White Christmas

Living in the NW I don't get a white Christmas very often (though they are predicting snow for next week--and I am not sure if I want to cross my fingers for snow, or for no snow. I do have to do some Thanksgiving traveling), so I decided this year I am going to make my Christmas decor a little more "white".   For years my Christmas decorating has focused on red, white, silver and glass with a loose snowflake theme.  And while I still love all that stuff and will likely use a lot of it in my living room, I am going to go a little more soft and natural in my family room, where all my decor is soft and natural.  Here is a peek at last year's decor. . .

All this getting ready for Christmas and making ornaments in October has given me the bug to decorate a little early.  And if my blog browsing is any indication, I am not alone.  I have gotten ideas here and there and two days ago inspiration for my banister struck.  A quick sketch and a little effort (including a trip to my yard to clips some greenery) and my banister came to life:

I seriously love all the creams and whites in contrast with the greenery and the black stair rail and picture frames.

I have recently seen a lot of various paper garlands and was excited to try my own. . .

And I am sure she is not the only one making these, but Christa, of Chloe Rose, is selling the prettiest little rag ornaments that inspired mine.  I spied them at Camas Antiques.  I LOVE her stuff.

What I really like about this style is how well it goes with my furniture and decor. . . and my dog! (who needs a bath and a hair cut).

 I don't think I will get sick of it as quickly as the traditional style Christmas decor. . .

Which is a good thing since I am starting early.  Although, with Thanksgiving next week it's not that early. . .

And since I have only done the banister and planted my paperwhites, I still have a lot of decorating to do.  Speaking of paperwhites. . .

(Do you like my new table? I just need to make slipcovers for the chairs now--paperwhites are planted in the pitchers and chamber pot)

I plant them every year in early November so they will bloom over Christmas.  I love the extra added something that fresh flowers give and their crisp whiteness adds so much to all my other decorations.

I ordered them online this year, in October, to get a better deal so I could plant more.  I also ordered two snowball amaryllis that I can't wait to see bloom.

You might have noticed my swag didn't actually reach the entire length of the banister.  It's close, but I want to decorate the rail along the hall upstairs also, so I better get back to work.  Especially if I want to make extras to put in the shop!

What is your Christmas style?

Holiday Open House

The Holiday Open House at Camas Antiques kicked off today, and it was PACKED!  There are so many fun vendors there and after Lisa and I put the finishing touches on our little corner we took a slow tour around the place and I snapped a few pictures of things that caught my eye.  You might notice a trend. . .

First a tour of our corner. .

And a few treasures NOT in our booth. . .

And the front window was adorably Christmasy in red and white.  I LOVE the hutch. . .

I hope you enjoyed the picture overload.  I tend to go a little camera crazy. . . ask anyone who knows me!

If you live nearby come visit in person.  It's like a treasure hunt in there and you are guaranteed to find something fabulous!

If nothing else, you can enjoy the lovely fall color making its debut outside the shop. . .

Victorian Farm Table Love. . .

The week Lisa and I decided to embark upon House of White we went to an estate sale.  It wasn't one of those estate sales where there are experts who find out the actual value of everything and then double it, it was more of a glorified garage sale.  We came away with a vanity and stool, dresser, desk, chair, and this table (all of which we got a great deal on):

It had such cute little charm that we both wanted to take it home for keeps.  So we used it in lots of pictures and hemmed and hawed over whether to keep it as is, refinish it, or paint it.

We had seen a similar table at Camas Antiques that had been painted and it was cute, but I still wasn't convinced.

So it hung around my house for a while getting used as a prop and getting in my way in the garage between shoots.

Then I decided I wanted to use it in our booth to display a small Christmas tree with some of our handmade ornaments.

So I had to make a decision.  I took a cue from Marian and decided the perfect balance would be to sand down the top and stain it, while painting the legs.

I primed the legs and painted them a very pale blue.  Then distressed them a little.

I have to say, I love it more now than I did before.

And because we were rushing to fill our booth before the big holiday open house today, I didn't get to stage the table and take lovely pictures of it.

So you will have to make do with the pictures of it installed in the booth.

If it doesn't sell soon, I may tell Lisa it sold and sneak it home so I can love it a little longer.

***Linking with Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed's