Holiday Decor: Family Room Revealed

Revealed. That sounds stupid. Like I had some curtain over the room and you were all just dying to see it! But I'm too lazy to come up with another word, so let's pretend it sounds good. I'm bringing back my "Holiday Help" button in an effort to motivate myself to post more ideas. They are there, it's just a matter of putting them on paper the blog.

Just like fall, I really didn't want to spend any money on new decor, but at the same time, I didn't just want to put things right back where they were last year. I decided to see how much I could do with what I had in the totes already. I'm actually pretty pleased with what came of it!

My goal for the family room was rustic and warm. No sparkle. Sparkle was saved for the living room which will be revealed at a later date.


The mantel is simple with garland, red lights, candles and a couple accessories.



Apparently I don't have a picture from the floating shelves last year, but they were just slightly jazzed up from the normal everyday shelves. This year, I took almost everything down and started fresh. The tan frames normally live in the living room, but give off the rustic vibe, so I moved them over. A little red raffia takes them from everyday to holiday. :) The small silver frame has a holiday picture from the first year Carl and I were together...awww.


Just an overview of the room with a little sliver of tree #1. We bought a slim tree to fit better in here last year since we knew we were getting different furniture and wanted to accommodate it. It has all our childhood ornaments on it as well as ones we've collected together on trips or for special events.


So just a few little tips to keep the cost on decorating down:
1. Pinecones and tree clippings are free and make great vase filler!
2. Ribbon can make an everyday item festive.
3. Take something you don't like anymore and find a new way to use it. You might surprise yourself by just re-purposing an item.
4. Classic rule- simple is good. Small touches can still make the room appropriate for the season.


Lastly, for comparison, here is the mantel from last year. Not much different, but still updated.