Christmas house tour

A Christmas tour of homes is one of my favorite things. I'm glad to welcome you to our house.

We're all ready for a blanket of snow!

Our front porch is our outdoor living room. The decorations here are simple but festive.

Now the front door is open wide--come in!

To the left of the front door is my husband's study.

Here is the stone fireplace that you see on the front of the house. I love the stacked stone, and I keep the decor very simple here.

Back to the foyer, where magnolia leaves and poinsettias take the spotlight.

This is the first year we've had a blue dining room. I like the way the blue walls work with our traditional red and green Christmas decor.

The front windows are hard to photograph because of the light, but here's a glimpse of the window decorations. I made the swags from boxwood and magnolia cuttings from our yard, then added ornaments strung on lengths of ribbon. These I simply stapled to the top of the window frame.

The primitive sideboard holds an angel and the Christmas carol plaque I created last year plus some pretty satin-finish ornaments.

Every year I display these Lenox "Trees Around the World" plates on my mother's china cabinet. The plates are from 1991, 1993, and 1997--the years my sons were born. These were their Christmas gifts from me those years.

My mother's tea table in the corner gets a little Christmas cheer, too. I love to display white lilies and Christmas greenery in this lovely pitcher my husband gave me for Christmas two years ago. A bit of ribbon dresses up plain red candles.

The living room is the site of our Christmas tree, which is still a work in process. I'll share that later this week. The living room fireplace is the one we gather 'round for Christmas morning, so it's where our stockings hang.

The topiaries are simple to make--you can see the tutorial here.

Cocoa and Snickers like to sit by the fire, too. It's not often that they'll share this chair!

Next stop on the tour: the kitchen.

The window over the sink usually wears a faux Roman shade, but it's sporting a festive garland and a homemade "NOEL" for Christmastime.

I like a Christmas centerpiece on the island, but any decoration must be non-fragile and must leave lots of workspace. The antique wrapping paper holder and scale fill the bill.

The kitchen table centerpiece is a LEGO creation of my youngest son, who is known on YouTube as LegoLee329.

Click here if you'd like to see more of my kitchen.

And our last stop is the screened porch, which is two stories above the ground. It feels a bit like a treehouse.

Click here if you'd like to read more about my porches.

Thank you for joining me for a Christmas tour of my home!

SPECIAL NOTE: Next Monday, December 19, I'll be hosting a linky party called "Home for the Holy Days." It'll be a chance to share ideas and inspiration for keeping the emphasis on Christ this Christmas. You can read all about it here. I'd love for you to join me!

I'm joining these tours:

Holiday House Tour at Hooked on Houses

Christmas Home Tour at The Inspired Room

Christmas Tour of Homes at Nesting Place

Holly Bloggy Christmas Home Tour at The Shabby Creek Cottage

Show Us Your Life at Kelly's Korner