We actually got our tree back up a few days ago amidst boxes and general chaos (here it is the first time when we set it up in the old house). We figured we’d never be 100% organized and unpacked before the holidays hit, but taking an hour to get into the spirit in our brand new house for our bean’s first Christmas was just what the doctor ordered. We found the perfect spot for our tree in the corner of the living room (right near the sliders that lead out into the sunroom and the doorway that connects to the kitchen).
We also hung my beloved Pottery Barn wreath (a gift from John’s mom a few years back) on the back of the fireplace in the living room that will someday be double-sided. I just stare at that empty green bookcase and picture a blazing fire…
And the other side of the fireplace (which is located in the eat-in part of the kitchen) looks like this:
I know, I know – that paneling, dark brick, and red tile is ka-raaaazy. But there’s still something sweet about seeing our stockings (John and I share one so Clara and Burger each get their own), my little faux presents, a few feather trees, some ceramic fruit/birds, and our cardboard snowflake wreath up there to keep things festive until we can break out the primer and paint to lighten things up.
Oh and as I was unpacking I spotted those cute silver zebra-ish plates (from Crate & Barrel a few years back) and decided to stick them up on the mantel as well. Why not- it’s a kitchen, right?
They add a nice little shot of holiday sparkle. So I try to rest my eyes on those little gems (instead of all that paneling- oy!). Can’t wait to brighten things up in there. Oh and speaking of painting, we actually tackled Clara’s room this weekend. It felt good to be back in our painting clothes! We went in a totally different direction than we did in her last nursery, so we’ll have to snap some pictures and share them soon…
Update: You can check out all of our favorite holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15!
Tracey says
Wow…Impressed that you were able to get all this up while in the middle of a move! I wanted to point something out for next year for you…. I’m sure you thought of this but when Clara starts getting around, you might want to consider not using those stocking hangers. A baby or toddler could tug on those stockings and pull a heavy stocking holder on to their head. Again, I’m sure you thought of it but someone pointed it out to me and I thought I’d pass the obvious on to you!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Tracey,
Oh yeah, next year’s Christmas decor is a whole new ballgame! No more hazards when she’s mobile!
xo,
s
Sara says
I love the tree! I know you guys like to rock the white, but I love that dark trim and the beams :) The fireplace brick I like also–but in a small amount like that, anything too much even for me is too dark. But yeah, that paneling and the red stuff on the floor in front—crazy! FYI, you have done more decorating on your fireplace mantel than I ever have and we’ve been in the house for almost a year and a half! Oops.
Sara @ House Bella says
Good for you for putting up some holiday cheer in the midst of all the chaos! Looks awesome.
And I cannot *wait* to see the new color in Clara’s nursery. Soon, pretty please!
Michele says
I’ve been searching for some stocking hangers and just can’t find anything I like – but YOURS are perfect! Where did you get them?? (I must know…)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Michelle,
Target!
xo,
s
mike @HA says
It makes me happy that you made time to get in the season even though there are a million other things to do. Yay for Christmas :)
Rachel says
Aaahhhhh! it’s sheer torture. Must. see. Clara’s. Room. NOW.
Jacquelin says
You two amaze me! Set up the tree twice and all of this holiday decorating in the midst of a move?! Have a great Christmas with your little ones… can’t forget Burger!
Jay says
Here at down-sizingboomer, we are still knee deep in boxes, but I wanted to tell you that three of the four houses we have owned during our 38 years of marriage have had a fireplace in the kitchen. Love it, love it. Our new place will have one as soon as a wall gets knocked out. We close next week and are having our second meeting with the architect this afternoon to see the preliminary plans. Can’t wait to see how he envisions our new kitchen and master bath.
Shunta says
Ohhh!! the teaser about the nursery!!! I was wondering which room you all painted after seeing the tweet about breaking out the painting belt! Now I’m going to be checking back like a crazy person to see pictures!!
jbhat says
That tile on the hearth IS crazy. But it makes for a grand BEFORE shot, doesn’t it.
Love seeing your halls get decked. It’s so merry in CPII!
jbhat
Ty Lee says
Oh my goodness,that wood paneling makes me cringe! I bet you two are all twitchy and dying to start your renovations!
I’m so glad you got the tree up! It just wouldn’t have been the same if you hadn’t!
Heather C says
SKIL ME!
Kerry says
You know, I was just noticing… You guys need to change your banner at the top… Or maybe that’s nice. Leaving the last vestiges of your first home right there at the top of the page each day. Thoughts?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Kerry,
That’s actually our new house in the banner! Too funny that it’s so similar, huh?!
xo,
s
Jordan says
it feels like christmas (and will all year long) to check in here at yhl! any hints on the color in clara’s new room?
YoungHouseLove says
Hint: We didn’t paint it black! Pics to come…
xo,
s
Chicago Cuisine Critique says
Having the decor up definitely helps. Good luck with the getting settled. Can’t wait to see what you two do with the place. :)
Shannon K says
I know this is geeky – but I can’t tell you how excited I am to watch you guys renovate this place.
Patti says
Hey you guys, I get Houzz updates and your silhouette Christmas ornaments were mentioned … check it out! (hope the link works!)
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/163397?utm_campaign=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery0&d=1&w=93132
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Patti,
Thanks so much for the link! Love it!
xo,
s
Sophie says
I’m wondering what you mean by ‘a different direction’ with Clara’s room… The opposite would be very neutral, but I think you expressed a desire to bring more color to the Walls in the new house, so that’s not likely… The only other thing I can think of is you making it really girly and feminine but I dont see that happening either. Very curious!
heyruthie says
so proud of you guys for getting halls decked!
i just have to say, I’m really kinda hoping that with the more saturated color scheme in this house, you might not completely paint over everything. for instance, i recently was in a home that had started out looking like yours, and they did some type of treatment where they sort of whitewashed the bric, and the dark wood beams on the ceiling in such a way that created a sort of warm patina, without making it all “blindinly” painted. they did paint the paneling, but they bricks and wood beams made really great architectural features. there were still some brick tones and some wood tones, but things were really brightened up. it looked good.
you can always put on MORE paint later.
margie says
I’m so glad you put your tree back up for clara’s first christmas. You guy really know whats important in life and the boxes can wait! You two are going to be such great parents!!
Viv says
Don’t know how you feel about the heavy ceiling beams, but if you are not a fan, I have a great idea that we used in our old house. Block them off with cross beams, paint them out, and cove your ceilings. A friend of mine who flipped houses told me she’d done it, and it made a huge difference in updating our house.
Maggie Rose says
Yay, so glad you could get your holiday decorations up – I’m sure that makes it feel 10x homier already!
Can’t wait to see what you did with Clara’s room, but I’m hoping you do SOMETHING with that kitchen paneling soon! My eyes! I’m actually excited to see how much brighter it will be with the paneling painted.
Cara! says
Are yall planning on painting over the exposed beams? I hope not! They add so much character!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Cara,
For now the plan is to paint them since that’s what we love! But it could always change…
xo,
s
Stacey says
I love that you guys put up Christmas decorations already! I cannot believe Christmas is only several days away!
Several questions…I have been reading a bunch of design blogs/magazines (since we just purchased a new house and I wanted to get inspiration pictures so that I would know which direction to go in for decorating). I see the same (or very similar) rug in so many pictures…I believe it is jute or sisal. Do you know the best place to purchase such a rug?
Also, we are needing to get some type of blinds/shade for our patio door (which has a big glass pane). Do you recommend the natural woven shades? Do you know the best place to get something like that?
Thanks so much and good luck in your future endeavors with the house! Cannot wait to see Clara’s nursery with the new paint job!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Stacey,
We have found great jute rugs on overstock.com. Hope it helps! As for a patio door, floor length curtains on each side of the door with bamboo blinds or woven shades always look great! We have seen blinds like that at Lowe’s, Target, etc. Good luck!
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
It is amazing how similar the banner photos are…right down to the two trees!
Vorpaks says
Looks wonderful already! It will be so much fun to look at the decorations next year and compare them to this year. Similar decorations, completely different backdrop I am willing to bet. :)
And I love your comment about painting Clara’s room black. Don’t worry, she’ll do that herself when she gets into her DIY Goth phase… /grin
Actually, I have a baby daughter too. I shouldn’t even joke about stuff like that…
Madelaine Shultz says
I am so excited to see all the work unfold at the new house and am so glad it is you guys starting over and not us! We are still trying to get to some sort of stopping point but with major projects (windows and kitchen) looming for this summer, it is hard to see the “finish” line. Of course I still have to repaint the living room accent wall, caulk the crown molding in the family room, touch-up paint in the bath and powder rooms, refinish the dinning room hardwoods,……
Sheila says
I’ve seen ranches with gorgeous gray trim against the red brick. Any thoughts of changing up the outside once spring arrives? (as if you don’t have enough to think about right now!)
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! We’ve definitely considered changing the exterior (and landscaping too!) but we’re not sure it’ll be this spring or a few years down the road…
xo,
s
Sarah says
Just these little holiday additions make a huge difference! Congrats on the new place.
Julie - On the Dot Creations says
So glad you were able to bring a bit of Christmas cheer to your new place. You know you’ll miss that paneling when it’s gone, right? :)
Megan says
I can’t believe this is my first comment because I read your blog OBSESSIVELY! I was wondering if you have any advice on painting with a baby around? My husband painted almost the whole downstairs of our house before my son was born, but we never got around to the living room (now living room/playroom). Now that Jack is almost 1, we’re finally getting back into house painting/decorating mode! Of course, we’re planning on using the non VOC paint, but I’m still worried about the smell. And since it’s freezing outside we can’t just leave all the windows open. (And I’m way too impatient to wait for it to get warm out again!) Any tips?!?
YoungHouseLove says
We try to run fans and open doors and windows even when it’s cold just to get a few good gusts and some air flow from time to time. After painting Clara’s room with no-VOC paint it wasn’t very smelly at all, but we still ran fans and opened windows occasionally and it seemed to work really well. Good luck!
xo,
s
Jennifer S. says
Hey! Do you have a Black Bart wood stove insert? It looks just like ours, and that thing throws out some heat! Does it work?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! It’s a Bart and it works and it’s hot hot hot! We haven’t used it yet but it was on when we came over here for a welcome to the neighborhood party thrown for us by the previous owners (they were soooo nice to do that!) and we loved how cozy it was! We might light it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day! Can’t wait.
xo,
s
Laura says
Excited to see how you guys transform this place! I wonder what your first project will be…I bet it will be painting that paneling!!
cristina says
Off topic but thank you for your glass etching post of the “thanks” jar. Me & the beau set a 10 dollar limit this holiday since we will have a mortgage starting Dec 30 :)
I’m making him a customized set of tall beer glasses (including his favorite sports team logo, his name/initials, one listing places we visited this year & one with a silhouette of our cat)!
Thanks again for the idea & post. Happy Holidays!
Emily says
Making that a double sided fireplace would look great! How would you do that? Would you need someone elses help removing the back?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes! We’d need the help of a certified and licensed mason! We actually used a mason to widen one of the doorways at our old house (because it was an exterior wall) and it was only a few hundred dollars and made such a difference! So we might hire the same person again!
xo,
s
Erin Fowles says
I LOVE that wonderful wood trim around everything. Might be unsightly with the current decor, but that would be great to see in its original glory in any home. Wonderful Christmas decor, yay for Christmas!
D says
It’s so weird to see everything in this new house. Looks to me like you hung your xmas decorations in a stranger’s living room!
Rachel says
I have to admit that when I first saw the kitchen fireplace all decorated Christmas-style it looks so warm and cozy against the wood and red brick that I was glad for you to keep it that way ’till after the holidays. I figure it would probably be the only time of year where I want my house to feel dark and warm (maybe that’s just my frozen toes talking… :)OH! And I’m a new reader and am super excited I found you guys when I did (like two weeks ago) so I can follow the journey of house number two with you! Yay!
Merry Christmas!
Jaime says
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to watch your kitchen renovation/beautification unfold!! I recently moved in with my fiancee (actually he just proposed 5 days ago!!) and he has a kitchen that looks almost exactly like yours! Right now, he refuses to paint the paneling…so I’m (desperately) counting on the two of you to be my inspiration!
I stumbled upon your blog a few weeks ago and I’m hooked! Your creativity and entrepeneurial spirit are truly an inspiration!
Savanna says
I can’t wait to see another YHL nursery! We’re working on planning a room for our first little one (due in April) and I loved the look of Clara’s room. I can’t wait to see what you two have come up with at the new house!
Gayle says
I am DYING to see what your preliminary project list is. Forget the money, forget the time commitments. What are your very first to-do lists based on guts (as in instincts) and dreams?
I was just looking at my house list archives on the computer (been here almost 3 years). The first couple years I listed, checked off, but didn’t delete the crazy ideas. I changed my mind and vision so many times. So fun to look at my random ideas, see what I got done, and see what seems silly now.
Seriously, I KNOW you have a list of Guts & Dreams already. Share, please!
Gayle
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve shared them all in the past few posts about the floor plan and the house! We long to make that fireplace a double sided one- here’s hoping that’s possible! And we can’t wait to knock down the wall between the formal living room and the kitchen to create a giant pass-through and turn the formal living room into a generously sized dining room so our huge family can gather!
xo,
s
Ali says
Love that you have a fireplace in your kitchen area! Very cool!
~ Ali
Coasting anon says
So glad to see you are up and ‘running’. I am fascinated by the pictures because I love when things DON’T match! Not everyone has the luxury of decorating beautiful in a beautiful space. Like you in your current situation, sometimes you have to deal with what you’ve got…good to see that lovely decorations can transcend wood paneling and red brick :)
PS – featured your last three years of trees today over at Musings, the design blog for FLOR: http://www.flor.com/blog/coordinated-schmoordinated/
Enjoy!!
Shannon says
I hope you get a cherry tree…love them! That would be really nice. I totally missed the part about Cara’s room…I can hardly wait!!
Shannon says
Oops, typo…I meat Clara!!
Shannon says
Oh my goodness…this is what happens when I try typing with my 2 year old crawling on me!! I *meant Clara. I really can type, I swear!
Emma says
Oh my goodness guys I can’t believe you mustered the energy to decorate your new house for the holidays – we moved in early November (and don’t have a baby!) and we still considered not doing our house! Plus we have a WHOLE LOT of dark wood (like BLACK) panelling and dodgy fireplace also so I am trying to focus on my pretty stockings and mantel too. Check out our new empty house here: http://www.ellaatbella.com/2010/11/welcome-to-brindabella.html and I will be posting our house all decorated today. Merry Christmas, especially to Clara for her very first festive experience :)
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
Funny, I decorated for Christmas this weekend too! But this was my first time this year… I didn’t move… therefore I have no excuse for my tardiness :)
I like how you changed it up from house to house though!
Katie says
Hi John & Sherry–
This is in addition to an earlier question about the video camera you use. Just wanted your opinion on the flip and how user-friendly it is. We have an old mini-dvd camcorder and the color quality is really bad and frankly it’s just annoying to have dvds versus being able to download it to the computer. Have you had other cameras in the past? How does the flip rate in comparison? I totally trust your opinion since you shoot videos not only for yourselves but for the blog too (so it must be a good one!). With a new baby at home I would love to be able to capture more moments with her and since our camera is a bit annoying I don’t take as many videos as I’d like. Any advice you can give would be great! Thanks and happy unpacking…does it ever end??!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Katie,
We love our Flip HD! It’s so easy to use (it only has like two buttons) and it takes good enough quality things for the blog and our personal life without feeling bulky or complicated. And we love that it can be plugged right into the computer to upload everything. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Christina says
Yay! Looks great! Merry Christmas to all of you!