(Mostly) Subtle Holiday / Winter Decorating

Minimal Christmas decor and so much more.

We spend so much time in the family room these days. And now that it’s getting chilly outside, I want to warm it up a little bit for the holidays. BUT also, I really wanted to put our Christmas tree in here this year! And it’s finally up and all decorated to share.

I worked with Bed Bath & Beyond to bring the cozy winter / Christmas vibes to life and love the minimal but also semi-maximal feel of it all. Bonus! I was able to get soooo many different things, all from one place! Which I can especially appreciate during this kinda crazy time of year. I got the tree, the tree basket, the wrapping paper, the pillows, the cozy throw, the candles, candlesticks, cool bowls, etc – all from BBB! Click through to check it all out.

If you haven’t shopped at Bed Bath & Beyond lately, I promise it’s worth checking out. They have really good deals on SO many things – especially when you’re a Beyond+ member (and I am). Which is basically like having the best Bed Bath & Beyond coupons all year long.

We get all our SodaStream stuff and Simple Human trash bags from BBB. Our whole dining table was decked out last year for the holidays with BBB glassware, silverware, plates, etc. Which you can see here: minimal modern holiday entertaining. We even bought Hayes’ Stokke highchair from there, that I’ve been asked about so many times.

So it’s no surprise that I’m back there again, ordering things to make our backroom feel cozy and festive for Christmas. Starting with the tree!

Christmas Tree

We decided to do a big faux tree this year, so I could get everything up before Thanksgiving. And while that didn’t actually happen (whoops!), I still really love it. And am hoping next year, I can fulfill my dream of having the entire house decorated before turkey day. Fingers crossed.

So here are the tree details. I picked out the Fraser Hill Farm 7.5-Foot Pre-Lit Smart Lighting Southern Peace Pine Artificial Christmas Tree because it was a good price and looked great in the photos. I’ll be honest. I was a little nervous picking out a big tree online without seeing it in person. Luckily, it turned out perfectly.

Jeff commented a couple of times that the tree looks really lifelike. It’s super full – has a ton of realistic looking needles in the front and then the more standard looking branches in the back to really make things feel full everywhere.

Plus, it comes pre-strung with 600 smart LED lights (that remain lit even if one burns out). Which I really appreciate because I cannot stand stringing lights on a tree. Honestly, it’s the only thing I don’t like about Christmas decorating.

Tree Basket

Personally, I don’t really like the look of tree collars and didn’t want a tree skirt either. So, I was fully invested in making a basket work.

When I started setting the tree up, I was able to weave the base piece through the biggest basket I could find (which is actually part of a set – I used the largest one). It’s the Honey-Can-Do® Round Rope Nesting Baskets in Natural//White (Set of 3). And I also tried the Bee & Willow™ Home Large Seagrass Pom Pom Basket which is so cute, but wasn’t quite large enough.

It turned out pretty cute. These particular baskets have some give to them with the roping. So I was able to poke the stand feet through the rope. The feet stick out a little from each side of the basket (I took a picture (above), so you could see what I’m talking about). But that didn’t bother me at all because I knew those parts could be easily covered with presents.

Alternative Wrapping Paper

All the presents are wrapped in Wall Vision Scandinavian Designers II Berså Leaf Wallpaper in Orange, which is actually wallpaper. I love using non-traditional things for wrapping when I can. Plus, I thought the presents would look really pretty wrapped up in this pattern, since the color is similar to our sofa.

Beaded Garland and Ornaments

Back to the tree though! I used ten, six ft long Bee & Willow™ Home Beaded 72-Inch Garlands to swag all around the tree. And then decorated the entire thing with DIY ornaments. Now you know why I made so many this year! It’s a pretty good size tree.

I love how it turned out, but more importantly, Hayes loves it. Most of the ornaments were really made for him anyway. And it makes me so happy that he loves it as much as I do.

Here’s a quick list of all the DIY ornaments I made, in case you want the tutorials to make your own.

• star and moon fabric ornaments
• globe paper ornaments
• painted wood ornaments
• clay strawberry ornaments
• how to make terracotta cookie cutter ornaments (rainbows, stars, etc)

Gift Ideas and Home Decor

That’s it for the tree stuff. Let’s move on to all of the accessories that pulled the rest of the room together. So many of these items would be perfect as gifts for anyone who loves decorating or spending time at home (which is almost all of us, these days, right?).

Pillows

My favorite pillow of them all is the Safavieh Haleigh Square Throw Pillow in Beige/Green. I love the color and the design. Wished I would have picked up a second one. But there are so many other good ones too…

Safavieh Bardon Oblong Throw Pillow in Black/White – This one is under $20 if you’re a Beyond+ member!

Safavieh Imani Knit Square Throw Pillow in Grey – Feels like your favorite blanket.

Magnolia Home Emmie Kay Oblong Throw Pillow in Blush/Ivory – I really like the blush color of this pillow with the ivory.

Magnolia Home By Joanna Gaines™ Otto Textured Square Throw Pillow in Ivory – Huge pillow and has a cozy vibe for winter.

Throw Blanket

And then I snagged this French Connection® Claire Throw Blanket in White so I can cuddle up and watch movies back here with the sliding door open. It’s warm and comes in four different colors.

Home Decor Gift Ideas

Last, but not least! My favorite section of them all – the gifts that a homebody / decor lover will totally appreciate.

To play up the coffee table with something festive that I could also use year round, I chose a bunch of cool pieces that when combined have a hint of a holiday color scheme. See where I’m going with this? Peach candlesticks, a green bowl – you get the idea. Here we go…

Iittala Kuru 9.5-Inch Bowl in Moss Green – This bowl is the perfect color green. And large enough to fill with ornaments, keys and mail, or whatever else you can think of.

Iittala Kuru 6.25-Inch Bowl in Beige – Looks great with the green one above.

Iittala Nappula 7-Inch Candle Holder in Powder – These candle holders are SO pretty! I’ve actually wanted them for a long time. So I guess this was just a gift for myself. Haha.

Iittala Nappula 4.25-Inch Candle Holder in Powder – And the smaller candle holder bc they look so good as a set.

Zodax Flat Top Unscented Formal Candles in White (Set of 6) – Because if you’re going to have candle holders, you kinda need some candles too.

Zodax 10-Inch Flat Top Taper Candles in Ivory (Set of 6) – Another candle option, if you like ivory better than white.

Iittala Teema 3.5 qt. Serving Bowl in White – I’m dubbing this the perfect popcorn bowl for holiday movies.

Side note… There are bunch of Iittala items on this part of the list and that’s because I absolutely love this brand! A long, LONG time ago when I was working part time at a friend’s modern furniture shop, I discovered this brand and fell in love with their iconic Alvar Aalto vases. And I still love what they do all these years later.

So now that I’ve gone through everything in insane detail, here are some more photos of how it all came together…

     

What do you think? How are you decorating your house for winter and/or Christmas, if you celebrate? Are you more of a ‘Christmas, Christmas everywhere’ type OR more about subtle things that just feel cozy and winter-like? I’d love to know!

—

This post is in partnership with Bed Bath & Beyond. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Paper and Stitch running.