Christmas Home Tour 2017

Hello! Welcome to Life Love Larson! If you are arriving from Z Design at Home, I'm so happy you are here. What a hard act to follow! Bree has such amazing taste! I'm so excited to be participating in the Christmas home tours this year. I want to send a huge thank you to Mary @ A Stroll Thru Life blog for including me amongst 29 truly talented bloggers/decorators. If you're new here, I'm a wife, mom of two, and preschool teacher living in suburban Kansas City. And I simply love all things home! Come on in (and yes, I still wear white jeans in the winter)!

I have to tell you, I like to keep things simple. The older I get, the simpler I want things in my life, including home and seasonal decor. I also kept things neutral on the main floor this year. Keeping things neutral allows decorations to "fit in" rather than "stand out", which I love. Our main floor is very open concept, so everything sort of has to flow. I love, more than anything, to create cozy spaces for our family and friends!

I know I'm going to hear "But, you have kids! Where is all the "fun" stuff?" Don't worry, our basement is decked out with red/white and we have a faux tree with colored lights that the kids decorate on their own! My kids also have small trees in their rooms as well. This is a magical time of year with kids in the home. Mine are on the verge of becoming "too old" for some things (9 years & 10 years old), but this year we all believe and I'm cherishing all the moments!

I'll take you around room by room on the first floor! More posts to come on the front porch and our basement! I hope you find something that inspires you!

L I V I N G  R O O M

Our tree is the star of the show in this room! I absolutely love getting a real tree. It's my favorite Christmas tradition. This is one of my favorites we have ever picked out! I didn't even want to decorate it! I was outnumbered by my family, but I still kept it minimal. There is something so beautiful about a natural, real Christmas tree! 

I also switched things up this year and bought a basket to hold the tree. Tree skirts and real trees don't mix! Too many needles to be shaken and swept. The basket allows for easy clean up! I decorated the tree with blush, silver, white, gold bulb ornaments this year. Leaving off a tree topper keeps the tree feeling a little more organic.

I love, love, love fresh strands of garland for the inside and outside of our home. This year I broke down and purchased some faux garland for our mantel. I've learned over the years that fireplaces and garland don't mix! It gets way too dried out as we use the fireplace. This faux flocked garland is from Walmart! It looks way more expensive than its $13 price tag! I kept the rest of the mantel super neutral with faux fur, birch wood, and simple pom bunting.

Any one else snatch up these bottle brushes from Target's dollar spot?? They add just the right touch of Christmas to our coffee table. Wooden beads, a Christmas Cactus, and a birch seasonal candle give the books a festive touch!

I keep adding neutral/sparkly trees to the sofa table.

We spend a lot of time in the living room. I'm always hoping for easy, comfy, and cozy spaces! We aren't fussy or formal people, and kids live here, so we are all about throwing your feet up in front of the fire.

D I N I N G  R O O M

We don't use our dining room very often, but I love having a formal dining room. Ours is hardly "formal", but I like the dedicated space. It's a room that always stays clean (!), and it's the first room you see when you walk in the front door.

I love plants and greenery. I have them everywhere. This time of year, I like to stick real tree trimmings in different vessels for easy and inexpensive decor. This galvanized bucket holds free trimmings! A black bow makes it a little festive.

This vintage bar cart is a favorite find of mine. I cherish it's character. And it always looks festive all junked up! More black and some glitter trees! So easy!

K I T C H E N  |  M U D R O O M

Fresh garland/greenery make an appearance yet again in the kitchen! I spend so much time in here, and I don't like a lot of visual clutter on the countertops. I always have fresh flowers/greenery on my island and taking the garland up keeps it from annoying me on the surfaces!!

More tree trimmings and eucalyptus! And mandarins with the stems. How cute are those?!

I wanted to add a small tree to the kitchen this year. I love turning these lights on in the morning before the kids get up! This tree is faux. I guess I have a thing for putting trees in baskets now!

 And right off the kitchen is our mudroom. I always decorate the chalkboard for different seasons/holidays, etc. It's for the kids, but I secretly love doing this! 

E A T I N G   N O O K

And last but not least, the eating area right off the kitchen is home to our Christmas cards we receive this year, faux fur, magenta poinsettia, and fresh greenery. I absolutely love this space. The card holder is simply command hooks and velvet ribbon. Small wooden clips keep the cards in place. Full disclosure - I haven't received this many cards yet! Ha! I always save the previous year's cards to look at again. and this year they came in handy for this shot! 

I hope you enjoyed our home tour! I'm so happy you stopped by and survived the onslaught of photos! I'd love to connect! Most days you will find me on Instagram!

Next up on the tour is Jennifer from Dimples and Tangles blog. Her mix of happy colors and patterns is so good!! 

Here is the line up for the rest of the week!

Monday – Dec 4th

A Stroll Thru Life

Life On Virginia Street

Clean & Scentsible

Nesting With Grace

Cuckoo4Design

Pink Peppermint Design

Tuesday – Dec 5th

ZDesign At Home

Life Love Larson

Dimples & Tangles

Remodelando La Casa

Seeking Lavender Lane

Inspiration for Moms

Wednesday – Dec 6th

The Chronicles of Home

Our Southern Home

Decor to Adore

11 Magnolia Lane

Our Fifth House

Rain On A Tin Roof

Thursday – Dec 7th

Setting For Four

Life & Home @ 2102

Southern Hospitality

Decorating Delirium

Hymns & Verses

Simple Stylings

Friday – Dec 8th

Thrifty & Chic

Tidbits & Twine

Far Above Rubies

House By Hoff

Duke Manor Farm

Common Ground