Classic Farmhouse Christmas Dining Room

It's a family tradition of ours to decorate for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. Our son's birthday falls during Thanksgiving week, so we try to separate the holidays as much as we can and save Christmas festivities for after Thanksgiving so that his birthday will be just as special as everyone else's. So this past weekend, we bought our tree and got ready to decorate, only to realize that all of our Christmas decorations, except for this mini tree I've had for years and a few small items, were still in our storage unit back where we used to live.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Oops! If you've been hanging around here lately, you know this seems to be the trend of how things go for us these days! Moving a long distance with two kids under the age of two is no easy task. We are still not totally unpacked months later, and we still have a lot of belongings in a storage unit. There have been plenty of instances of "where is the bin of six month size baby clothes?" and "where are all of my fake pumpkins?" that leave us wondering why we ever thought we would be able to quickly go back to empty the storage unit after we moved! The process of getting our house in order and starting to make it feel like home has been slow and steady with two little ones to wrangle. So, when Jenn and Vicki from 2 Bees in a Pod asked me if I wanted to join their Come Home for Christmas holiday room tour, I jumped at the opportunity because it was the little push I needed to make a space in our home feel more like "us" and to get ready for the holidays.

But truth be told, I had been feeling a little down lately because my grandmother passed away last week the day after Thanksgiving, so when we discovered all of our Christmas decorations were missing, I almost backed out of this room tour., which is so unlike me to even let that thought cross my mind! It was just the icing on the cake! But then, I thought about how much joy Christmas decorating brings me and how peaceful it feels to walk through a room that is holding the Christmas spirit. And creativity is always so so good for my soul, so I knew it would truly be healing to still participate. So, I looked at this one little tree I had and brainstormed how I could make it work. It was a totally different vibe from the decor I was envisioning in my head, but instead of starting from scratch, I let this little tree guide the room. 

I actually received this tree as a gift from my best friend in high school. We were crafty kids and always made each other gifts and decorative notes. Back then, this tree was decked out in pink glittery ornaments and girly sentiments. As I got older, at first I didn't want to change the tree decorations, holding on to that glimmer of childhood through pink sparkles. Eventually, I realized it was better to let the tree evolve with my style to be enjoyed each year rather than just keeping it in storage as a distant memory. So now, all that remains from the original tree are the white flowers and the lights. This year, I added the pinecone ornaments to incorporate a touch of rustic decor and swapped out the bow. Inspired by the tree's "new" look, I hauled the whole family to the craft store for some Christmas decor shopping to makeover our dining room. 

The tree is sitting on the credenza in our dining room. It's a little tough to photograph the whole credenza, but on the other end, I put a red and white candle in one of my wooden lanterns and some bottle brush trees to add a little greenery.

You might remember that I shared our fall dining room recently. The room didn't quite feel like us yet, and we've made a few small updates since then that completely transformed the look. We swapped out our black chairs for these white washed bistro chairs, and we changed out the light fixture for this gorgeous one. The light fixture alone makes the biggest difference! It ties all of the black and wood tones together. Not to mention, we can actually see each other when we eat now ;)

When I am decorating for holidays, I try to incorporate as much of my "usual" stuff as possible instead of  completely redoing everything. You can see that I used our everyday table runner, coffee bar accessories, and chalkboard. I just added a touch of red, green, natural elements, and galvanized metal accents so that it would blend seamlessly with the wood, black, and galvanized metal that is normally in this room. 

Inspired by the mini tree I started with, I chose a small tree with a burlap bottom as a centerpiece. I found a cheap pine garland at Walmart and these cute little galvanized metal houses for tea lights at Home Goods. I wove the garland in and out of my "base" decorations. To add the pop of glittery red that my inspiration tree had, I hung some red ornaments from the tree and tucked some glittery red berries into the garland.

For the first time ever, I erased the encouraging words on my DIY chalkboard and updated it for Christmas. I usually use a chalk marker and this easy way to transfer fonts when writing on chalkboards, but I was pressed for time and decided to freehand it with real chalk. I have a lot of room for improvement, but I am impressed with how far my handlettering has come! I do not have the neatest handwriting normally! I also added a set of galvanized metal Christmas bells to complete the look. 

I shifted things around on our industrial shelving and added a little bit of greenery and red glittery accents. It's amazing how a few small touches of Christmas colors can make a whole room feel cheery!

The coffee bar got turned into a hot cocoa bar. I had hoped to create a hot cocoa sign to go on the wall, but with last weeks events, I didn't get around to it. These cute little deer will work for now! :)

Normally our coffee supplies sit in this galvanized tray. I swapped them out for these adorable holiday mugs and bowls of marshmallows and stirring sticks. All ready for a warm cup of hot chocolate!

I'm so thankful to have this cheerful holiday room until we can get the rest of our Christmas decor out of the storage unit. The dining room is the heart of our home, and it fills me with joy to see it all decked out each time I walk through it. And although it isn't exactly what I had planned out in my head, I love that the whole space was inspired by that little tree from my childhood.  

SOURCES:

Table- World Market

Chairs- World Market

Chandelier- Tradewinds

Table runner- World Market

Pine garland- Walmart

Mini trees- Michaels

Bottle brush trees- Amazon

Galvanized tea light houses- Michaels

Mug tree- Amazon

Christmas mugs- Walmart

Shelf- Hayneedle

Dresser- Ikea Hack Tutorial

I would love for you to visit the rest of the holiday room tours on my friends' blogs! Today is all about dining rooms and the rest of the schedule is listed below. I can't wait for you to see all of their beautiful spaces! So much inspiration as we get ready to decorate for Christmas!

MONDAY

My Creative Days

Lydi Out Loud

Our Home Made Easy

Craving Some Creativity

Lehman Lane

Slightly Coastal

The Crowned Goat

TUESDAY

Green With Decor

Little Red Brick House

Catherina's Creative Corner

Houseful of Handmade

1915 House

All Things Big and Small

WEDNESDAY

2 Bees in a Pod - Vicki

Average But Inspired

Bliss Ranch

Keys to Inspiration

Country Design Style

Making it in the Mountains

THURSDAY

Little Bits of Home

Two Purple Couches

Worthing Court

The Inspired Hive

DIY Beautify

Refresh Restyle

FRIDAY

2 Bees in a Pod - Jenn

Robb Restyle

Noting Grace

The Honeycomb Home

Chatfield Court

Home with Cupcakes and Crinoline

Related Posts:

Easy DIY Yarn Trees

Simple Christmas Wreath