Decorating for Christmas - The Living Room

I must have 8 or 9 big plastic tubs of Christmas decor....plus some cardboard boxes, bags, and even more items that haven't made it to any of the bags or boxes! I'm a Christmas nut....always have been. My younger daughter is just like I was back in the day....she gets so excited about the sights and sounds of the season.....it's nice to watch her enthusiasm and reminds me of how I used to be. 

When I was younger. Before my ex husbands both did things that nearly destroyed Christmas forever for me. 

But those are stories for another time. 

We have a tradition in my house that we decorate the Friday right after Thanksgiving. It started when my older daughter went away to college....she would be home for Thanksgiving and then not again until Christmas so it was the only time we could all be together to decorate. 

That meant going to an artificial tree from a real tree. I fought it kicking and screaming but it made the most sense with this new decorating schedule. Leaving a live tree up for over a month just doesn't work for me - I worry about the fire hazard and also holy smokes all the needles!!

And after the divorce it made even more sense to use an artificial tree since I'm not too keen on lugging a live tree into the house....cutting off the bottom....cleaning up a bazillion needles....etc. 

So this past weekend out came the boxes and bags and bins and we got to work...although it was tough to get in the spirit with temps in the 60's - what the heck? Where's my mountain top snow? This is just weird!!

But we put on some nice Christmas music and soldiered on. 

And here's a peek into our new home all decorated for it's very first Christmas with us!! 

These photos are of the living room only.....I'll share more in another post. 

I don't feel the mantel is quite finished just yet...I'd like to add some greenery up there. I'm still mulling it over. I posted some options here and looking back they all have greenery  that finishes them off nicely. We'll see. 

My tree is a hodge-podge of ornaments I've been collecting since childhood - and I love it. 

My stocking hangs next to the furbabies' stocking. They get so excited on Christmas morning to open their treats and new toys! Santa's always good to the babies!!

Of course the girls have their stockings together on the other side of the fireplace....Santa's pretty darned good to them, also!

At what age does Santa move on??? I'm curious....

I love this wooden wreath - I got this years ago from Gardener's Supply and this past year I added the matching two red trees on the mantel. The green trees I've had for about 15 years now. The mirror was from Joss & Main. 

My living room is long and narrow with a pathway behind the two swivel chairs....I knew I needed a skinny tree for this house. I picked one up a few months ago from JC Penney through one of Brad's Daily Deals. 

Love Brad's!!

My previous tree went down to the lower level for the girls to enjoy in the family room. 

Another change of pillow covers for the holiday season - I just love that I can swap them out any time I feel like it!! I'm telling you, Pottery Barn pillows are awesome!! Feather/Down inserts with a multitude of different covers....it just makes sense!

I picked up the red ones on my recent trip to Vermont and the jingle bell sleigh one I bought last year after Christmas in a super sale. 

The cheetah print fuzzy pillow covers go so nicely with the fur trim on the red pillows and can stay out all winter long.....or until I get sick of them and swap them out for a change of scenery. Chances are that will happen at some point!

This little metal tray and teapot were both gifts from my mom ages ago. The metal stand that holds the tray I got from Decor Steals a while back - it's awesome, totally adjustable for different paintings, chalkboards, artwork, etc - I just love it!

And of course a candle.....this one is a Kringle Candle - Snow Capped Fraser - smells just like a real Christmas tree! The shade is from Yankee Candle and I love the way the berry branches complement the cardinal tray. 

My bookcase holds another seasonal display - some favorite Christmas books with a variety of cute little holiday items I've had forever. 

And in the center is my new cake stand from World Market. I blame that purchase on Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick. She shared this cake stand when she gave all the sources for her kitchen reno and I fell in love....not only with the new kitchen but also with this wood and marble cake stand. I was looking for one for a while and this one was a fantastic price and exactly what I wanted!!  Thanks, Sarah!!

Anyway....that's our Christmas Living Room! It's nothing fancy or trendy but it's a collection of items that I have been decorating with for many years mixed with a few new pieces for my new home. 

Now picture it with the candles lit, Christmas music playing softly, and me holding a cocktail and laughing with family and friends. 

Perfect!

What time can you be here? 

~~~~~

Happily sharing at 

Christmas Open House Link Party

and 

Creating Christmas 

Art and Sand

Slip Covered Sofa Review

When I was buying my house I spent ages researching sofas - I had an idea of what I wanted but kept rethinking it and driving myself crazy. 

No surprise there. 

The problem is that the living room is such a weird shape - it's narrow and kind of long with access to the hallway as well as the front door and dining room. Walkways need to be left clear. 

Initially I thought I would get a sectional. But the more I thought about it, the more it bugged me that I felt it wouldn't be flexible enough for the space. I needed to be able to move things around until they felt right. 

The only thing I was very sure about was that I wanted a sofa with a machine washable slip-cover. In a light, neutral color. 

I read every review I could find online. I obsessed over it. I had three sofas to buy for my house (one upstairs and two downstairs) and I knew I was only going to do this once. 

These sofas better last me a long, LONG time. I'm not doing this again. 

Therefore, they needed to be very classic - simple, clean lines. Timeless. Nothing trendy. Neutral color - again, timeless and classic.  

I ended up choosing a sofa from Ethan Allen for the living room - I didn't need a sofa bed in there and I knew that sofa would get the most use - that was always going to be the one I spent the most money on. 

For the lower level I chose two of the same exact slip-covered sofa bed from Klaussner  - they were sold locally and I fell in love with how comfortable they were when I sat in them in the store. 

They look very similar to the Ethan Allen sofa but the price was far less, which was perfect for the lower level. 

It took quite a while for the sofas to arrive and I was so happy when they finally got delivered. I felt like a college kid prior to that - such a mish-mash of furniture stuck here and there!

Fast forward 6 months and I wanted to let you know what I think of having a slip-covered sofa. 

This weekend when I was puttering I decided it was time to wash the cushion covers on the living room sofa. 

I woke up with this thought and straight away I stripped the sofa until my living room looked like this. 

The first cushion was a little tough to strip but once I got the hang of it the rest of them went rather quickly. 

I put them right in the machine - all the covers fit along with the throw pillow covers, with room to spare. I washed them with Tide Ultra on a regular wash, and dried them on the delicate cycle until they were just slightly damp. 

Back onto the cushions they went - all the reviews I read said to put them back on when they are still slightly damp to  make it a little easier. 

I have to admit I was a little worried they would shrink and wouldn't be easy to put back on. 

But it was so simple - no problem at all, took me less then 10 minutes to do them all!!

They came out lovely and soft, and of course my whole living room smells like fresh laundry now so that's a big plus!

Prior to this washing, I was spot cleaning the cushions as needed. Which worked really well but it was time for a full cleaning. 

Because of this. 

Yup - you got it - these little punks are pretty convinced that they own this house and can hang out anywhere they want to. 

Another reason I chose sofas with slipcovers! I wish the chairs had slipcovers also, believe me!

All of my throw pillows are from Pottery Barn - I buy the inserts and different pillow covers that I can swap out when I get tired of looking at them....or the seasons change....or they need to be washed. Let's face it, pillow covers are a heck of a lot easier to store than a bunch of random throw pillows!

I love that I can change up the look any time I feel like it. I can bring in a ton of color or back it down to neutral again. 

Whatever floats my boat. 

Now that I know how easy it is to wash the covers it's time to tackle the lower level sofas. 

I think I'll have the girls take care of that project. After all, it's their space. 

Mommy has other things to do. 

Like hang curtains in the garden cottage. 

Priorities, right?