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11 Magnolia Lane

Sharing our easy DIYs, decorating, entertaining and more!

Holiday Open House Series ~ Christy’s House

December 11, 2013 By Christy 15 Comments

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open house button

Phew!  If you’ve been following our Holiday Open House series, then you know that I have some BIG footsteps to fill as I post today (biting nails)!  We’ve had a hugely talented line-up of bloggers for you over the past week and a half, and I hope you’ve been inspired as you decorate your own homes for the holiday.

I’m still working on my own house, but I did the bulk of it right after Thanksgiving, as I was hosting a gathering at our house late last week and wanted to be (mostly) decorated by then.  In fact, we’ll be entertaining through most of the Christmas holiday–and if we’re lucky, Amy and her family will be our guests for some of that time!  I’ll post my kids’ rooms next week, but for today, I’ll show you around the downstairs.  Come on in!

silver white christmas crackers

My front door opens right into the dining room and a very small entry hall area.  I have a lot of white and gray in here, so I stuck with a white and silver palette.

hall entry foyer christmas

white silver tree christmas

open shelves decorated for Christmas

I love my starfish in a chicken wire basket, and just tossed a few ornaments and snowflakes in there to dress them up for the holiday.  I almost put them on my Christmas tree (we do live right near the beach here in Savannah), but maybe next year!

starfish christmas ornaments

white silver Christmas decor

Most of my vintage decanters were my grandmother’s–and they fit the festive mood in the room.

vintage decanters

decanters-close

I bought very few new items this year, but I always like to pick up a few rosemary topiaries for the holiday.  They smell amazing, and then when Christmas is done you just plant them outside.  I stashed this one in a hotel silver wine bucket.

rosemary topiary

I mixed gold, silver, and white in the tablescape, and I think that will work well for New Year’s Eve dinner, too.

white silver Christmas tables cape

On Christmas Eve, we always eat fondue (the kids love it), and on Christmas Day, I make a standing rib roast (my husband loves it!).  I’ll probably put a delicious dessert under the cupcake domes when the big day arrives.

Christmas tablescape

My kids adore opening holiday crackers, and so we usually have them for Christmas.  I even bought some for Thanksgiving this year!  They look so festive in a champagne bucket on my entry table and can serve as last-minute gifts as needed.

Christmas crackers

The gorgeous thrift shop chair that I painted {read about that here} gets a Christmas pillow and my grandmother’s vintage Santa cups decorate an old spice rack.

painted chair Christmas

When you head into the living room, I shift the color scheme to gold tones.  The tree is decorated with gold, burlap, olive wood ornaments (from a family trip to the Holy Land), cotton bolls, and white twinkle lights.  Sunny has decided not to move, despite my best efforts, so he’s my photobomber of the day!

Christmas tree burlap hydrangea

burlap hydrangea Christmas tree

Of course, I had to put a “B” on top of the tree this year!

Christmas tree monogram

Not everyone appreciates my efforts. Even though she has her own tree to decorate in her room, my ten-year-old daughter is very disapproving of my ornament choices.  She tells me she patterned this after Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses…seriously!

Christmas thesis

Another photobombing dog…my pillows are always smooshed!

tree-wide-dog

Even the deer head above the TV gets decorated:

silver glitter deer head

I’ll post my living room again after the holidays, but let me just say that the blues in here make it a tricky color combination for Christmas decorating!

This mantel isn’t done yet…and I might move the creche, but we’ll see.

stained-glass-window-noel

I made the “Noel” banner a few years ago from chipwood letters I bought at Hobby Lobby.

I think most everyone who reads the blog regularly knows that this stained glass window is from the church in which my parents got married.

gold "Noel" garland

This gorgeous free printable is from Jennifer at My Fabuless Life:

living-room-table-gold

I used magnolias extensively in my outdoor decor this year (of course!!) and put a few branches in the garland going up the stairs:

magnolia Christmas garland

stairs

The kitchen and living room are open to each other.  If you’re new (and welcome, by the way!), then let me just tell you that this is military housing and when I asked nicely if I could paint the kitchen cabinets, they laughed in my face!  So we’re living with the brown…

kitchen military housing

We eat most of our meals at this antique table that I found on Craigslist five or six years ago…it’s almost like the one my grandmother used to have.

christmas casual table red

I love using Ball jars for drinking glasses–even before it was cool!

kitchen-tabletop

My scrawny little Charlie Brown tree might grow to be a big Georgia pine one day!

kitchen-table-unset

The “Merry” garland is another one I made, and last year it was on my front door instead.

kitchen-desk

My vintage produce scale holds more crackers.  These are Nutcracker-themed and will go to my daughter’s ballet friends the day before their big Christmas performance, along with some red velvet cupcakes.  Dancers run on sugar, after all!

vintage produce scale

Doesn’t every kitchen need a tiny cooking-themed tree?  Yes!

Kitchen Christmas tree

My Ikea plate rack sits between two windows, which makes it tricky to photograph.  It gets a little dash of red and boxwood for the holidays.

white plate rack silver boxwood

The vintage silver is here year-round, but it’s festive enough for the holidays.

shelves-close

I love my kitchen cart–it’s so useful–and I have a great time changing the styling around for fun.

kitchen cart decorated for Christmas

There’s way too much good stuff to eat at this time of year!

cake dome chalkboard sign

And to drink, too!

vintage wine bottle carrier rack

gumballs apothecary jar

Which one are you?

naughty nice Christmas towels

Finally, here are some shots of the outside.  I used magnolia and pine (both cut from the woods behind our house) and burlap (of course).

Here are some daytime snaps–it was raining all morning and by the time it cleared enough to photograph, we were getting direct sun.  Grrr!

porch-day-002

porch-day-001

door-day-joy

porch-day

mailbox-magnolias

And here it is at night:

door-night

house-porch

house-front-night

Come back next week if you’d like to see the rest of the house!

Here is the rest of the Open House line up ~

Last Week:

Tuesday ~ Everyday Occasions

Wednesday ~ Dixie Delights

Thursday~ DIYShowOff

Friday~At the Picket Fence

Sunday~Surprise Home!

This Week:

Monday~ Celebrating Everyday Life with Jennifer Carroll

Tuesday~ Housepitality Designs

Wednesday~ 11 Magnolia Lane {Christy}

Thursday~ 11 Magnolia Lane {Terry}

Friday~ 11 Magnolia Lane {Amy}

 

Follow all the inspiration from this series HERE via Pinterest!

And keep up with the Season of Giving HERE.

{Sharing at Jennifer Rizzo’s Holiday House Walk }

Thanks for stopping by!

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Holiday Home Tour 2022 {Amy's Foyer + Living ...
Outdoor Party in Pinehurst

Filed Under: Christmas, Holiday Home Tour Series, Holidays, Home Tours

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christy says

    December 11, 2013 at 8:25 pm

    Your home is beautiful and inviting, Christy! I love your daughter’s creativity with her theses patterned after Martin Luther’s 95 Theses!

    Reply
    • Christy says

      December 15, 2013 at 10:09 am

      Thanks, Christy. I’ll be keeping that one, for sure!

      Reply
  2. KellyinPA says

    December 12, 2013 at 8:20 am

    Christy, you have no need to be nervous! Your home is lovely and welcoming. We have lots of opportunities for hospitality this month too, how do you keep on top of it all without going crazy? There’s a good blog post for you, ha!;) I love all your special touches and your daughter’s thesis made me laugh. Is she much like her mama?:) Have a blessed Christmas season!

    Reply
    • Christy says

      December 15, 2013 at 10:33 am

      Thank you, Kelly. Yes, she’s just like me, poor thing! 🙂 You are right, that would be a good blog post, if only I had time to write it! LOL…

      Reply
  3. Marci says

    December 12, 2013 at 8:21 am

    Christy, your decorating style touches my senses!

    Then when I saw those adorable polka dot chairs on your porch,
    I recalled why~~~

    I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the decorated homes.

    Marci @ Serenities (ETSY)

    Reply
    • Christy says

      December 15, 2013 at 10:34 am

      Marci, I’m so glad to hear that! We’ve so enjoyed showing them to all of you–lots of different styles, but all beautiful!

      Reply
  4. Shirley@housepitality designs says

    December 12, 2013 at 9:02 pm

    Loved taking the tour of Christy’s gorgeous home…so much inspiration for all of us to take from…I so love all of the many, many vintage items so beautifully decorated…and the “thesis” is just adorable!!!…and I am swooning over your grandmother’s decanters..Thanks for the fabulous tour Christy…I just love your home!

    Reply
    • Christy says

      December 15, 2013 at 10:35 am

      Thank you, Shirley! I love those old decanters, too! Your home tour was one of my very favorites–I hope you’ll come back and join us next year, too! Merry Christmas!

      Reply
  5. Christy says

    December 15, 2013 at 10:34 am

    Patrick–no worries–all the important stuff will get done!

    Reply
  6. Jennifer Spring says

    December 17, 2013 at 12:51 pm

    I love your decorating style!! I wanted to know where you got that adorable cart in your kitchen. I have been looking for that same thing to give me more space ina not so big space!

    Reply
    • Christy says

      December 18, 2013 at 2:59 pm

      Thanks, Jennifer! The cart is from Home Decorators and it’s the Hopper Storage Cart: http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Hopper_Storage_Cart/ It’s on sale today with free shipping if you’re ready to buy it! I also looked at World Market’s Jackson kitchen cart,, but it was a little too big for the space. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  7. Rosemary says

    December 18, 2013 at 10:59 am

    You have so many wonderful touches, I can’t pick just one. Beautiful.

    Reply
    • Christy says

      December 18, 2013 at 3:00 pm

      Rosemary–thank you so much. You made my day!

      Reply
  8. Nelly says

    December 18, 2013 at 11:01 am

    Oh my word…I love the charm in your home! I could envision myself there…Bravo!!

    Reply
    • Christy says

      December 18, 2013 at 3:00 pm

      Thank you, Nelly. That’s such a nice compliment, considering that the house was pretty much charmless tract housing when we started. 🙂

      Reply

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  • MEET CHRISTY & AMY
    • IF YOU’RE NEW HERE…
    • WORK WITH US
    • 11 MAGNOLIA LANE 101
    • DISCLOSURE + PRIVACY (the fine print)
    • BEST OF 11 MAGNOLIA LANE
    • Back
  • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • CHRISTY’S MAGNOLIA COTTAGE
    • CHRISTY’S MCC HOUSE
    • AMY’S NEW HOME BUILD
    • HOLIDAY HOME TOUR SERIES
    • SPRING HOME TOUR SERIES
    • Back
  • CELEBRATIONS
    • EVENTS + ENTERTAINING
    • GIFTS
    • HOLIDAYS
    • RECIPES
    • Back
  • HOME
    • CLEANING
    • DECORATING
    • ORGANIZING
    • ROOM BY ROOM
      • BATHROOMS
      • BEDROOMS
      • CLOSETS
      • CRAFT ROOMS + OFFICES
      • DINING ROOMS
      • KIDS’ ROOMS
      • KITCHENS
      • LAUNDRY ROOMS
      • LIVING + GREAT ROOMS
      • OTHER SPACES
      • PANTRIES
      • PLAYROOMS + BONUS ROOMS
      • PORCHES + OUTDOOR SPACES
      • Back
    • TIPS
    • Back
  • SHOP
    • SHOP OUR INSTAGRAM
    • SHOP OUR AMAZON STORE
    • FRIDAY FAVORITE FINDS
    • 11 ML ETSY SHOP
    • 11ML ORGANIZING SHOP
    • Back
  • PROJECTS
    • CRAFTS
    • DIY PROJECTS + TUTORIALS
    • FURNITURE
    • PRINTABLES
    • WINDOWS, DOORS, + WALLS
    • Back
  • LIFE
    • FRIDAY FREE FOR ALL
    • HEALTH
    • SIMPLY ON SUNDAY
    • TRAVEL
    • Back
  • CONTACT
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
135 shares
  • 1