Welcome Home Christmas Tour 2023

Many Christmas Tours are done at the beginning of the Season, but since it's a work in progress here from late October until Christmas Eve, it becomes a pictorial blog diary of our home at Christmas room by room. 

Home For Christmas Blog Link Party

Hi Everyone, and Welcome to the Home For Christmas Link Party! This is the place to come link-up your favorite Christmas Posts from this year or the past. I'm hoping everyone will take the time to join in to share all the fun and inspiration. I'll be doing a feature's post later on in the week, of some of your wonderful Christmas Party links. After you're finished linking up, if you have a minute, run by and say Hi to Amber my co-host at  Follow the Yellow Brick Home. I have a feeling she has something fun going on!

Don't Miss these Home for Christmas Features

I hope you're enjoying this week,

 I know some of us still have some things to do before next weekend gets here,

 But it's not too late to come by and Link-Up to the

Home For Christmas Link Party. 

This is a Linky Party for anyone wanting to share their Christmas Posts,

past and present.

The Link will be live until Christmas 

so come by any time and join in.

I love hosting a Link Party,

 because it gives me a chance to meet some new Bloggers,

and to reconnect with some old friends.

Here are just a few of the wonderful Links from the party so far...

My first love is Vintage,

so when I saw this oh-so-creative 

stacked box and basket Christmas Tree I totally fell in love.

Having the little Evergreen perched up there,

 made it over-the-top fun!

JoAnne from A Pocketful of Blue 

"Home For Christmas" Blogger's Link Party

Hi Everyone, 

so, raise your hand if you've been snacking on leftovers 

while simultaneously decorating for Christmas.

I just wanted to let you all know that Brenda and I will again be co-hosting

a Linky Get-Together to celebrate with all of you, our homes for the Christmas Season.

We'd love to have you join in by coming by our blogs December 13, early morning,

and link up your Christmas and Holiday decor, recipes, crafts, traditions...

anything that "says" Christmas!

Christmas Open House Blog Hop

Hi Everyone, and Welcome to Day 2 of the Christmas Open House Blog Hop hosted by Sherry of No Minimalist Here. I'm so glad you're here, and I'm so happy to be celebrating Christmas in our new home. We just moved at the end of October, and this will be my first Home Tour to share with all of you. If you're new visiting here at Common Ground, I'm thrilled to have you!

I found myself using many of my things in the same way that I had used them at our last house and then the house we leased for the last 10 months... it just felt right and comfortable. This is an open concept home, and it's proven to be a little more difficult for me to place furniture since there's much less wall space. I couldn't get near as much in here as in our previous home, but I love having the high ceilings, and everything we need on the main level. 

From the Entry to the main living area and dining room;

the stairway is in the middle of the space and it separates the rooms.

With so much going on in these spaces, I wanted to keep the Christmas decor theme in mostly neutrals. I knew the Burberry look-alike ribbon was going to bring in the tans, taupes, and black that I wanted. My Wolff Pottery vases will probably be a staple here on the mantel throughout the seasons. I made these Holly topiaries years and years ago. They've held up pretty well and last year was the first time I used them with my Wolff Pottery bases. It took me several days to get the mantel right. I ended up adding a little faux greenery and the metallic reindeer to finally get just the right amount of "Christmas".

The large armoire is part of our master bedroom set, but we decided to use it here for our television and sound systems. I'm glad to have a place to shut the doors and hide it all away.

I didn't want to overwhelm things with too many decorations, since this year was my first to see how everything would work together.

Since you all haven't seen all the decor yet, I decided to just share the larger views of the rooms and vignettes. That way I can have fun sharing the details with you here on the blog until Christmas. 

Here's another shot of the Entry with my new bronze lantern from Lamps.com. That black coatrack is an antique, that I don't think I've shown before. I'm thinking of giving it the ASCP treatment after the Holidays. Being black, it really sticks out, but helps with having a place to hang visitors coats.

Here's the Dining Room that I shared earlier in the week. I'm using my white Pottery Barn lanterns that I bought last year. A little Christmas tree decorated with birdies and woodland critters just barely squeezes in.

The Kitchen is open to the Living Area, and I'm loving my newly painted cabinets. 

My collection of black tole trays is helping to hide the backsplash. A subway tile backsplash is on my wishlist, but for now, I'm just trying to disguise this one! A few Christmas touches are here on the black granite countertops. Red plaid monogramed towels that my mom made for me last year add a little "Christmas" red and green.

I put several of my ironstone and ceramic figural animal tureens on the cabinet tops but they need a little boost, so they can be seen better. It looks a little cluttered up here, but I love all the black and white.

The chandy looked a little bare, so I added in some twigs and greenery. If you look closely there's even a little birdie nest hiding in there. I find my kitty gazing up there several times a day. She seems to think that it's perfectly fine to hang out there on the table. I'm trying to break the fur girls of some of their bad habits... not very successfully, though.

A variety of Tartan plaids are my favorite way to decorate for Christmas.

Blankets, ribbon, pillows, tins and boxes...

I'll be sharing more of the details soon...

Thanks so much for coming by to visit with the Blog Hop.

Be sure to click over to the next stop,

Shirley of Housepitality Designs

Shirley has an amazing home, full of beautiful Christmas cheer!

If you missed Wednesday's group, just start here.

Wednesday 12/10

No Minimalist Here
Uptown Acorn
The Vintage Nest
Dixie Delights

Thursday 12/11
Common Ground
Housepitality Designs
The Essence Of Home
Northern Nesting


Friday 12/12
Miss Kopy Kat
21 Rosemary Lane
A Stroll Thru Life

All About Vignettes

Thank you so much Sherry,

 for asking me to join in this Christmas Blog Gathering!

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Joining in on these Holiday Parties:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
Sunday at Home at Thoughts from Alice

Come to the Hop!

Hey, do you remember this guy?

He's sending out an invitation to the

Open House Blog Hop,

 starting today at No Minimalist Here

We have our homes decked and decorated, just waiting for you to visit.

Wednesday 12/10 No Minimalist Here
Uptown Acorn
The Vintage Nest
Dixie Delights

Thursday 12/11
Common Ground
Housepitality Designs
The Essence Of Home
Northern Nesting


Friday 12/12
Miss Kopy Kat
21 Rosemary Lane
A Stroll Thru Life
All About Vignettes

I'll see you tomorrow for all the fun!

A "New" French Mirror for the Dining Room

As I was taking pics for the upcoming

  Christmas Open House Blog Hop

that will be starting on Wednesday, I realized that I haven't shown much of my Dining Room, and hadn't shared my buffet and "new" antique mirror at all. what's wrong with me? My big boy white turkey had been here on the buffet at Thanksgiving, but I never got around to letting him strut his stuff. So now it's Christmas and I finally finished the upstairs decorating, so here goes...

I'm just going to give you a little tease, 

since I'll be showing much more at the Blog Hop on Thursday.

I tried to keep things a little more subdued in here, 

so I thought I'd just use one of my ironstone tureens 

with some vintage Shiney Brites.

I'd been looking for a new antique mirror for the buffet for quite awhile.

When I saw the French plume design on top, I knew this was the one.

I'll be sharing a few more snippets this week,

so hope you'll come back.

All my birdies say "come see us Thursday"!

Joining in with these wonderful Christmas Parties:

The Scoop at Stonegable

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

xoxo,

Christmas in the Kitchen

I don't show my kitchen very often because the natural lighting isn't good, but we had a glorious day last week, when the snow was covering everything, and the sun was out. Perfect time to get some photos of my Christmas Kitchen...and even the Hallway Sideboard. That almost never happens!

I don't go decorating crazy in here, because it just gets moved out once company gets here. All my fun Christmas decor gets shuffled off to the Living Room where it's not in the way. "Hey kids, can't you eat your scrambled eggs without moving my tool carrier centerpiece?" guess not...

I shared some of these photos in my Christmas Home Tour,

 but now you can see a little more of the details.

This is my Snow Family setting on my silver tray that's always here on the island.

Each time I see them I cannot help but smile!

My antique grain sack with the red stripe adds a little Christmas to the table.

I added a little plaid to my French Cow Print.

She looks pretty festive, now.

I painted the top of my kitchen table last summer in ASCP.

If you missed that post, click here.

I found the red and white enamel coffeepot a few years ago,

and I only have one vintage Santa mug.

I'd like to have back all the ones I've sold over the years.

what was I thinking?

(insert head slapping V-8 commercial)

The top of my little china cabinet doesn't change much seasonally;

just gets a new tussy mussy under the cloche,

 and something different for the cupcake stand.

This is where I keep my wedding china. Actually it's not china but French Faience. When everyone else was buying Noritake for their gift registry, I fell in love with French pottery. 

(you can click on the photos (x2) for bigger images)

Love my little English Cottage; looks like a Christmas fairy house. I'd like to live there, myself. There's something about an English Cottage that gets me every time.

I love playing with fabric and colors, although it's not something I take the time to do now. I made a quilt once and vowed I'd never do it again. I love antique quilts, but I realized I'm a short term project person. I want to finish what I start before I'm totally bored with a project. I think they call that  "short-term gratification". Guilty. Years ago I made a ton of these fabric pieced Christmas ornaments, and this is the only one I have left.

And hey look... there's some light in the hallway!

Quick, get some photos!

Love this white galvanized drawer that also has a chalkboard inside.

It's corralling my ironstone dessert plates, tureen, and platter.

I used these topiary trees last year on the mantel,

but they're in iron urns this year.

Thanks so much for visiting,

Hope your Christmas Kitchen is filled with love and joy!

I'm joining in on these wonderful parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Jennifer Rizzo

French Country Cottage

The Charm of Home

No Minimalist Here

Mrs. Olson's

xoxo,