This year I wanted to be as minimal as possible with our Christmas decor without losing some of the elements we’ve grown to love.  Over the past few years, I’ve really tried to simplify my Christmas decor. Every time I search on Pinterest for inspiration, I end up with lots of Scandinavian style in my Christmas decor board.  I’m not surprised considering I have Norwegian roots and have always loved the cozy simplicity of the nordic style.

We’ve just finished a kitchen renovation so decorating our house has been extra special for me this year.  Let me take you on a little tour of some of our decorated spaces.

The Front Door

Starting at our front entrance, I began with these little metal buckets that I picked up at the dollar store.  Thankfully, we are surrounded by nature so I sent my son Evan out into our yard foraging for supplies. He was kind enough to help bring his mama’s vision to life.  We placed some logs into the buckets for stability and then bunched the branches making it look like mini trees.

The finishing touch for our entrance was the beautiful wreaths designed and made by Karen from Bezaire Event and Floral Design.  You will see more of her beautiful creations throughout this post but I wanted to start with a shout out to her.  Karen was amazing to work with.  I shared with her my vision that included the simplicity of Scandinavian design.  The end result was perfection and it was such a joy working on this collaboration with her!  If you are on Vancouver Island and are planning an event, she is who you want on your side! Thank you Karen!

The Staircase

One of the first things you see when you walk through our front door is our staircase.  I’ve always loved wrapping garland and lights around it but had never used live greenery before.  This was another project that I collaborated with Karen from Bezaire Event and Floral Design.  She made this beautiful live garland with cedar boughs and touches of eucalyptus.  Hanging the garland was easy with the use of command hooks.  I had never used this before and they are a game changer!

 

The Kitchen

Our house has an open concept living, dining room, and kitchen so I wanted to be careful to keep with the simple decorating theme and not “over decorate” each space.

Over the stove I added a simple boxwood wreath.  I found this one at Art Knapp.

On one side of the stove I placed little bottle brush trees that I found at Winners, and the other side I put a few cedar clippings in a little metal bucket I found once again at Dollarama.

I continued the little splashes of green in other spaces in the kitchen.  All very simple and inexpensive but just the look I was wanting to keep with that Scandinavian minimalist theme.

Dining Room

Setting my dining room up is one of my favourite traditions.  My grandma always had her Christmas table set weeks before Christmas and so this is one tradition that I’ve kept in her memory.  I like to change up the theme every year and this year kept with the theme of nature and greenery.

Karen from Bezaire Event and Floral Design made the most beautiful cedar wreaths to add to this space and then my dear friend Amy from Amy Woods Art came and wrote on my paper roll with her beautiful hand lettering.  “Let Heaven and Nature Sing” felt like the perfect lyrics for the Scandinavian Christmas theme.

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Advent

Last year I was so inspired by seeing the advent idea that Monika Hibbs posted so I decided to follow her idea and make our own version this year.  This is such a simple DIY advent calendar but gives so much flexibility because you can put different goodies in each gift bag for each day.  We stuffed ours with a variety of items (packages of gum for one day, a chocolate for another, etc.) You can add a little handwritten note, a bible verse, the possibilities are endless.  Be creative and have fun!

I bought the little bags and clothes pins from Dollarama, used command tape to adhere to the wall and then used my Sharpie pen to write the numbers.  For December 25th I added a few little cedar clippings to decorate it a bit more special:)

The Tree

I love making our Christmas Tree a gathering space.  We love sitting in the evenings with all the lights off except the tree enjoying the twinkling lights and the beauty of the decorations.

The last few years we’ve placed our Gathre mat under the tree which gives a nice place to sit by the tree.  I added a little pouf stool to set books on, and used a cozy wool blanket as a tree skirt to give it that cozy vibe.  Add a basket of books and now the Christmas tree is not only a beautiful focal point but a cozy space to gather.

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Extra little touches

What is your Christmas decorating style?  I have to admit that I love all kinds of decor.  I always have a hard time deciding exactly what “my” style is.  That is the beauty of creativity; It’s all beautiful and showcases a little piece of who you are and it can change over time.

Thats why I love following other blogs to get inspiriation and fresh idea!  I’ve partnered with a few other bloggers who are also showing us their Holiday Home Tour.  Click the links below to see their beautiful homes

White Picket Farmhouse | Loving Littles Blog | KelsiKendel | Petite Prairie Family | Kristina Lynne

I hope I was able to give you a little bit of fresh inspiration for your home this Christmas.  I would love to hear how you’re decorating this season.  Lets spread all that creativity around!

Merry Christmas!

Photography by my dear friend Bernine Marie