If there's one thing that I absolutely love doing, it's decorating a home. I'd turn it into a career if I could. But, in the meantime, I will stick to turning my home into a seasonally cozy place year round.
While I love sprucing my home for each season, the greatest joy in decorating comes during the holidays.
In my opinion, Thanksgiving is a tricky holiday to decorate for, though. It marks the end of fall and introduces the start to the Christmas season. Growing up, we had a paper turkey we assembled every year, some paper pilgrims and Native Americans we put in the glass panes of my mom's china cabinet, and tapered candles with little pilgrims on them that were placed on the dining room table. During the month of November our decorations would grow as my sister and I brought home our Thanksgiving crafts from school.
But, as an adult with no children yet, and a huge desire to REALLY decorate for each individual holiday, it's been tricky to find just the right décor. With only a few short weeks of Thanksginig décor out I didn't want to invest a lot of money into new decorations. So I opted to make it a transitional time in our home, using our leftover pumpkins from fall and Halloween, while also combining some winter-inspired pieces. And below is what I got! I am pretty please with how it turned out.
One of my favorite new pieces in our home is the console table husband and I built together. I have loved decorating it and I think it makes our room really pop. On top of the table you can see the pumpkin and winter themed combo I have going on. Some mercury glass pine trees, pumpkins, antler candlesticks, and pine cones in the apothecary jar. Below are the pumpkins, a photo frame turned DIY chalkboard, and my very special birch logs.
This chalkboard frame was super easy to make. Use an expensive frame, whip up some homemade chalk paint like we did (or buy the pre-made stuff) and paint it. It dries within the day and is ready to be made into a custom piece for the occasion. I used chalk pens on it to get crisp lines.
We have built-ins on both sides of our fireplace. I have loved decorating them, but always keep it minimal so as not to busy up the space. Little festive odds and ends are perfect for this space (i.e. the squirrel seen above and the acorns below). Our mantel is also a cute space to put a few seasonal and holiday pieces. Again I keep it simple here, always hanging garland and then placing a few items to finish the look.
This year I found a new piece that is to die for! Plus it's transitional all year long if you please. This tree made the perfect addition to our holiday décor this year and I can't get enough of it. The pilgrim ornaments, also from Pier1 were must haves when I saw them too. They're perfect for this tree. I kind of wish they had a turkey ornament too, but maybe next year!
For the dining table centerpiece, I had husband build me this box using some scrap wood we had in the garage. It is perfect for moving decorations in and out of easily and I love it on our table! I put some brown Spanish moss in the bottom, then used white-tipped pine cones and my white pumpkins from fall. Perfection.
I completed the look with some pieces on each side of the box, including mercury glass candlestick holders and jars, as well as some DIY log and moss candlestick holders that I made for our wedding reception tabletops. And I made a quick trip to Joann's for some fabric to make an easy table runner. For simple and quick, I think this came together perfectly!
Last but not least, I have found that I love having wreaths hanging from the doors in our dining area. They lead into the laundry room and a half bath, so they don't need to be open, but when closed they create a lot of blank, white space. Making wreaths to hang from each door really transforms the room with a pop or seasonal/holiday cheer!
These decorations have been working out great for transitional pieces as Christmas draws near. Originally, I was going to wait to put the Christmas décor up this upcoming weekend, but I caved last weekend and it's all out, minus our Christmas tree (we need to go cut it down)! So while some of these decorations have been stored away for next year, half of them are still out. I love that we didn't have to put it all away! I'll be sharing all of my Christmas decorations on December 2nd, so be sure to stop back by to see!!
Now, you tell me how you decorate for the holidays! I'm always looking for new ideas and inspiration! And if you're looking for some Thanksgiving recipes, head over to my foodie blog for two-weeks worth of Turkey Day dishes! Today, I'm sharing Wild Mushroom-Bacon Sourdough Dressing, yum!
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