Holiday Home Tour 2013

 Surprise and Merry Christmas!  

Today, I am the surprise guest on the Deck The Halls Holiday Home Tour organized by Jennifer Rizzo.  It began this morning (you can take the full tour from start to finish here) and I'm so excited to share my holiday decorations along with 30 others in this week long tour. 

I am house number five.  The amazing Jeanne Oliver was up before me and let me just say, I knew she would be a tough act to follow.  

If this is your first time here, let me introduce myself.  My name is Sarah Macklem, I'm a professional Home Stylist from Detroit, Michigan.  This blog is where I share daily design adventures and operate my online interior design studio.  In addition to being the title of my blog, "The Yellow Cape Cod" is also my home where I live with my husband, our three children and our dog, Murphie.  

I'm so excited to be the surprise house on this fantastic tour.  Christmas is always a big deal at The Yellow Cape Cod, sharing our decor on the blog is something I look forward to every year.  But this year, I am especially excited. 

As Murphie and I show you around, I'll explain…

…last year, I had the amazing opportunity to have our home photographed for the Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas Magazine 2013.  It was an incredible experience, although it meant that I was not able to share my decor on the blog.  In order for BHG to publish an exclusive spread, I had to keep it under wraps. 

This means I have some serious Christmas blogging excitement, two whole years of pent up Christmas ideas spinning around in my head.  You can imagine my reaction when Jen Rizzo ask me to join this Christmas tour.

The theme of my Christmas decor this year is "Classic Christmas".  The basis of my Christmas design  is black and white hounds tooth, fresh boxwood and hundreds of red ornaments.

(Click here for a tutorial on these little trees)

As you can see, I started my tour in our Dining Room that also doubles as my home office when we're not entertaining.  

It's one of the first rooms you see when entering our home.  For the holidays, I spiffed it up with new chair upholstery and a brand new rug.  Later on this week, I'll be sharing a tutorial on the little trees shown on the buffet.  I will also share some tips for keeping fresh greens looking fresh for weeks.

One of my goals in decorating our home (this room in particular) for the holidays is making sure it's ready for drop-in guests.  Our Christmas high chair (a thrift store find that I painted cherry red) offers our littlest guests a festive place to eat. 

 Across from the dining room is our powder room.  Red towels, boxwood clippings and a glowing candle keep this little space ready for guests.

Our mantle decor this year was inspired by the deer that visit our backyard throughout the season.  This room provides a nice view into the woods behind our home where deer can usually be seen.  

When I came across these antler stocking holders, I knew we had to have them. 

Our stockings are one of those elements that we will probably always incorporate into our Christmas decor.  We have grown quite attached to them over the years.  

The kids always look forward to hanging them on the fireplace. 

Each year I try to keep our decor fresh and different while using a lot of the same things year after year.   

Many of the elements I use have special meaning to us or represent a family tradition.  

For example, the Christmas tree in our living room is dedicated to a collection of ornaments from my Dad.  He gave us an ornament each year for Christmas until he passed away five years ago.  

This year I changed up the ribbon, accent ornaments and added gigantic snowflakes to put a fun spin on our special tree.

This is one of seven Christmas trees we have in our home this year.  I can't believe I just admitted that. 

In the kitchen, the busiest room in our home, I kept the decor light.  My daughter and I enjoy baking together during the holidays and need all the surface area we can get. 

 I was able to sneak in our festive red Kuerig, a few seasonal plants and a Santa I fell in love with at the Goodwill.   Every year I decorate the chandelier with greens and ornaments for a fragrant centerpiece.

 One of our favorite Christmas traditions takes place in the kitchen on Christmas Eve.  After attending service, Hannah and I come home and prepare Over-Night-French-Toast for Christmas morning.  I love decorating for the holidays, but it is our annual traditions that I look forward to the most.  Thank you, for letting me share our home and Christmas traditions with you. 

I hope you will come back and visit again throughout the month of December.  

I'll be continuing to share more of our Christmas decor along with fun project tutorials. 

I confessed to having seven trees…

if you come back, I'll be sharing almost all of them. 

(Click here for a video tutorial on the monogrammed door wreath)

I would also like to invite you to visit my "Holiday" tab at the top of my blog (or click here) for loads of Christmas projects and tutorials. 

The next stop on the home tour is…
The Handmade Home.  You will enjoy the beautiful decor they have in store for you. 

Below I have put together a list of links to some of the items used in this year's home tour.

If something your interested in is not mentioned below, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to help you find it. 

1. Mantle Decor:  

"Simplicity" Real Preserved Boxwood Wreath~The Yellow Cape Cod Collection

Alphabet Block Letters (Red/Black)~Ballard Designs

Antler Stocking Holders~Ballard Designs

Stockings~Ballard Designs

2.  Extra Large Iron Sconce~The Yellow Cape Cod Collection

3.  Red/Silver Outdoor Garland~Potterybarn 

4.  "Classic Black/White" Wool Rug~The Yellow Cape Cod Collection

5.  Large Potted Real Preserved Boxwood Set of Two~ The Yellow Cape Cod Collection

6.  Buffet Decor:

Black Buffet~The Salvation Army

Black Kirsten Arch Mirror~Cooper Classics

Red Boxes~HomeGoods

Striped Canvas Totes~Hobby Lobby
7.  "Simplicity" Real Preserved Boxwood Wreath~The Yellow Cape Cod Collection 

8.  Murphie's Christmas Sweater~Amazon

Thank you, Jen for hosting this tour and including me in this fabulous line up.
And again, Thank YOU for stopping by.
Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

For information on my affordable online design consultation service, click here. 

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