2018 Twelve Days of Christmas Tour: Ashlee’s Home

My name is Ashlee and I live in Southeast Missouri. My favorite part of the holiday season is visiting friends and loved ones at all of the holiday parties and gatherings, especially when the invitation requests “cocktail attire” and you get to dress up in your finest, winter couture. My house is no exception. I dressed up my home for the perfect, cozy holiday get-together. Please join me for the 2018 Twelve Days of Christmas Home Tour presented by Diamonds or Pearls. The chardonnay is perfectly chilled. Have a glass with me and enjoy the tour!

2018 Twelve Days Of Christmas Tour

I like my outdoor décor to reflect my interior decorating style. The outdoor wreaths, swags and ribbons carry the blue, white, silver and gold color palate that you will find inside.

The white fur pillows and throw add warmth and texture to the scene.

I love my snowflake! It’s my new sparkly addition outdoors. You can find it at Target (HERE).

I keep this large chinoiserie urn in my entry at all times, but I change the plant with the season. This Christmas I went with these beautiful, creamy white poinsettias.

I like to add little Christmas touches, like the glitter trees, to my year-round entry chachkies.

When I was little, I always remember my Mom having a particular potpourri scent at Christmas time. I can still smell clove, orange and cinnamon and think of my childhood home. In my own home, I use Volcano candles from Anthropologie during the holidays. This bright, orange fragrance wafts through the house from the candles, diffusers and room spray.

I usually do a mix of metallic finishes, but in the study, I wanted to bring out the gold and brass in the large drum light fixture. I accented the lighting with matching gold and brass décor on the desk and in the bookshelves.

My study has so many windows that I like to treat it like an extension of my porch. With all of the dark trim, bookshelves and masculine furniture, I wanted to create juxtaposition in the room with bright, winter whites and metallic finishes.

At night this entire room can be seen from the street. I love how you can see the lit trees through the glass as you pass by.

 

This is my first year to decorate my dining room. After waiting months for a table, it arrived just in time to get dressed for the season! I chose to begin with a furry, white table runner. Not only does this protect your table from scratches, it adds texture and warmth to the setting.

The mercury glass trees and reindeer candleholders add the Christmas element to the table without being to overpowering. I can remove the reindeer and keep this tablescape out all winter long.

 

Other than the kitchen, this is the most used room in the house. The great room is the focal point of our home. Here you will find elements of the exterior (the fireplace stone is the same used on the exterior of the house) and interior (the antelope pillows match the carpeting on the stairs) melding to create a great room-look that perfectly coordinates the whole house and my décor.

Look closely and you’ll see my sweet miniature schnauzer, Elle, in her favorite napping nook of the couch.

I have lots of chinoiserie, ginger jars and warrior vases throughout my home. I wanted to be able to decorate for Christmas without having to put all my blue and white pieces away.  Mercury glass ornaments, white fur, flocked green garland and silver berries were showy yet neutral enough to allow my chinoiserie to remain out and accent the room.

My newest additions are the white, flocked Christmas trees on the sofa table. I love how they sparkle when the sun hits them in the afternoon.

I also use many of Pottery Barn’s Dark Havana Weave designs – baskets, trays, boxes and coffee table. I use these items in many of my rooms to add an effortless organic element.

Tree:

“Filler, spiller and thriller” – My Mother-in-law taught me this adage for constructing potted plants and I think the same can be said for Christmas trees.

My smaller mercury glass balls are the “filler.” They add light sparkle to the room without being too overwhelming

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The “spiller” is your ting-ting like garland that pokes out all over the tree. I found these glitter-encrusted lit branches at Three French Hens in Wildwood, Missouri years ago and they are a favorite of mine.

The “thriller,” and new additions to the tree this year, are the Malibu fur garland and the large mercury glass orbs. I have always wanted a flocked tree, but they are such a mess! The Malibu fur was a perfect way to give my tree that snowy, flocked look without all the dusty glitter on my black hardwoods.

The second-most popular room in the house is the kitchen. I designed our granite island to be the perfect place for guests to gather. No matter where I place the charcuterie tray, everyone always congregates here. My chinoiserie vases are out year-round. I usually keep a plant in one of them – mostly orchids or palm leaves. For Christmas, I used a white poinsettia.

I like to keep it simple in the kitchen. With all that holiday cooking, I did not want to be wiping down all kinds of Christmas décor each time I used the stove. I kept most of my normal décor out and added little touches of greenery—the tiny wreaths on cabinets and swag around my flour and sugar containers.

Once I saw this Santa’s Reindeer Collection at Pottery Barn and I had to get them! I think the cartoon reindeer are so perfectly cheeky. My kiddos love them! I thought this collection was a clever way to add a bit of traditional Christmas into my home without losing the integrity of the blue and white interior décor.

Shop the Reindeer Collection HERE

The stairway banisters are draped with the same lightly flocked garland and swags that are outdoors and in the great room. I finished off the garland with silver berries and the same oversized pinecone ornaments that are on the tree.

I love accenting the kids’ room décor with their very own Christmas trees. I got this idea from one of my very good friends – she always has beautiful trees for her kids’ rooms.

A ballet-pink room calls for a shimmering rosé tree with snowy, glittery ornaments.

This room is all boy! We went for a St. Louis Blues motif on the navy tree.

This room is basically a catch-all tray for the entire household. One day, I intend to design a mudroom with built-in cabinetry, but until that time, a simple coffee bar will do. I added the storage element by using these great lined containers. They are perfect for storing shoes and backpacks.

This is the first room my kids see as they enter our home, so the chalkboard is always decorated with a fun saying or inspirational quote. As it is “Elf on the Shelf” season, I decorated the mudroom to accommodate our family’s elves, the mischievous Tarasenko and Sparkles.

The reindeer motif continues with the cocoa mugs and a dessert plate with yummy marshmallows for my Mom’s famous cocoa.

 

Every year, my mother, sister and I have a girls’ night pajama party and watch White Christmas and Meet Me in St. Louis – two of our Grandmother Velma’s favorite movies.

 

Thank you for stopping by! I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year! 

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Tomorrow on the “Twelve Days of Christmas” tour, Amy Alleva will be inviting us into her VA home. Amy’s beautiful traditional home is sprinkled with the colors of Christmas. She loves to add pops of red and green everywhere you look. You will definitely find her home warm and inviting for the holidays.

 

If you haven’t been following along, click the name of the tour you would like to see below to begin!

 

Twelve Days of Christmas Tour

Linda’s Home – The Spirit of Christmas

Sandy’s Home – It’s a Holly Jolly Christmas

Keli’s Home-Dreaming of a White Christmas