Young House Love

Home Decorating, DIY Tutorials, & Shenanigans

  • Shop Our House
  • Our Previous Homes
    • Our Richmond House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
  • Before & Afters
    • Our Current House
    • Our Previous House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
    • Our First House
    • Our Second House
    • Our Showhouse
  • DIY & Decorating Tips
    • Most Popular
    • Home Improvement
    • Painting
    • Cleaning & Organizing
    • Crafting & Art
    • More . . .
  • Podcast
    • Getting Started
    • Show Notes
  • Shop
    • Our Fav Home Finds
    • Our Lighting Line
    • Our Books
    • Book Club Picks
    • Black-Owned Businesses

Young House Love » Random » Our (Slightly Minimized) Holiday Decor 2021

| By Sherry Petersik | December 14, 2021 |

Our (Slightly Minimized) Holiday Decor 2021

It’s wild to think that this is our second year of decorating this house for the holidays (what even is time?!). You got a peek at some of it in our new kitchen door post, but today we’re gonna show it all! I’d describe Year Two in this house for the holidays as a more minimal Christmas but still a festive one.

Side of Christmas tree near pantry in kitchen

Last year we got a mini real tree for upstairs in the family room as well as putting up our skinny faker (that’s what I affectionately call this tree right here) in the bedroom. But this year we had a more central spot for our main tree… right in the nook our new pantry created in the kitchen, which can be enjoyed a ton of the time. So I think it eliminated our urge to add a secondary little tree upstairs (you can see all the photos of how we decorated the house last year in this post).

Narrow Christmas Tree in corner of kitchen next to pantry and stairs
Our Christmas tree | our exact ottoman basket that the tree sits in

Another thing about our new spot for the tree, is that it feels like it gives us “more bang for the buck” from outside. I mean how perfect is that?! Couldn’t have planned it better! And we literally didn’t – we just pushed the tree into the pantry corner nook just to see if it was weird or cute in a spur of the moment urge & were both like… “UM IT IS GREAT!”

View of Christmas Tree in kitchen through front door at night
Note: we changed our house number in photoshop ;)

The juxtaposition of a pile of flip flops and a lemon tree outside and a glowing Christmas tree inside makes me laugh.

I realized I didn’t show you how the other side of the tree looks, but you can see from this pic of the kids starting to decorate it that it doesn’t really get in the way of anything. We have a big potted plant here the rest of the year, so the only real difference is that the tree is taller. But nobody was walking into that corner nook before, so it’s all good function-wise.

Christmas Tree undecorated in kitchen with children grabbing ornaments in background
Our Christmas tree | ottoman basket the tree sits in | floor lamp | chairs | coffee table | loveseat

If you’re one of those people who likes to “walk” through a space to get your bearings, you can also get a feel for the whole kitchen in this video. I LOVE how you can catch a glimpse out at the kitchen porch, and the ending makes me laugh. Feels very Florida.

Note: You can also watch this video on YouTube

Ok, but back to our tree. We’re huge fans of the whole collected-over-time mishmash of sentimental and meaningful and handmade-by-the-kids ornaments. Gone are the days of “theme trees” or anything that’s coordinated and matching – we all jam ornaments on basically every branch and admire the outcome every time. I know it’s not for everyone, but it sure makes us happy.

Detail of ornaments on narrow Christmas tree in kitchen in wicker basket
Our Christmas tree | our exact ottoman basket that the tree sits in

The kids put their stuffed animal “Burger” here the first night that we put up the tree and I cried real tears. We’d give anything to have him back. Feels so sad to have Christmas without him, and our tree is covered with Burger ornaments too. He lives on in our hearts for sure.

Chihuahua stuffed animal viewing Christmas Tree ornaments
stair runner (and here’s how we installed it) | our Christmas tree

And then there’s Raychard (yes, his name is Raychard, not Richard). He was named by our daughter back when she was like three or maybe even two? She’s 11 now, so he has been with us for a while. He’s always getting into trouble…

Elf on the Shelf hanging from pendant light cord in kitchen
pendant light (we cut the bottom half off)

Upstairs, the keyword is minimal I think this year. Ha! I just put out a tray of ornaments and some small bottle brush trees and called it good. Some are bottle brush, some are wood, some are ceramic, and some are mercury glass. I love these things and remember packing them within an inch of their life when we moved here because I never want anything to happen to them.

Wide view of living room with new sheepskin loveseat and decorative Christmas trees on tabletop
ottomans | sofa | similar rug | similar mirror | similar bench | similar console | frame TV

Over by the TV there’s a little dough bowl of shiny pink and silver ornaments for some added sparkle (here’s a similar whitewashed dough bowl).

Shallow dish of ornaments as tabletop decor on media console
 frame TV |  tv cabinet (ours is 2 of these – more on how we added it here)

Overall, it’s a subtle holiday effect. I went the opposite of over the top this year.

Angled view of living room with new sheepskin loveseat and decorative Christmas trees on tabletop
ottomans | sofa | similar rug | similar mirror | similar bench | similar console | frame TV

Fun fact: I store this dough bowl with these ornaments in it just like this! It goes in the last wardrobe cabinet in our bedroom (along with all of our other holiday stuff – more on that here) so it’s just ready to set out every year. So easy, and in a closed cabinet it doesn’t even seem to get dusty. In Richmond I used to bag up the ornaments in a labeled plastic bag that said “dough bowl ornaments” but sometimes less is more. This works just fine.

Detail of tabletop ornament bowl on media console

I love this angle with the pink painting and the brass sconce and Teil’s book mixed with these trees. I’m telling you, they’re small and cute but they make me so happy. I may have bought three new $3 ones from Target. They had pink glass and mercury glass ones in their dollar spot, which is now always $3 or $5 (the “dollar spot” name is wrong and needs to be updated…).

Assortment of decorative Christmas tabletop trees in pink and white

More trees ended up on our desk. Also, legos on the floor is real life, so please enjoy. The majority of these legos are from John’s childhood and his mom saved them all these years and now our kids play with them. I just love that.

Pink bottlebrush trees on desk in upstairs office
  bookshelf | single desk | single desk chair 

Also highly recommend a disco ball for year-round festivity. The reflections when the sun hits this one are so much fun.

Decorative disco ball on top of shelves in office

Oh and this year we finally added this beautiful menorah to our household. Growing up we always had one along with a Christmas tree (my mom is Catholic and my dad is Jewish) and I knew the kids would love growing up with a similar tradition. We all had fun lighting the lights and I shared some childhood memories of my grandma and grandpa’s Hannukah traditions. Also… please enjoy the smeared hand marks on the dishwasher that I left there, also in the name of “real life.” P.S. Doesn’t that banana stem emerging from the fruit bowl look like a clenched fist, as if the apple is like “I’ll never give up!”

Gold leafy menorah on kitchen table

Oh and outside John had fun wrapping this tree with lights (these are similar warm white exterior lights). I love this so much I’m advocating that we leave it up year-round. It’s so glowy and beautiful at night, and we get to enjoy it from our front door and window when we’re eating dinner or hanging out in the sitting room in the evening.

Outdoor Christmas light strung across crooked oak tree

Also please take a moment to appreciate the inflatable weiner dogs that live across the street at our neighbors’ house. We have the very best neighbors and their love of dachshunds knows no bounds (they even have a “Happy Halloweiner” inflatable that we get to enjoy every October). There are some other very festive houses nearby, so it’s definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas – even at the beach when it’s 75 degrees.

Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!

*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

More posts from Young House Love

Filed Under: Holiday & Entertaining, Random

How The Kitchen Changed With A New Door
#182: A Big Catch Up Holiday-ish Special (Surprise!)

Stuff We Love

John and Sherry smiling against pink backgroundHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
*This site contains ads and affiliate links*
See our disclaimer & privacy policy to learn more

Latest Finds

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

SHOP OUR LIGHTING

Young House Love Shades Of Light Capiz Chandelier

GET POSTS BY EMAIL

We’re Digging

Traditional Rug
The “Magic” Rug
Smokeless Solo Stove Firepit
Smokeless Firepit
Woven Storage Ottoman
Storage Ottoman
Subtle Pink Rug
Our Bedroom Rug
Blue Air 211 Air Purifier
Our Air Purifiers
Faux Potted Olive Tree
Faux Olive Tree
Kohler Memoirs Toilet
Our Favorite Toilet
Soft Striped Rug
Soft Striped Rug
SEE MORE OF OUR FAVORITE FINDS > >

  • About
  • FAQs
  • Press
  • Contact
  • :)

© 2023 Young House Love ® · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · A Fun Wordpress theme on Genesis Framework · Hosted by Liquid Web