2016 Holiday Home Tour

Can you believe Christmas is less than one week away?! Work has kept me so busy this year that I've been so late to post my holiday tour. Having been featured in magazines for my holiday decor two years in a row, I couldn't help but feeling a bit stuck in a creative block this year. I've done various colours and themes over the years, all of which played a part into the overall style of my house. There are only so many spots at home spacious enough to accommodate a large Christmas tree. And there are only so many new ornament pieces I can buy each year before running out of storage room. My heart says do whatever I like, even though people may react "didn't she already do that last year"? My head however urges me to up the game and try something different. At the end my heart won. It felt good to be true to myself. I am drawn to a certain aesthetics which I want to continue to experiment around, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Picture below: my 2016 (mostly) pink Christmas tree. 

Picture below: holiday mantle adorned with faux greenery from Ikea. The antique neoclassical style mirror was a lucky score just in time for the festive decorations. 

The picture below was the Take One of my 2016 holiday mantle. I added pale pink ribbon accents to the mantel, only to switch to a more eye-catching maroon colour for a pop of visual interest.   

The gold ball garland is a quick and easy DIY project using black satin ribbon and dollar store shatterproof balls. 

My holiday decor wouldn't be complete without restocking the bar cart. 

The arrival of the new brass and lucite coffee table was well-timed. It enhances the feminine and elegant style I was going for. 

Picture below: my holiday living room.

Our foyer is sun-filled year-round. It's a natural place to put the Christmas tree without having to move furniture around. Can you believe the lush faux boxwood wreath in the picture below is from Ikea? 

And here's our 2016 Christmas tree, standing tall and happy in our foyer. 

Picture below: pear glass ornament from Canadian Tire's Canvas collection. 

Picture below: gold pineapple ornament from Glitterville. 

Picture below: this intricate ceramic swan ornament by Chapters Indigo is by far my favourite addition this year. 

Here is a side-by-side comparison between my 2015 and 2016 Christmas tree. This year's tree looks fuller, and more confident. 

And last but not least, for the first time I also added a touch of festivity in our kitchen. 

So in love with this black striped ribbon and faux boxwood wreath combo. 

And there you have it, my 2016 holiday home tour. Now I can concentrate on figuring out how to host our Christmas Eve dinner. 

 

Brass and Lucite Coffee Table

Well friends, after nearly 4 months wait, it's finally here! ELTE told me they had 50 pieces in this time, so go get it if you are interested before they get snatched up. This coffee table is one of the designers' faves so they do sell very very fast. 

After a domino effect of change, from the ceiling light (and the ceiling itself), to the drapery, to the area rug and finally the coffee table, I am very happy with how this room has transformed and come together. 

For those who are following my Instagram feeds, a couple of weeks ago I shared this picture below as a sneak peek at my 2016 holiday decor theme. It's going to be a collection of my favourite colours, textures and shapes. Can you tell I am really into pink and feminine hues this year? 

Speaking of pink, I've been on the hunt for a set of these vintage blush pink Luminarc champagne flutes for the longest time. From time to time I saw a pair or two for sale on Etsy but they could get very expensive if I was to acquire them two at a time. Then one of my Insta friends Jen (@jenc184) mentioned she has a large collection, and she would give up over a dozen of these flutes for me. Each one of them was in mint condition, and I've just been over the moon about how gorgeous they are. They will be put to good use this holiday season. 

I will be back to do a Christmas home tour soon. 

2015 Holiday Home Tour

You must be wondering where I've been all this time. You would expect that I posted my holiday home tour pictures long ago. My dad passed away recently - it's still too painful for me to talk about it. Days went by quickly when I had work to keep me occupied; nights have been long and dark as I would find myself awake, obsessing over endless what-ifs and if-onlys, and really missing my dad. I didn't think I was even going to be able to finish decorating our Christmas tree this year. But a wise man once told me that grieving was going to be a journey, and that I shouldn't be afraid to lean on my mom and Anthony. I am very fortunate and grateful to have the unconditional love and support from both of them, as well as my extended family. It could've been a lot worse for me without them. 

They also encouraged me to continue with my holiday traditions - my dad was an optimist all this life; he was also an enthusiast for any festive celebrations, so he wouldn't have wanted me to skip the holidays. I was also hoping that doing what I love and getting back to routine would help me cope with grief and loss. 

If you remember I started planning this year's Christmas decor back in early November, with these DIY sharpie ornament balls. So I carried the black, white and pink theme throughout the house this year. 

Picture below: my 2015 black, white and pink Christmas tree, all lit up. I put my tree in the foyer again.

Under a different lighting, before I added faux white poinsettias to the tree. 

These glass paz trees from CB2 are so chic. Pink gold (or is it copper) is an unexpected choice but nice. 

The glass sputnik ornament is also from CB2. 

 

Some close-up shots below: can you believe this bird ornament is from Dollarama? 

My favourite ornament this year has to be these dusty pink half-dipped glass balls from Ikea Vinter 2015 collection. Ikea, you've outdone yourself again! 

Gifts under the tree were also wrapped mostly in black, white and pink. 

Now onto the living room. I didn't do much here this year but to add some faux greenery over the fireplace mantel. 

So that's my 2015 holiday home tour. For my dad in heaven.