Christmas Home Tour

Welcome, friends, and welcome, Christmas!

Every year since 2009 I've shared a tour of our home at Christmastime. This year I won't do much talking, but I will share lots of photos of our house all dressed for Christmas.

Fair warning: you won't find anything trendy in my home tour. But if you like traditional Christmas decor, you've come to the right place.

Let's pretend that you've just driven up to our house in Durham, North Carolina. Here's what you'll see as you approach the front door. The large JOY sign was a simple DIY project a couple of years ago; click here for instructions. My prayer is that joy is always the theme of Christmas at our house.

Oops! I see a couple of ornaments have escaped from the outdoor lanterns.

I hope you'll feel welcomed when you see the front porch sitting area:

The furniture in our "outdoor living room" got an update this spring. Now that the furniture cushions are neutral, I can use any color I like for accessories. At Christmas, I like lots of red! The plaid pillows on the sofa I made from placemats. Easiest pillows ever; instructions can be found here.

See the ornaments hanging in the windows? Our dining room is right inside there.

A closer look at the French door will reveal the loudest part of your welcoming committee: Snickers the beagle and Cocoa the pound puppy. Can you see them?

Sometimes our December weather is warm enough to relax out here. It's 31 degrees outside today, though, so come on in!

Our wreath this year is dressed with just a plaid bow and a "Joy to the World" ornament. The door opens to reveal the foyer:

The stairway always wears a lighted garland that I accent with bows and magnolia leaves. The magnolia reminds me of my mom, who died many years ago. (Click here to read my favorite Christmas memory of her.)

You'll see that most of decorations this year are very simple, like this little vignette in the foyer.

To the right of the foyer is the dining room.

I made a fruit centerpiece for the table. In the windows I hung ornaments suspended from ribbons (click here for complete details).

Also adjacent to the foyer is the living room, which is the hub of our Christmas activities.

All five stockings will be full on Christmas morning. I'm so grateful that my oldest son, who is a U.S.Navy officer, will be home for Christmas!

Plaid is a favorite of mine for Christmas decorations, so I made new throw pillows from a blanket scarf. The scarf produced plenty of fabric to make four identical pillows.

The tree stands tall in the corner, just waiting for my sons to hang the ornaments. I'm hoping they'll be glad to do that part of the decorating when they see that I've been busy wrapping presents! Our Nativity scene is on the chest beside the tree; this is its 23rd Christmas in our house.

Now on into the kitchen. I'm still loving my green island, which is just perfect for Christmastime.

I made a little country store vignette for the top of the island and hung a live garland and my DIY NOEL sign in the window.

Our huge eating table is dressed with a blanket and a very simple centerpiece that can be whisked away for eating, crafting, LEGO building. . . you name it! My antique dough cabinet holds the Dept. 56 village I set up every year.

Here's a look back at most of the kitchen/breakfast area. The stairs to the right lead to the terrace level. We have a home theatre down there, which is a favorite spot for watching Christmas movies. The wall of the stairwell holds a DIY family portrait wall clock that I made years ago.

Just beyond the breakfast room is our screened porch:

The porch eating table is dressed with the world's easiest centerpiece: three lengths of ribbon stapled to the table, a couple of candles in hurricane globes, and some fresh greenery.