Welcome sweet friends to my Christmas home tour of 2012.
I am sure that when you walk up to my front door you notice the color scheme of my decorations. White, gold, and silver with lots of natural elements, a buck load of twigs and pine cones and some evidence of a crafty spirit.
There is more of that to come, so please step inside….
The Christmas season is welcomed with a little Advent decoration. Of course by now the second and even third candle have been lit.
The materials for my Christmas decorations this year were mostly free because I gathered them during walks in the woods, my garden and some local parks.
It is amazing what you can turn, these natural elements into with a bit of creativity.
In front of our French doors into the garden there are a collection of twig and bark stars dangling in the air.
These stars chime in well, with the main decoration on my mantel.
A homemade twig star all lit up with tiny lights.
This is the kind of easy, light and rather simple look I like so much. It is also evident in the way I set up a little vignette. Just cluster some nice elements together and don’t make too much of a fuss about it.
This little vignette turned out particularly well.
It fits in nicely with our laid back and easy-going Christmas tree.
The tree is decorated with mostly homemade decorations and a few glass ornaments that have been collected through the years.
Instead of a tree skirt we decided to use two painted suitcases as a tree stand.
Of course let’s not forget what Christmas really means..
A little nativity silhouette vignette made with simple paper sandwich bags.
Most of my Christmas decor is homemade. I did quite a bit of crafting this year. Like my twig stars and a matching twig candle stick, a branch Christmas card display tree, and a garland from felt stars.
A lot of my crafting also involved working with the natural greens I had collected. In fact I decorated my backyard porch with them. Our living room looks out on this terrace and it is the side of the house we use most to enter. So I gave my garden a healthy dose of Christmas decor too.
Wow looking at all of it this way, I did quite a lot already. No wonder I have been so tired 
I guess some napping is in order. Good thing my bedroom is such a nice place to retreat into these days.
My repurposed wood headboard is decorated with the wool felt garland and with stars made from stiffened doilies.
And a little vignette on a side table, lots of sparkly lights and extra pillows and blankets, make this the perfect room to relax and unwind.
If you have been around here in the past month, you will have seen these decorations already cause they were part of my 12 Days of Christmas Decorations series.
Four fellow bloggers joined me in that series. You might want to check out their awesomeness too.
Dear Marianne: I love your pretty Christmas decorations! I do like the neutral colour scheme and the homemade simplicity of it all. You’ve put that together so well, it looks like you’ve put a lot of thought into each and every piece and it turned out gorgeous! Happy Holidays!
Discovering your blog this holiday season was such a sweet holiday gift. I love your decorating style. I have always used a special container for our Christmas trees instead of a skirt each year, usually something different each time, so seeing your tree in the white suitcases was such fun. I loved that. Have a great weekend. We have guest coming for a Christmas dinner tonight so I am busy cooking today. xo
Marianne your home looks beautiful! I LOVE the simplistic and elegant look you chose for your Christmas decor.I LOVE how you used elements from nature it all looks so pretty!
xx
Anne
Echt super sfeervol!! Wat een werk! Groetjes, Eva
Marianne, I adore your simple yet elegant Christmas decor. Seeing the entire tour of your home really emphasized the cohesiveness of your theme. And I love how you carried your theme out into your yard and garden! My favorite decorations were of your headboard in your bedroom! Just marvelous! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
So completely beautiful! Perfect feeling for a relaxing white Christmas with family and friends!
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Cynthia
I’m blown away by all peaceful and serene your home looks for the holidays, Marianne! There’s lots of eye candy here, and I know I’ll be coming back to this post a few more times at least to admire everything in more detail! Just beautiful!
I love it all! And I’m going to keep my eyes open for some tiny lights…
I can’t wait for my daughter to get a little older so I can actually do more decorating. Nowadays, everything is immediately destroyed, so it’s just not worth the extra effort.
Anyways, I love your blog and I added you to my RSS so I can see what other beautiful things you have in the future…
Have a merry Christmas!
You really have created a beautiful, serene, natural Christmas look in your home. I have to keep my home light to counteract the long, grey winter months we have in the Pacific NW, so I love your light, bright look! It’s all so pretty!
WOW!!! It’s lovely. Thanks for sharing.
it all looks beautiful! the wooden star and the headboard with snowflakes are my favorites!
So, so beautiful! I LOVE all the natural elements you used. The decor on the bedroom headboard is my favorite thing!!!
–Katie
I really like your “look”! Well done! One of my favourites. You really are quite talented to craft all those pretties. Happy Holidays!
Marianne, your home is simply beautiful! I love the natural touches as well as your pallette of whites. My favorites are the suitcase tree stand and the crocheted snow flakes. Those make me think of my mother and my childhood Christmases. Thank you for sharing your home for the holidays. I hope that you have a very blessed Christmas!
Thank you for your sweet words! Wishing you and your family a merry Christmas too.
You have a beautifully decorated Christmas home. Your bench outside is stunning, and your house looks very welcoming.
Thank you for sharing your lovely holiday home with us!!!!
Your home looks beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing. Merry Christmas!
Your house looks wonderful! I love your use of all the natural elements and your tree is beautiful!
Thank you very much, how kind.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.