A Red and Blue Christmas Home Tour 2020

I usually do a Christmas blog post and was going to skip it this year but over the weekend I was feeling festive so I cleaned up the main floor, set the table, and took some pictures.  I kept it pretty simple this year- just decorated the tree, the mantle and hung some wreaths outside.Let's start with the outside. I used suction cup hooks to hang wreaths on the windows and door.  And can I just say how magical our white exterior looks in the snow! I'm so proud of all the work we put into it this year! If you missed that makeover, catch up here.Moving to the inside now.  I like to change up my color scheme every year and this year I really wanted some deep red mixed in with the blues ornaments I usually use.  I got some red velvet ribbon at Micheals and tied little bits of it on the tree and strung some throughout the garland.  Then I added in a burgundy throw blanket I've had for years and a festive pillow I found in the as-is section at IKEA last week when I was returning some lamps. It added the perfect touch of the traditional holiday colors.Another small touch I added was taping up some paper garlands leftover from last year.  I strung them on the picture ledges we have above the couch for a fun touch of whimsy.The garland was a new experiment, that turned out so good!  I really wanted real garland but I just couldn't bring myself to pay for it from the store.  So I just went out into the yard-(and the park down the street) and clipped some pine and cedar branches.  I tied the pine branches together with some wire and then put it up on the mantle.  Then I added in the cedar branches throughout to give it some more texture.  It needed something else, and I noticed I still had a vase of baby's breath flowers that I had used to style the guestroom last week, so I stuck them throughout the branches and it was the perfect finishing touch! The fireplace is off-center so I felt like the a-symmetrical arrangement was just right. This was such an easy DIY, if you try making some garland I'd love to see it!We won't be hosting any big dinners this year, but I set a simple tablescape to give the dining room some festive touches.Happy December and Merry Christmas!