Are you ready for my private holiday decorating event? (Remember that my work replaces a normal process, so no pressure). OK, October: start collecting inspiration, new ideas, and any new pieces you want (good stuff can sell). November: It’s dark/wet outside, so it’s fun to start adding greenery and twinkling lights (yes, the inside is fake for us, the real outside comes later, and no, we don’t host Thanksgiving – we travel with family that week). And then on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we have our little family ornament hanging party (literally my favorite night of the year), and it’s a blast of holidays from there. no retreat. no shame. Just sheer joy. I really want people to schedule whatever they want, real or fake, long or short. For me, this spreads the joy (and labor) and gives us two months of glowing light, which helps a lot on dark nights and mornings (magic never gets old). For this shoot, we went to The Carly, the most magical rentable retreat estate outside of Portland, because we wanted to try out some fun new holiday decor ideas using pieces from. allmoderN. They have so many great holiday gems, and The Carly is so special that she can’t get a proper holiday makeover. If you’re ready to decorate or not, check out these really beautiful areas that my team and I have created, and hopefully, it will give you some ideas and inspiration. It definitely did for me 🙂
Garland , Folding Paper Tree Set , Folding Paper Ornament , Christmas Village , “Gumdrop” Velvet Pillows , fake fur throw blanket , sleeping blanket , side table
Their wreaths and garlands are solid (and so full). Two of my favorite things from their collection that I will probably steal for our home this year are the stockings and the accordion paper tree (you’ll see that later). All the colors work so well together, in a happy and traditional way 🙂
Our Favorite New Stockings
stockings The thick woven wool features ocher and cream checks. This colorway works very well with our jewel-toned palette (it’s actually just a gold, so in a way it acts as a neutral). I love our stockings, but am I tempted to use these this year because they are so pretty and well made (and dare I say “on trend”). They also come in green/cream and red/cream if you want a more traditional color.
Great non-holiday, “holiday” pillows
“Gumdrop” Velvet Pillows , Garland
all cut velvet pillows The very soft, pretty ornaments are high quality in tone, and clearly we love mixing them all together (and staying fabulous all year round). And That 4′ wreath Is killer (very hard to find that large size) and will be in our huge picture window outside (it’s not pre-lit, but easy to string up). Fun fact, there was a big white outlet over the fireplace (for a future frame TV), so we hid it with a collection of bows (not altmodern) which obviously turned out very cute.
In my opinion, with fake wreaths, you have to decorate them with ribbon, bells or ornaments to give them more life (I think it’s the same with real greenery). The bigger the wreath, the bigger the bow.
a solidly nice fake tree
fake christmas tree , 3-tier serving tray , tree skirt
Even though I’m a huge tree lover (one of the reasons we moved back to Oregon), I’m largely “tree agnostic” when it comes to real or fake. You do you (we often do both, hahaha). But if you’re in the market for a new fake tree, This one Amazing (they keep getting better and better every year). It’s a Nordic-style fur, actually pre-lit with warm light. Is excellent. I also want to say that if you are really interested in collecting ornaments (hi! me!), fake trees can hold much larger and heavier ornaments 🙂
Large Glass Jewelry (Rose Gold, Green) , Cafe Latte Jewelry
As you know, I’m a huge family jewel lady (my kids joke that “soup” and “jewelry” are my two biggest hobbies, and they’re ridiculously right). For this tree, we chose some very beautiful trees glass balls Which reflects the light so beautifully (and you always need big round reflective shapes to compensate for more generous handmade jewellery, imho). Small “caffè-latte” ones Have really beautiful blush/ivory tones and are hung on wire (so they stay put).
Large Glass Ornaments (Grey/Purple, Blue)
A huge and excellent pre-lit rosary
9′ Pre-Lit Garland , Cream/Black Dining Chairs , green key chairs
this garland Extremely thick, and each is about 9′, so we hung three in a classic curtain. They’re prelit, LED, warm light and link together, so once you get started, you don’t have to think about them. One end plugs in and you get warm ambiance all month long. These are also on our living room list – the scale of the garland is huge and perfect for any large window.
Easiest Table Centerpieces
what i love These accordion paper trees There is a long list:
- They style themselves – different heights, sizes and colors that look good together no matter how you arrange them.
- You can place these on any surface in any room. Mantel, shelf in the kitchen, bathroom, coffee table – they look great everywhere (we’ll prove it today)
- They fold flat, and use a magnet to stay together – so easy to store, put together, but take up so little space.
- They come as a set – you don’t have to think about the right color/size combination.
- They play with light/shadow so beautifully – so much texture and depth.
red dinnerware set , wine glasses , bandages , matt
i want to give a shout out too This dark red spot setting – This has a great tone and finish for anyone who wants “holiday plates” that are more simple (i.e., not fancy) but still high-impact. Christmas Eve lunch is the meal I host; I will take them out.
taper candles , wooden candlestick holders , green glass flute
candlestick holder Also great all year round – white oaks in really simple shapes can do no wrong any time of year.
green key chairs , Cream/Black Dining Chairs
Are you in the market for new dining chairs for hosting this season, I love the ones we picked here. Two green tipped chairs rotate and are very graphic and warm-hearted (a big hit among kids), and arm chairs Are solid, massive, and have really beautiful lines.
Pre-Lit Wreath , pair of vases , colorful stockings , chrome lamp
This 3′ Pre-Lit Wreath Is fabulous (warm white light, plug-in), and we paired it with a bunch of little velvet bows we made. that knitted sock Very good, very good even.
There she is 🙂 Not Martha, but definitely looking ready to host here. I just thought this whole space turned out so festive, fresh, and fun (but still traditional enough and transitional enough for many styles).
felt garland , green glass flute , blue dinnerware set , pink plate , bandages
I want to tell you how beautiful its texture is Tree Have – the light plays very well with all the folds of the paper. Here we decorated the shelves with some felt garlands (also great for trees) and These new stackable blue platesWhich pops very well.
Pre-Lit Faux Skinny Tree , Cream/Black Dining Chair
We wandered around The Carly because it’s so beautiful (shout out). max humfrey to design it). This small area is the main attraction a thin treeWhich is obviously great for small spaces. We styled more with velvet pillows, wreathAnd TreeJust to show you the different combinations.
Pre-Lit Wreath , sleeping blanket , “Gumdrop” Velvet Pillows , felt garland
a cozy corner
9′ Pre-Lit Garland , geometric christmas pillows , wool round pillow , gold faux fur pillow , sleeping blanket , teal side table , chrome serving bowl
We couldn’t stop shooting this corner – it’s so cute and cozy. we used one of these garlands To frame it and accent it, by layering it with a ton of pillows from AllModern modern lacquer table,
teal side table , chrome serving bowl
It was such a fun shoot, styled with beautiful and festive pieces from AllModern with my team in the most incredible location. Big thanks to Gretchen for doing a wonderful job creating this and to Caitlin for these beautiful photos. We had so much fun styling it, listening to holiday music, and even staying in our own suites for the night. At night, we drank martinis and watched The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox (not ready for Christmas movies yet) while we wrapped all the “presents.” Thank you, most modern For sponsoring this post and project. I hope you all enjoyed it and got some new ideas and inspiration. xx
*by photos Caitlin Green
