Holiday Decor at the Denham House

The Holidays are about sharing and being with Family and Friends, right? So I wanted to share a little of what's been going on at our house. In between moving Mom in, working, and spending time with my daughter who is home for the Holidays from her first year at college, we have been decking the halls just a little bit.

Last year I made some stockings for the mantle using white burlap, trimming them with a little left over green linen I had from a local Showhouse I had worked on years ago. I added wooden letters to each stocking for each family member's initials. I made them with carved wood letters that I found at Michael's, which I painted black, then added gilding on top of that. I rubbed through the gilt so some of the black paint showed through. Cost for each stocking, about $6.

My Mom brought some very fun things with her when she moved it! She had the vintage wire basket (I think it looks like a crown!) and we filled it with crystal bunches of grapes, decanter stoppers, and huge crystal chandelier drops. She also has been collecting crystal balls and spheres for some time, which we scattered across the mantle. I put up a Flea Market painting I found and a copper float that has faded to a beautiful grey-green atop a white ironstone footed bowl. Glass hhurricane lanterns and small glass votive holders, Cedar and Fir garland complete the mantle. Family memories, new and old make it special to all of us.

Our tree is not very "designer-y". There are so many beautiful takes on designer trees out there, my mind is boggled every year with all of the creativity out there! But our tree remains pretty much the same from year to year. Our kids love to put up ornaments we have collected over the years, many of which I had when I was growing up, some of which my Mom has had since her early marriage since the 50's! All of them hold Christmas stories for us....even the gold paper stars that have been on our tree ever since I was little. It may not be the chic-est...but it is perfection to us!