What’s Going On at Our House and Some Christmas Favorites
Happy December! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying the start to the holiday season.
I’m sharing this photo from our living room last year because, as you may know if we’re connected on Instagram or Facebook, we’re undergoing some renovations at our house.
Last month we had the popcorn ceilings removed in about half the house (the other half had been done a room at a time over the last few years) and had those rooms freshly painted too.
Then we put the house halfway back together, had Thanksgiving, and on Monday the hardwood floor guys arrived to install hardwoods in the rooms on the first floor that don’t currently have them (the entryway, family room and piano room/library) and to refinish the hardwoods that are already there.
This is what it looks like when they’re jackhammering the tile out of your entryway. Interesting…and loud.
As of today, all of the new hardwoods are installed (hooray!) and we can really get a feel for what it’s going to be like. I’m loving it!
Next up is picking a stain color. I want to go darker than what we have now but not too dark. If you have any suggestions, let me know!
Converting the whole first floor to hardwood is something I’ve wanted to do since we moved into this house 15 years ago, but with kids and college, it just wasn’t in the budget until now. I’m thrilled that we’re getting to do it, but it’s putting a little kink in our usual holiday routine.
Because our entire first floor is out of commission I haven’t been able to decorate for Christmas. And since we won’t be moving furniture back in until the 15th or 16th of December, I’m not sure how much decorating I’m going to do this year.
So I’ve been soaking up all the beautiful decorating on Instagram, Pinterest, and blogs. Here are some of my favorite photos and I’m linking to the source below each of them in case you want to explore more.
Scot Meacham Wood’s home from Traditional Home. I love how warm and layered this space is. It’s worth clicking through to see the rest.
Ray Jordan’s home from Cottage Journal. Another warm space, and I adore that painting above the couch.
Stacy Lewis’ home is always stunning, but never more so than at Christmas. If you’re on Instagram, she’s one to follow.
This photo came from a Flickr account of all places. The hanging greens with plaid and check ribbons, the pine cupboard, the Emma Bridgewater plates. All so cozy.
I wonder if this stove top potpourri smells as good as it looks.
Who knew brown could be so festive? Sorry, I don’t have source for this one.
My son gives me trouble about my love of urns because I’m always bringing them home (another urn??), but when I look at how many I’ve pinned for Christmas, he might have a point.
I could go on and on. There’s so much beauty out there. I’ll leave you with this photo, one of my very favorites.
Hi Julie,
I always enjoy your posts and beautiful pictures. Thank you for posting now and then 🙂
We switched to hardwood floors about 18 months ago. I didn’t want too light or any orange-y tones, so we chose a darker brown and still love it. Our receipt doesn’t show the stain choice because we didn’t choose in advance. The installer brushed on a few sample swatches to help us decide. Guess I should figure out the name for future reference! Merry Christmas from Colorado!
Thanks for the feedback, Carol. The installer is putting samples on my floors today. Hope I can pick a winner! Merry Christmas to you, too!
Boy, it’s like you have a brand new house. How exciting, just in time for Christmas! Good luck putting everything together and decorating this week!
Thank you, Katie. It will be like a brand new house, I think. Very excited.
Stopped by to visit your blog. Wow you’ve been going through quite an undertaking! I’m sure it looks beautiful with all the new and freshened up hardwood flooring. I imagine it’s all done by now?
I just simply love your blog!
Just reading your posts reminds me of my grandma, grandpa. It gives me a cozy feeling of country houses and sunshine and maple trees, I don’t know why. I was surfing through net and happened to stumble on your blog and travel accounts are amazing.
Did you have to leave the house for a few days when they put down the stain and varnish? We’re having our floors replaced with hardwood next spring and the installer says we (and our pets) will need to be out of the house for several days.
Hi Julie. We did have to leave for a couple of days.