natural light, and he can still see the TV and be right there in the heart of the home, while the rest of us are at work and school.
I didn’t have the heart to pack away my collection of amber bottles, so I moved them over to this window sill, and they fit perfectly there! I have plans to paint the window sill black one day, like our other one in the breakfast room, but I have been lazy getting on it.
I really enjoyed decorating for Christmas this year, and I hope you enjoyed seeing this first glimpse inside our home. I’ll be back to share more of my casual and cozy Christmas tour with you. I’ll share our kitchen, breakfast room, living room and dining room with you.
I feel like we have the perfect amount of Christmas going on the home this year. And it felt good getting it mostly finished before Thanksgiving. The only thing I wish I had is some fresh greenery. I’m not sure where to find any here in Austin! I need to figure that out, don’t you think? We finished up the outside over this past weekend, and now we can sit back and enjoy the Christmas festivities. Enjoy your week friends! And let me know in the comments if you have any questions about anything you have seen in the tour today!
Do you have champagne taste and a tiny budget too? Love fashion, DIY, crafting, all things vintage and thrifty? Stick with me, I’ve got you covered!
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