The Steen Style

Yes, Christmas is finally here! Well…the Christmas decorating season at least. Today I am participating in my first-ever linky party! So, if you are visiting from Layla’s Holiday Home Linky Party featuring mantels, welcome! I hope you like what I have done and I am excited to see what you have done too!

I stick with the fairly traditional themes during Christmas. I don’t mind getting a little crazy (I’m working on two trees this year – our fake one will be an OSU theme) but mostly, I stick with the traditional side. Since this is the first time we’re in our new house for the holidays, I’m having fun putting up what we already have and trying to make it look new and fun again. (Read: driving myself crazy with what to do with our current decorations and what I could be making bigger & better without spending a whole lot of cash.)

Our stocking holders were a half-off Hobby Lobby purchase several years ago. I got ‘JOY’ because at the time it was Conner, Max and myself. Since then, I had purchased two flat stocking holders and two more stockings when we got Mya and Carl. Since Mya is no longer with us, I didn’t know how to put up four stockings without buying all new holders so this year it is one for me, one for Conner and one for the two dogs. I think they’ll understand…

The greenery garland was another half-off purchase from Hobby Lobby several years ago. Despite getting thrown into a tub at the end of each season and then fluffed and puffed for its life at the beginning of Christmas, it is looking pretty good! I wanted something fuller though and since we had the mantel built extra deep just for this season (so happy we made that decision!), I knew I had room to layer on. I think I’m starting to adopt that philosophy with decorating: “Oh, it doesn’t look right? Just add more!!” The ‘less is more’ approach is definitely lost on me during December.

I mixed and weaved in a berry garland I already had (I believe from Target during an after-Christmas sale) and then layered snow-tipped pinecones and silver ornaments that were rolling around in the bottom of one of my Christmas tubs. I took several glass votive jars from my craft closet and sprayed them with the mirror spray paint Design Sponge featured recently. I know they need another coat but the wind this weekend was brutal!

The reindeer on either side of the TV came from an after-Christmas sale at Pottery Barn two years ago. I was thrilled to get them! I had wanted the big, bigger and biggest ones for several years and these guys are perfect. I’m actually surprised I was given the ‘okay’ to put them on the sides of the TV. Heaven forbid we block any part of the 52 inches!

This is the full view, with bookcases. Now that I’ve put this up I realize I still need to get two red or green candles for the bottom candle holders…whoopsies! Oh well…we’re keeping it real, right? I’m not ever completely satisfied with how the bookshelves are decorated, so I’m sure those will continue to change, even day-to-day…it just depends on how work went that day!

If you would like to see what the fireplace looked like when we first moved in this summer, and what we did to change it, check out the post here: Fireplace Before & After.

Thanks for reading and stopping by! I hope to see your mantel over at The Lettered Cottage! I also hope to see you (and your holiday vignette) at Southern Hospitality on Thursday!