My 2019 Christmas Home Tour


The moment we set foot in our new house, I took one look at the living room setup and thought, “Wow, this is going to be really pretty at Christmastime!” I just knew that the front window area was the perfect spot to display our Christmas tree for the entire neighborhood to see. So, when we decorated last weekend, I was most eager to get that Christmas tree up…and it exceeded my expectations!My 2019 Christmas Home Tour

But let’s back up a bit and chat about my entire 2019 Christmas home tour (even though this tree is my favorite part of it!). I went into this season with one tiny box of Christmas decor that we were able to salvage from our storage unit flood. And thankfully, our special ornaments were in that box (we’ve been collecting them for almost ten years together and we always buy a new one when we go on a trip). Other than that, though, I was pretty much starting from scratch. Not wanting to “buy just to buy”, I was very strategic with the new holiday decor I did purchase for our home.

I ended up hitting up HomeGoods (my go-to for just about any decor), Hobby Lobby (their garland is amazing), and most of my front window tree decor is from Balsam Hill (their stuff is stunning). All in all, I didn’t go too crazy buying all.the.things. So let’s get to it and take a look at my 2019 Christmas home tour.

My 2019 Christmas Home Tour

Let’s start outside! We didn’t end up hanging any Christmas lights this year (we’ve been spending too much time working inside on our laundry room), but that doesn’t mean the outside of our home isn’t festive. My mom and her best friend, Denise, came over to help me decorate our front window box a few weeks ago, and you might have seen it on Instagram stories.  It was empty after the summer season and Denise (a former florist) offered to help me fill it for Christmas. I immediately took her up on that offer because I was at a loss as to how the heck to fill this thing!My front window box for the hoilday season

She bought everything in there from Lowe’s and it’s all real and fresh! We ended up cutting pieces of pine, cedar, and evergreen from long rolls and Denise stuck the smaller pieces in the window box, effortlessly. (Buying those long rolls of greens is the best way to go because you can cut your pieces to whatever lengths work for you.)  We filled the inside of the box with dirt and all of the greens are stuck in it to keep them secure. Somehow, Denise was able to arrange it all so it looks elegant and perfect. Once all of the greens were in there, Denise added berries, large ornaments, and pine cones for some color and texture (again, all from the hardware store!). Because it’s so cold here, she says it should last all winter long (no need to water). I’ll just remove the ornaments after Christmas and keep it up throughout the entire winter season. I’m in love with it! And I need to convince Denise to come back for my spring planting…Sleigh and tree on the front porch for my 2019 christmas home tour

I also added an antique sled and small light-up tree (similar) to our front porch. My friend, Kate, actually found the sled at an antique store and asked if I wanted it. I immediately squealed, “Yes!” and now here it is! It says “Novak’s” on it and I’m not sure if that is a family name or the name of the sled company? Either way, I should probably get around to sanding it and painting it to say “Finns”. Someday, someday.

The Entryway

Our holiday entryway

As you guys saw from this post, I had some fun decorating our entryway earlier this season. I ended up tweaking it a bit for everyday use (gotta keep our key tray out) and here is the end result. The garland is from Hobby Lobby and looks so real that I ended up using more of it in other spots around the house.

Every year, I use a chicken wire frame to display our holiday cards. We found these at a flea market years ago and it comes in handy for so many situations (we used a few for my bridal shower and wedding!). Use a chicken wire frame to display Christmas cardsFor Christmas, I like to hang it and use clothespins to display all of the gorgeous holiday cards we receive. As of last week, I didn’t have many cards yet (just our own!), so hopefully, this bad boy fills up in no time at all!

Our Christmas Tree

My 2019 Christmas home tour and tree

I haven’t been very coy about the fact that this is my favorite part of my entire 2019 Christmas home tour (but I do hope you stick around to see the rest of the house even after I dive into the details about our tree). I actually shared all of the scoop about our faux tree in this post from September, back when I was figuring out which faux tree to get for our home. This beauty made the cut and I adore it.

Balsam Hill tree topper

I used plaid ribbon from Michaels around the tree and then some ornaments from Balsam Hill to decorate it. On top, I have this gorgeous tree topper. When I showcased putting the tree up on Instagram, I got at least 30 messages inquiring about the tree topper. It really is beautiful and I hope we have it for years and years to come. Presents under the tree

I’m not going to lie, as of now, all of the presents under the tree are fake. My mom (the wrapping queen!) wrapped a bunch of empty boxes for our gift guide photoshoot and they were too pretty to toss! I do think it’s always a good idea to decorate with faux wrapped gifts because they make for the perfect holiday decor on shelves, dressers, and all around the home. So festive, easy, & free! P.S. If you want to take your wrapping skills to the next level this year, give this post and this post a read. Trust me!My Christmas tree

I really need to snap a picture of this space at night because it’s so magical and pretty.

The Living Room Our holiday living room

The rest of the living room looks allllmost the same as it usually does, with a few changes here and there. I added my favorite faux fur blanket to the couch (this thing is a beast and is the most coveted blanket in our household. Makes for a good gift!). Our TV console with faux garlandFaux holiday garland from Hobby LobbyI also draped some faux garland along our TV console. We don’t have Hobby Lobby in the city, but it was worth a trek to the suburbs to pick some up (I’m sure I’ll have it for many seasons to come!). Our holiday living room

Dining room table
Because of the placement of the Christmas tree, I moved my beloved olive tree to this corner and it looks pretty good back there! Then on the table, I added a few small pieces of decor (most notably, my champagne bucket filled with ornaments. Seriously, fill any vessel with ornaments and you have instant decor!). Our holiday living room in 2019

All in all, I’m in love with this festive corner of the house.

Our Second Christmas TreeOur memory tree for Christmas

Yes, you read that right…our SECOND Christmas tree. Who are we?! I never thought I would live in a space big enough to have two Christmas trees! We added this smaller tree to our kitchen for our “fun” ornaments. These are the random ones we’ve accumulated over the years (I’m looking at you Bud Light beer can ornament) that we refuse to ever part with. We do have a few new additions to our memory tree this year…New home Christmas ornaments

My mom bought us this personalized new home ornament to commemorate our Finn Fixer Upper. It was the sweetest early Christmas gift! Ultrasound Christmas ornament

And we then added our “smoking baby” ultrasound pic to the memory tree. I mean, doesn’t it look like our baby girl is smoking a cigarette in utero? That was a doctor’s appointment I won’t ever forget!

Our memory tree may not be the prettiest, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Our StairwayOur staircase transformed for christmas

The final stop on my 2019 Christmas home tour is our stairwell. Ever since we renovated this area I envisioned adding garland to the banister during the holidays and here we are!

The garland is (again) from Hobby Lobby and I also added some ribbon throughout for some color. On here, we decided to put three stockings…one for Mom, Dad, and baby. This little area makes me smile every time I walk by thinking about how we’ll have our daughter celebrating Christmas with us next year! Our Christmas stairwell Adding Christmas trees to the top of a hutchAdding garland to our staircase banister for Christmas

The view from above is just as good as the view from below. The greenery adds so much to this otherwise very neutral hallway.

My 2019 Christmas Home Tour

So there you have it…my 2019 Christmas home tour. I didn’t go overboard this year and I’m really pleased with the small touches throughout our home. I think I’ll slowly accumulate more decor that I love and next year will be even better!

Casey


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.