The Steen Style

Welcome to our home, 2011 Christmas style! Thanks for joining me in a little look around our place. This is only our second year in this home, so I’m still trying to figure out where everything should go and what I want it all to look like – so fun to make little changes each year though, right? I’ve made some updates from last year’s decor and I love how our house feels right now!

We kept the single strand of lights around the bottom of the roof but added two cute little lighted trees on the front porch that look so great flanking our front entrance. It still makes me so happy to see our house lit up at night – Christmas lights are my favorite! We worked out our kinks with putting up lights last year (our first time ever) so this year was so smooth and very painless…maybe this means I can convince a certain someone to add to the lights next year?? 🙂

When you walk in our front door, this is what you see – my distressed Salvation Army buffet and a cute little vignette that is festive but not cluttered. I think I went too over-the-top in this area last year and ended up taking a lot of stuff off of the top of the buffet after I posted about it. This year I’m loving the blank space on the top, makes me feel more calm!

I wanted to keep some elements from my year-round decorating so I wouldn’t have to put everything away so I layered things throughout the house, like my coffee filter wreath on top of the jute-wrapped monogram I hung on the mirror during the fall. I used the free Keep Calm printable again. I think some people are over this but I still love the saying!

On the side of this buffet are the two lanterns I got for Christmas last year. I use them all of the time and love moving them from space to space! Right now, they are filled with snow and mini, sparkly ornaments surrounding the two candles. In keeping with the rest of the Christmas decor, I used white, green, silver and natural elements in this area. Simple and pretty is really making me happy this season!

Our dining room table has that same feeling of simple and pretty. I wanted a tablescape I could actually use when people come over. Too many times I have to take off the centerpiece before serving a meal because there isn’t any room for people’s glasses or you can’t see over it for proper conversation!

The mix-and-match plates layered on our wedding china are a perfect touch of whimsy in such a formal room. We are not formal people so I wanted to keep it light and fun in this room too. For a full look at our Christmas dining room, please click here.

On the buffet in the dining room, I filled a tray with cinnamon pinecones (smells amazing!) and layered in a large pedestal vase filled with snow and silver ornaments – the easiest vase fillers ever. The NOEL sign I made last year was updated with some burlap wrapped around the canvas to cover up the red that I’m not crazy about this year. The jingle bell mason jars I made last year also fit in perfectly with this year’s decor!

Our living room is so cheerful and delicious smelling this year. We put our live tree in this room instead of our dining room this year and I got a fresh cedar garland to lay on the mantel. I love how warm and cozy this room feels with so much fresh greenery! Our tree is on a timer and always surprises me when it clicks on each night – makes me so happy to see it all lit up. (I’ll show you a full post on our two trees this week, come back to check it out!)

This is my most favorite mantel I’ve done! I love the simplicity and prettiness to it. The green, white, silver and burlap all tie together so nicely. My heart always feels so full and happy at Christmas since I get to see so many family and friends at parties and gatherings – this is how this year’s mantel makes me feel. Happy and full of love without being too much or too stressful. Exactly what I wanted! (Click here for a full post on this year’s mantel.)

Our sofa table got in the Christmas spirit this year, too! My mom let me borrow one of her Nativity scenes (I really want one of my own but don’t know what I want just yet) and it fits perfectly here. This set was made by an artist in Alaska using reclaimed wood – it is gorgeous! I layered it in a tray purchased from Hobby Lobby last year and love the way this looks. Its weird to see how different this area looks compared to last year at Christmas and how much my style has changed in just one short year!

Thank you for visiting our home this Christmas! This time of year gets to be so stressful and so hectic – I hope you’re taking time to relax and enjoy what Christmas really means. I know I’m making a big effort to do that and simplifying our decor this year helped so much. Merry Christmas!

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