Christmas at The Blog Cabin - Holiday Housewalk 2017

 I'm so excited to be stop number 21 on the Holiday Housewalk 2017! This is the fourth year I've been a part of this inspiring online home tour presented by Jennifer Rizzo.
This year, I'm taking a new approach. Instead of sharing my home, I'll be sharing our family cabin located in the woods of Northern Michigan all decked out for the holidays.

If you're visiting from Beneath My Heart, welcome! I was so happy to hear that I would be following Tracy's tour, she is one of my favorite Bloggers! I look forward to her holiday decor and to seeing how her sweet family is celebrating the holidays every year. If you didn't stop by as part of the tour, please be sure to hop on here to go back to the beginning for the full experience. 

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 my daily design adventures along with DIY tutorials, entertaining ideas, exciting room makeovers and more. I operate my busy online interior design studio and often share my professional E-design work here on the blog. This year, instead of sharing our home all decorated for the holidays, I'd like to share something very special that I've had going on behind the scenes...

Christmas at The Blog Cabin!

The Blog Cabin is a teeny-tiny, rustic, cabin nestled in the woods of northern Michigan. I've been busy renovating it over the past year (click here for the full story and before pics).  This little gem has been in my family for decades. It's one of three cabins on my parents property, but for the last few years this particular home has been closed up and used for storage. I've taken on the challenge to bring it back to life, one budget friendly, DIY project at a time. The renovations are not fully complete, but it's close and we're so in love with the little cabin that we decided to spend Christmas here!


Today, I'm going to take you on a virtual road trip up north!

Bundle up, throw on your snow boots and puffy coat and let me and this little snow bunny show you around... 

The past few weekends I've been making the journey back and forth, preparing the cabin for our family holiday. Using Christmas decor from Christmases past, family heirlooms and fresh evergreen clippings from the property, The Blog Cabin has officially been transformed into a winter wonderland. 

I enlisted my Mom to help me decorate the front porch. We started with a mixed green garland from the greenhouse and filled in with clippings from the evergreen trees around the property. The day we began decorating the porch, Mother Nature decided to make an appearance with the first official snow dump of the year.

Last year, when I began the cabin renovations, one of my first visions was the front door painted red and decorated for Christmas. This vision finally came to life after a coat of Ace Hardware Paint, "Davids Sweater", fresh greens and a few woodland inspired accessories.

To give the traditional decor a little bit of a modern vibe, I incorporated over-scaled lights. I used outdoor patio string lights from Home Depot to illuminate the greenery around the door. 

I brought up the little chopped wood deer my hubby bought a few years ago. They were so cute on our front porch at home, but they were made to be here. I placed them next to a pair of vintage snow shoes. 

I raided my Mom's vintage home decor stash and cozied up an old adirondack chair that I painted red, with a wool blanket and old ice skates. 

Now that you've seen the outside of The Blog Cabin, come inside out of the snow storm and warm up with a cup of coffee (or hot cocoa if you're a kid). Just inside the cabin, I set up a convenient hot beverage station. Everything you need for a hot beverage can be found here. Adult libations are stored inside the drawers of our beverage dresser if you would like to add a shot of Baileys...it's always 5:00 at the cabin.

While you are preparing your beverage, don't forget to leave a personal message on our chalk board door. My little guy, Max, got the holiday message board started last weekend while he was up helping me decorate...

Once you have your hot tottie in hand, step over to the coat rack and hang your coat and hat next to my Dad's. 

Stepping into the Living Room, you may be tempted to grab a quilt from the ladder. This is by far the most cuddle-worthy room in the cabin. Although the sofa is small, it can handle lots of snugglers. 

If you can fight the urge to give in to this cozy corner, you can check out the master bedroom...

The vintage bed in this room has been in the cabin since the day my parents purchased the place years ago. My sister gave it a quick update with a coat of home-made black chalk paint.

My Christmas PJ's are hanging in the corner along with a fully stocked magazine rack all ready for a weekend of R and R. 

You can never have enough blankets at the cabin. The bed is dressed in layers of cozy pillows and covers in shades of red. 

Back in the Living Room, an old shelf in the corner acts as a mantle stand in. We don't have a fireplace at The Blog Cabin, so I used this little area to hang our stockings.

On to the Kitchen...

The renovations in the kitchen are coming along, but not yet complete. I haven't installed the appliances yet, which means we'll need to use the fridge and stove at my parents (the main cabin). On the bright side, this minor inconvenience is balanced by the perk of having an open spot for full sized Christmas Tree!

Our Balsam Hill Christmas Tree fits perfectly in the refrigerator spot. This tree is actually only half a tree, it's completely flat on the back which makes it great for a high traffic area. 

I applied a nature theme to the tree decor. Snowflakes, birds, pinecones, cotton branches, antlers, and pom pom garland cascading down the tree to mimic the look of falling snow.

I found some really cute ornaments and wrapping paper in town at the local shop we call "The Merch".

One of my favorite areas of the cabin is in the dining room. My Mom styled this hutch using a collection of heirloom dishes. This blue transferware has been in our family since her Grandmother started collecting it. The first pieces my Great Grandmother acquired came in her Laundry Soap.

I also used the dishes to set the table for our Christmas dinner. 

Our plans for our holiday celebration at the cabin include lots of cooking. Although most of it will take place at the main cabin this year, we will definitely be consuming it over in The Blog Cabin. 

One of my goals in the cabin renovation process was to use things we already had. For instance, this little dresser in the kitchen was already here. I gave it a fresh coat of paint before using it as a place holder for a stove. Until we have appliances, the beverage center will come in handy. 

Especially after a long day of playing out in the snow.

On the agenda for our Christmas at The Blog Cabin are lots of outdoor adventures.  

Chasing bunnies, sledding, snowmobiling, building a snowman with Grandma, snowshoeing through the woods are all on the list. 

Thank you so much for visiting today and allowing me to show you around the Blog Cabin. If you would like to follow along on this renovation project, please visit the original blog post here. Also, you can catch lots of sneak peeks and video clips of my cabin makeover adventures over on my Instagram.

Safe travels home my friends. Drive careful...watch out for Deer!

Now, it's time to continue the Holiday Housework over at Just Destiny's house. Destiny has an amazing Christmas decor aesthetic. Every year she does something different, and every year she blows me away with her creativity. 

To go back to the beginning of the tour, please click here.
Thank you, Jen Rizzo, for inviting me to join the Holiday Housewalk 2017!

Back to the Design Studio! I'll be back next week to share some of the  E-Design projects we've been working on! 

We currently have openings for new Online Design Projects (E-Design). If you're interested in getting started on a room makeover in your home, please click here to make your reservation.